these conditions, the Board having no longer any power to make orders for the purpose referred to.

"In connection with hospitals, a new and important provision will be found in section 132 (post, p. 100), which enables a Local Authority to recover expenses incurred by them in maintaining in a hospital patients who are not paupers.

66

Mortuaries.

Under the Sanitary Acts the Local Authority were empowered to provide a mortuary, and section 141 (post, p. 108) of the present Act imposes on Local Authorities the obligation of making such provision if required by the Local Government Board to do so.

"The following section (142, p. 108), under which a Justice may order the removal to a mortuary of the body of a person who has died of any infectious disease, renders any person obstructing the execution of such. order liable to a penalty, not exceeding £5.

Removal of Toll Gates.

"The power given by the Local Government Act, 1858, to Urban Authorities to agree with the Trustees of a Turnpike Road to remove toll gates, related to gates situated within two miles from the centre of any town or place' within their district; and as it was difficult to determine in many cases what was the centre referred to, section 148 (post, p. 110) enables an Urban Authority to exercise this power with regard to all toll gates within the district.

Regulation of Streets and Buildings.

"A penalty, not exceeding £5, is imposed by section 149 (post, p. 113) upon any persons injuring trees in the public streets, and the Court may, in addition, order compensation to be paid for the damage actually done.

"In cases where Urban Authorities propose to compel the sewering and paving of private streets, they were required to deposit plans and sections before giving notice to the owners to do the works. They are now required by section 150 (post, p. 115) to deposit also estimates of the probable cost of the works.

"An amendment of some importance, in connection with the power to regulate the line of buildings, will be found in section 155 (post, p. 128), which provides that where the front only of a house in a street is taken down, the Urban Authority may prescribe the line of the new building. Under the previous law the Authority could not interfere unless the entire house was taken down.

"It will be observed that the next section (156, p. 130), which prohibits the bringing forward of buildings beyond the line of the adjoining buildings without the consent of the Authority, imposes a penalty not exceeding 408. a day during the continuance of an offence against this enactment, and thus supplies a summary remedy in substitution for the proceeding by indictment, which alone was available under the previous law.

"In addition to the other bye-laws which Urban Authorities might previously make with respect to new buildings, section 157 (post, p. 131) enables them to make bye-laws with respect to the structure of chimneys. The same section contains a provision, following the precedent in the Metropolis, exempting the buildings of railway companies from the operation of any bye-laws made by the Authority, relative to the construction of new buildings.

"Section 158 (post, p. 136) requires, with respect to new buildings, that the Authority shall signify, in writing, their approval or disapproval of the plans deposited with them in accordance with their bye-laws within one month from the date of deposit.

Lighting Streets.

"An Urban Authority could only contract for lighting their district for a period not exceeding three years, and they had no power to provide gasworks. The consequence was, that whenever it became necessary for them to undertake such works, they were compelled to apply to Parlia ment for a special Act for the purpose. Section 161 (post, p. 137) removes the restriction with regard to contracts, and enables the Authority, in districts or parts of districts, where there is no company or person supplying gas under the authority of Parliament, to undertake such supply themselves, and for that purpose to obtain a provisional order, under the Gas and Water Works Facilities Act, 1870, authorizing a gas undertaking. The effect of this latter provision is to place Urban Authorities on the same footing with respect to commencing and carrying on a gas undertaking as an ordinary gas company. The provisional order, however, must be obtained from the Local Government Board, instead of from the Board of Trade.

"Urban Authorities are further empowered (section 162, post, p. 139), subject to the sanction of the Local Government Board, to purchase the undertaking of any gas company supplying the district. The powers of sale conferred by this section on the directors of the company correspond with those given by section 63 to the directors of a water company (see ante, p. lv).

Public Pleasure Grounds.

"Urban Authorities are enabled for the first time, by section 164 (post, p. 140), to make bye-laws providing for the regulation of their public walks and pleasure grounds, and for the removal of offenders by a constable or an officer of the Authority.

Markets.

"The powers of sale conferred on the directors of a market company by the 53rd section of the Local Government Act, 1858, have been modified by section 168 (post, p. 149), so as to correspond with those given in the case of the sale of the undertakings of water and gas companies, by sections 63 and 162, which have been already explained.

Police Regulations.

“The terms superintendent constable' and 'any constable or other officer appointed by virtue of this or the special Act,' as used in the Town Police Clauses Act, 1847, are defined by section 171 (post, p. 152) to include any superintendent of police, and any constable acting in the district of the Urban Authority; and the expression within the prescribed distance,' when occurring in the incorporated provisions of the Town Police Clauses Act, is defined to mean within any urban district; and by the same section licences granted to the drivers of hackney carriages by the Urban Authority are declared to be in force for one year only, or until the next general licensing meeting.

"The powers of Urban Authorities under the 25th section of the Local Government Act Amendment Act, 1861, to make bye-laws for the licensing and regulating of horses and boats for hire are extended, by section 172 (post, p. 159), so as to include the qualification of drivers, conductors, and boatmen, and the names of boats, the number of persons to be carried in them, and their mooring places.

Contracts.

"The 85th section of the Public Health Act, 1848, required that contracts by a Local Board, when not a Town Council, should not only be sealed, but also be signed by five or more members of the Local Board. Section 174 of the present Act (post, p. 161) dispenses with the formality of signing, and simply requires that the contract, if the value exceeds £50, should be in writing, and sealed with the common seal of the Authority.

