Acts could properly be repaid by equal annual instalments of principal and interest combined; (2) as to the precise amount required to be set aside and invested annually, when provision was made for repayment of the loan by means of a sinking fund; and (3) as to the mode in which the sinking fund was from time to time to be applied towards the discharge of part of the loan. Section 234 (post p. 224) therefore expressly authorises loans under the Act to be repaid by equal annual instalments of principal or of principal and interest combined; it enacts that where the repayment is by means of a sinking fund, the annual amount to be set aside is to be such as will, with accumulations, be sufficient to repay the loan at the end of the term; and it provides that the whole, or any part of the fund, may at any time be applied towards the discharge of the loan; but until the loan is discharged, the interest which would have accrued on the amount withdrawn must be paid into the fund, in addition to the other payments.

"Local authorities are exempted (section 238, post, p. 227) from responsibility to the transferee of any of their mortgages, until an entry of the transfer has been made in the register kept by them; and by the same section a penalty, not exceeding £20, is imposed on the clerk of the Authority, if he wilfully neglects or refuses to make any such entry in the register.

"The powers of borrowing, conferred by the Act on Local Authorities, are extended by section 244 (post, p. 232) to Joint Boards, Port Sanitary Authorities, Local Boards of Health of Main Sewerage Districts, and Joint Sewerage Boards; and the Public Works Loan Commissioners may make any loan to any of these Authorities, in the same manner and upon the same terms as to Urban or Rural Authorities under the Act.

The Public Works and Local Loans Acts.

"In connection with the borrowing powers of Local Authorities, under the present statute, it is desirable that their attention should be called to two Acts passed during the last session-viz., (1) the Public Works Loans Act, 1875 (38 and 39 Vict. c. 89, post, pp. 512-534), and (2) the Local Loans Act, 1875 (38 and 39 Vict. c. 83, post, pp. 495–510).

"(1.) The first Act consolidates, with amendments, the law relating to loans by the Public Works Loan Commissioners, and section 13 (post, p. 517) requires that every intending borrower shall send to the Commissioners, on or before the 31st of December in every year, a statement of the loans likely to be required during the ensuing financial year, commencing with the first of April following; and the Public Works Loans Commissioners are prohibited from granting any loan which has not been included in the statement above referred to, except with the consent of the Treasury, which can only be expected under very exceptional and pressing circumstances.

Although the Act does not come into operation until the 1st of April, 1876, section 54 (post, p. 531) provides that the first statement of the probable requirements of loans shall be sent to the Commissioners on or before the 31st of December, 1875. Local Authorities, therefore,

who are desirous of borrowing from the Public Works Loan Commissioners will see the necessity of sending in the requisite statements within the prescribed time.

"It should be added that, when any loan is advanced by the Commissioners on the security of a rate, section 36 (post, p. 526) imposes on the Local Government Board the duty of satisfying themselves that the loan is applied to the purposes for which it has been advanced. The Board are empowered to make, with this object, such examination as they may think necessary, and to appoint an officer to conduct the examination.

2.) The Local Loans Act enables Local Authorities to borrow sums which they are authorised to raise upon debentures, debenture stock, or annuity certificates; and section 26 (post, p. 506) empowers them, when they propose to raise a loan by the issue of securities under the Act, to apply to the Local Government Board to authorise the issue of such securities under official sanction, and this sanction will be conclusive evidence that the Local Authority had power to issue the securities, and that the same are in conformity with the Act. It should also le stated that the Act enables Local Authorities to re-borrow in the manner prescribed by it any sums required for the purpose of discharging existing loans. (See section 31, p. 508.) This Act will not come into force until the 1st day of January, 1876, and, in the meantime, the Board will cause the necessary forms and instructions to be prepared for giving effect to the provisions referred to.

Audit.

