Act 1875, but that power is now rarely exercised, and new urban

districts are in practice created only by orders of county councils

made under the Local Government Act 1888, section 57. Rural districts

were first created in 1872. Before that time there was practically no

sanitary authority outside the urban district, for although the vestry

of a parish had in some cases power to make sewers and had also some

other sanitary powers, there was no authority for such a district as

now corresponds to a rural district. There were, indeed, highway

boards and burial boards which had powers for special purposes, but

district authority in the sense in which it is now understood there

was none. Before the year 1894 the rural district consisted of the

area of the poor-law union, exclusive of any urban district which

might be within it, and the guardians of the poor were the rural

sanitary authority. Since 1894 this has been changed. By the Local

Government Act of that year the guardians ceased to be the rural

sanitary authority. The union was preserved as the rural sanitary

district, with this qualification, that if it extended into more than

one county it was divided so that no rural district should extend into

more than one county. Rural district councillors are elected for each

parish in the rural district, and they become by virtue of their

office guardians of the poor for the union comprising the district, so

that there is now no election of guardians in a rural district.

Guardians are still elected as such for urban districts, but the rural

district council have ceased to be the same body as the guardians and

are now wholly distinct. A district councillor, whether urban or

rural, holds office for a term of three years. One-third of the whole

council retire in each year, the annual elections being held in March,

but there may be a simultaneous retirement of the whole council in

every third year if the county council at the instance of the district

council so order. The qualification and disqualification of district

councillors, whether urban or rural, now depend upon the Local

Government Act 1894. Property qualification is abolished. Any person

may be elected who is either a parochial elector of some parish within

the district or has during the whole of the twelve months preceding

his election resided in the district, and no person is disqualified

by sex or marriage. The electors both in urban and rural districts are

the body called the parochial electors. These are practically the

persons whose names appear in the parliamentary register or in the

local government register as being entitled to vote at elections for

members of parliament or county or parish councillors as the case may

be. The election takes place subject to rules made by the Local

Government Board, these rules being largely founded upon adaptations

of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882. The election is by ballot on

the same lines as those prescribed for a municipal election, and the

Corrupt Practices Act, the provisions of which have been referred to

when dealing with county councils, applies to the elections of

district councils. The provisions with reference to election

petitions, the grounds upon which they may be presented and the

procedure upon them, are the same in every respect as have already

been mentioned when dealing with county councils. It may be convenient

here to state that the Local Government Board has power to unite any

number of districts or parts of districts into what is called a united

district for certain special purposes such as water-supply, sewerage

or the like. This is done by means of a provisional order made by the

board and confirmed by parliament. In such a united district the

governing body is a joint board constituted in manner provided by the

order, and it has under the order such of the powers of a district

council as are necessary for the purposes for which the united

district is created. Thus a joint sewerage board would generally be

invested by the order with all the powers of a district council

relating to the provision and control of sewers and the disposal of

sewage. It may also be convenient here to mention another special kind

of district authority, that is, a port sanitary authority. It is also

constituted by order of the Local Government Board, and it may include

one or more sanitary districts or parts of districts abutting upon a

port. In this case also the authority consists of such members and is

elected in such manner as the order determines, and it has such of the

powers of an ordinary district council as the order may confer upon

it. These relate for the most part to nuisances and infectious

disease, having special reference to ships. It has been thought

convenient to deal here with district councils, whether urban or

rural, together, but the powers of the former are much more extensive

than those of the latter, and as the consideration of the subject

proceeds it will be necessary to indicate what powers and duties are

conferred or imposed upon urban district councils only. It must be

pointed out, however, that when the necessity arises for conferring

upon a rural district council any of the powers exercisable only by an

urban district council, that can be done by means of an order of the

Local Government Board. The necessity for this provision arises

because it sometimes happens that in a district otherwise rural there

are some centres of population, hardly large enough to be constituted

urban districts, which nevertheless require the same control as an

urban district.

Business and offices.