Purchase of Lands.

"Any doubt which may have been felt as to the requirements of the Sanitary Acts with respect to the resale of surplus lands, not needed for the purposes for which they were purchased, has been removed by section 175 (post, p. 165), which expressly provides that Local Authorities shall resell any such surplus lands, unless the Local Government Board otherwise direct, and shall apply the proceeds of any such resale towards the discharge, either by means of a sinking fund or otherwise, of their existing mortgage debts.

"The 127th section of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, which provides that surplus land, if not resold within the prescribed period, shall vest in the owners of adjoining lands, is not incorporated with section 176 (post, p. 165) of the present Act, but the other provisions of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, with regard to the sale of superfluous lands, still apply, including the section which requires that superfluous lands shall be offered to the owner from whom they were originally taken or to the owner of the adjoining lands. It will be seen that the section contains a new provision with regard to the service of notices in the case of owners of rights of common, and enacts that such notices may be served on any three or more of such persons on behalf of all of them.

Arbitration.

"Under the Public Health Act, 1848, where the arbitrators neglected or refused to appoint an umpire, the appointment had to be made by the Court of Quarter Sessions. Owing to the length of time that must sometimes elapse before an application can be made to Quarter Sessions, it was deemed expedient to provide that in future such appointment should rest with the Local Government Board. See section 180 (post, p. 169) (7). By the same section the award is required to be made within two months from the date of submission to arbitration, or the date of reference to the umpire, as the case may be.

Bye-laws.

"Under the Sanitary Acts it was requisite that the bye-laws of an Urban Authority, when not a Town Council, should be under their seal, and signed by five members. In future they must be under seal, but need not be signed. (Section 182, post, p. 172.)

“Section 186 (post, p. 175) facilitates the proof of bye-laws in legal proceedings, by providing that, except where made by the council of a borough, a copy of them, signed and certified by the clerk, shall be primâ facie evidence of their having been duly made and confirmed. The case of bye-laws made by the council of a borough, it will be remembered, is provided for by the 36 and 37 Vict. c. 33.

66

Officers.

Although the Public Health Act, 1872, rendered it obligatory on every Sanitary Authority to appoint a medical officer of health, neither that Act, nor the previous statutes, prescribed his duties, and it was only in cases where part of his salary was repaid from the Parliamentary grant that the Local Government Board had any jurisdiction in the matter. Having regard, therefore, to the importance of securing uniformity in practice, and of adopting the necessary means for insuring periodical reports and returns respecting the sanitary condition of each locality, the Legislature have now empowered the Board, by section 191 (post, p. 178), to prescribe the qualifications and duties of other medical officers of health appointed under the Act, although no portion of their salaries is repaid out of moneys voted by Parliament. Power is also expressly given to the Board by the same section to impose conditions in cases where the district medical officer of a union is appointed medical officer of health. The section further enables Local Authorities, in case of the illness or incapacity of their medical officer, to appoint a deputy medical officer, subject to the approval of the Local Government Board.

66

The appointment of assistant officers, by Urban Authorities, is also authorised by section 189 (post, p. 176).

Mode of conducting Business.

The Public Health Act, 1848, required the acts of committees to be

submitted for approval to the Urban Authorities appointing them. The acts of committees, however, appointed under the Nuisances Removal Acts, required no such approval. In this respect the new statute follows the latter precedent, by authorising the appointment of an executive committee, whose acts will not necessarily require confirmation; at the same time it enables the Authority to impose on a committee any restrictions they may think fit (section 200, post, p. 182), and no committee is to be authorised to borrow money, make a rate, or enter into a contract.

"Provision is made in section 203 (post, p. 184) for the filling up of casual vacancies in any committee.

Expenses.

"The 9th section of the Sanitary Law Amendment Act, 1874, empowered the Board to alter, by provisional order, the incidence of rating in Urban Districts, in any way that seemed to them fair and equitable. This section was intended to meet cases where the system of rating preseriled by the Local Government Act was not in force, and section 208 (post, p. 187) now expressly restricts the power of the Board in this matter, so that in future they can only declare that the expenses of the Authority shall be defrayed out of a general district rate, subject, however, to the provisions in section 216 (post, p. 207), relating to the mode of raising the sums required for the repair of the highways. The application for a provisional order to alter the incidence of rating must now be made by the Authority, or by ten ratepayers.

General District Rate.

· Express provision is made by section 209 (post, p. 187) for the continuance or establishment of a District Fund, where the expenses of the Authority are defrayed out of a General District Rate.

"Section 211 (post, p. 199) renders the valuation list under the Union Assessment Committee Act conclusive for the Assessment of the General District Rate, the power which previously existed of adopting another basis of assessment being taken away.

64

Highway Rate.

The provisions of the Local Government Act Amendment Act, 1861, with reference to the 'excluded part' of a parish, the remainder of which has been constituted or included in an Urban District, are modified by section 216 (post, p. 207); when the excluded part has been included in a Highway District, it shall no longer, in any case, be considered as forming part of the Urban District for highway purposes. "Provision is also made by the same section for the issuing of an order by the Court of Quarter Sessions directing the election of a waywarden for the excluded part.

Borrowing Powers.

Doubts had been expressed (1) as to whether loans under the Sanitary