"Where the District Auditor is a member of the Urban Authority (section 247, p. 233) the audit is to be conducted by some other Auditor appointed by the Local Government Board, and not, as hitherto, chosen by the Local Board from among the Auditors of the adjoining unions.

"It was recently decided by the Court of Queen's Bench, in the cases of Gibson v. Bell and The Queen v. The West Bromwich Improvement Commissioners, that the accounts of Improvement Commissioners as an Urban Sanitary Authority were by the Public Health Act, 1872, required to be audited in the same manner as the accounts of Local Boards. Section 247 (post, p. 236) accordingly directs these accounts to be audited in all respects in the same manner as those of Local Boards, although the provisions of the local Act with respect to audit may be inconsistent with those of the present statute.

"In conformity with the precedent of the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1844 (7 and 8 Vict. c. 101, s. 32), the power of an Auditor to surcharge is extended by the same section (p. 234) to sums lost by the negligence or misconduct of any accounting person, or any sums not brought into account by him.

Legal Proceedings.

"Section 255 (post, p. 244) facilitates proceedings against persons who jointly contribute to a nuisance. Under the Nuisances Removal Acts

much difficulty was experienced in enforcing any remedy, unless it could be clearly proved that the separate contribution of the person proceeded against would alone cause a substantial nuisance, such proof being often from the nature of the case almost impossible.

To save technical objections and expense in legal proceedings, section 260 (post, p. 248) dispenses with the necessity, on the part of the plaintiff, of proving the corporate name of the Authority and the constitution or limit of the district.

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Under the Sanitary Acts the jurisdiction of County Courts extended only to the recovery of debts not exceeding £20. This limit is enlarged by section 261 (post, p. 248) to £50.

"Section 262 (post, p. 248), following the previous law, provides that no proceeding shall be removed by certiorari into a superior Court; but the judges having recently expressed a strong opinion that the power of stating a special case which can be removed into a superior Court ought not to be taken away, a proviso has been added reserving that power.

Appeal.

"The time during which an appeal may be made to the Local Government Board, with respect to expenses summarily recoverable, and private improvement expenses, is extended, by section 258 (post p. 253), from seven to twenty-one days. The appellant is required to deliver a copy of his memorial to the Local Authority, and the Board's decision on the appeal is expressly made conclusive on all parties.

"The provisions with respect to appeals to Quarter Sessions, contained in the Public Health Act, 1848, and the Nuisances Removal Act, 1855, are, for the purposes of the Act, consolidated in section 269 (post, p. 254), with the following amendment :-(Subsection 1) the appeal is not required to be made to the next Court of Quarter Sessions, if the same is held within twenty-one days from the demand of the rate or the decision appealed against; (subsection 4) the appellant, if in custody, may be released on entering into recognizances; and (subsection 6) appeals other than those against rates may be adjourned.

Alteration of Areas.

"In addition to the powers which were given to the Local Government Board in relation to the alteration of areas by the 22nd section of the Public Health Act, 1872, section 270 (post, p. 257) of the present Act enables the Board, by provisional order, to include the whole of any Local Government or rural district in any adjoining Local Government District, and any portion of a Local Government district in any rural district.

"By the 25th section of the Sanitary Law Amendment Act, 1874, the Local Government Board were empowered by order to settle disputes as to the boundaries of adjoining districts, upon the application of the authorities interested therein. Section 278 (post, p. 263) enables such a settlement to be made on the application of any one of the Authorities interested, and renders it clear that the enactment only applies to the districts of Local Boards or Improvement Commissioners.

Union of District.

"The provisions of the 28th section of the Local Government Act, 1858, which enabled an Urban Authority to execute works in adjoining districts with the consent of the Authorities of such districts, have been made expressly applicable by section 285 (post, p. 265) to all Sanitary Authorities and districts.

"The 10th section of the Public Health Act, 1872, authorised the appointment of the same person as Medical Officer of Health for two or more districts, and section 26 of that Act provided for the formation of a united district for all or any of the purposes of the Sanitary Acts,. including, therefore, amongst such purposes, that of the appointment of a Medical Officer of Health. This, however, could only be done by provisional order, upon the application of one or more of the Sanitary Authorities interested, and it involved the necessity of setting up a Joint Board with its several officers and attendant expenses. Section. 286 (post, p. 265) of the present Act enables the Local Government Board, on any representation that the appointment of a Medical Officer of Health for two or more districts, situated wholly or partially in the same county, would diminish expense or otherwise be to the advantage of such districts, to issue an order uniting them for that purpose, and prescribing all necessary consequential regulations. In the event of the Authority of any district proposed to be included objecting to the arrangement, that district can only be included in the combination by means of a provisional order. No urban district containing a population of more than 25,000, or borough having a separate court of Quarter Sessions, can be included in any combination under this section without the consent of the Local Authority of such district or borough.

"The section further provides that no Medical Officer of Health shall be appointed for any urban or rural district within the united district, except as an assistant to the medical officer appointed under this provision; but the Board may assign to the district medical officer of any Poor Law Union, comprising a constituent district, the duty of rendering local assistance to the medical officer so appointed.

Port Sanitary Authorities.

"The following new power is given to the Local Government Board by section 287 (post, p. 266), viz., to constitute, as the Port Sanitary Authority for the whole or any part of a port, or for any two or more ports, a Joint Board, consisting of representatives from all or any of the Riparian Authorities of such port or ports. The section further removes a doubt which had been raised with respect to the power of the Local Government Board to renew temporary orders by expressly authorising the renewal from time to time of such orders.

"The new power of appointing a Joint Board as the Port Sanitary Authority has rendered it unnecessary to continue the provision under which Riparian Authorities might be enabled to send representatives

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to the meetings of a Port Sanitary Authority, and that provision has therefore not been re-enacted.

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Provisional Orders.

Where a provisional order was made for the formation of a united district under the Public Health Act, 1872, the order was primâ facie evidence that all the requirements in respect of the previous proceedings had been complied with. This provision is now extended by section 297 (post, p. 272) (7) to all provisional orders made under the present Act.

Defaulting Authorities.

"The provisions of the Sanitary Acts, with respect to defaulting Authorities, are extended by section 299 (post, p. 274), so as to embrace those cases where a Local Authority make default in either fulfilling or enforcing any of the additional obligations imposed by this Act.

Powers of the Local Government Board in relation to Local Acts. "The power of the Board to repeal or alter local Acts by provisional order is enlarged by section 303 (post, p. 277), so as to enable them to deal with the case of a local Act in force in more than one district, although the application for its repeal or amendment is made by the Local Authority of one of the districts interested only. The section also enables the Board, when amending a local Act by provisional order in such a way as to extend or diminish the area of its operation, to determine what Local Authority shall have jurisdiction in the area thus included or excluded.

Miscellaneous Provisions.

"The right of entry possessed by Local Authorities and their officers for the discharge of their duties is extended by section 305 (post, p. 279) from the hours of ten and four to nine and six; and it will be seen that the power to apply to a Court of summary jurisdiction for an order enforcing entry, in the event of refusal, now includes cases where such entry is required for the purpose of making works or keeping them in repair.

"It has sometimes happened that a new borough is created, which consists of or includes an existing Local Government or Improvement Act district, in which case the Town Council supersede the previous Urban Authority. In order to remove any doubt as to the effect of this change, section 310 (post, p. 288) provides that all the powers, duties, liabilities, and property of the Local Board, or Improvement Commissioners, shall be transferred to the Town Council.

"The same section also declares that the transfer to an Urban Authority of the powers, property, and liabilities of any Local Board or Improvement Commissioners, under the Public Health Act, 1872, is to be deemed to have included their property, powers, and liabilities as a Burial Board, for which case no provision had previously existed.

"Changes in local circumstances sometimes render it desirable that a