A district council may from time to time make regulations with respect

to summoning, notice, place, management and adjournment of their

meetings, and generally with respect to the transaction and management

of their business. Three members must be present to constitute a

quorum. At the annual meeting, which is held as soon as convenient

after the 15th April in each year, a chairman for the succeeding year

has to be appointed. He presides at all meetings, and in his absence

another member appointed by the meeting takes his place. Questions are

determined by the majority present and voting, the chairman having the

casting vote. Minutes are taken and, if signed at the meeting or the

next ensuing meeting, are made evidence. The officers of the council

consist of a clerk, a medical officer, a surveyor, one or more

inspectors of nuisances and a treasurer. Of these all but the medical

officer of health and inspectors of nuisances hold office at pleasure

and receive such remuneration as the council may determine. If the

urban district is a borough, the town clerk and borough treasurer

fulfil the same office for purposes of the Public Health Acts. The

salaries of the medical officer of health and inspectors of nuisances

are, as to one moiety thereof, paid out of "the exchequer contribution

account" by the county council, if they are appointed in accordance

with the requirements of the Local Government Board as to

qualification, appointment, duties, salary and tenure of office. The

orders of the Local Government Board as to these matters are set out

in the _Statutory Rules and Orders_. District councils may also employ

such other officers and servants as may be necessary and proper for

the fulfilment of their duties. Officers and servants are prohibited

from being concerned or interested in any bargain or contract made

with their council, and from receiving under cover of their office or

employment any fee or reward whatsoever other than their proper

salaries, wages and allowances, under penalty of being rendered

incapable of holding office under any district council, and of a

pecuniary penalty of L50. There are some exceptions to this provision

somewhat similar to those already mentioned with respect to the

disqualification of members of the council. It may be mentioned here

that by an act, called the Public Bodies' Corrupt Practices Act 1889,

severe penalties are imposed alike upon members and officers of public

bodies for corruption in office.

Committees.

A district council may appoint committees consisting wholly or partly

of members of their own body for the exercise of any powers which in

their opinion can properly be exercised by such committees. Such

committees do not, however, hold office beyond the next annual meeting

of the council, and their acts must be submitted to the council for

their approval. If they are appointed for any purposes of the Public

Health or Highway Acts, the council may authorize them to institute

any proceedings or do any act which the council might have instituted

or done, other than the raising of any loan or the making of any rate

or contract. A rural district council may delegate their entire powers

in any parish to a parochial committee. Such committee may consist

wholly of members of their own body or of members of the parish

council, or partly of members of both. Such a committee may be subject

to any regulations and restrictions imposed upon it by the rural

district council.

Public Health Acts.

In dealing with the powers and duties of district councils it will be

convenient to treat of these first as they arise under the Public

Health Acts, and afterwards as they arise under other statutes. In so

far as such powers and duties are common to urban and rural district

councils alike they will be referred to as appertaining to district

councils. When reference is made to any power or duty of an urban

council it is to be understood that the rural council have no such

power or duty unless conferred or imposed upon them by order of the

Local Government Board. And it must be borne in mind that in a borough

the borough council is the urban district council.

Sewerage and drainage.

The district council are required to cause to be made such sewers as

may be necessary for effectually draining their district. This duty

may be enforced by the Local Government Board on complaint made to

them that the council have failed in performing it, and in the case of

a rural district by the county council on complaint of the parish

council. All sewers, whether made by the council, by their

predecessors, or by private persons, vest in the district council,

that is to say, become their property, with some exceptions, of which

the principal is sewers made by a person for his own profit. The owner

or occupier of any premises is entitled as of right to cause his drain

to be connected with any sewer, on condition only of his giving notice

and complying with the regulations of the council as to the mode in

which the communication is to be made, and subject to the control of

any person appointed by the council to superintend the work. Moreover,

the owner or occupier of premises without the district has the same

right, subject only to such terms and conditions as may be agreed or,

in ease of dispute, settled by justices or by arbitration. If a house

does not possess a sufficient drain, the occupier may be required to

provide one, and to cause it to discharge into a sewer if there is one

within 100 ft. of the house, otherwise into a cesspool, as the council

may direct. In the case of new houses, these may not be built or

occupied in an urban district without their being first provided with

sufficient drains as the council may require; and in an urban district

it is forbidden to cause any building to be newly erected over a sewer

without the consent of the council. For the purpose of sewage disposal

a district council may construct any works and contract for the use or

purchase or lease of any land, buildings, engines, materials or

apparatus, and contract to supply for a period not exceeding

twenty-five years any person with sewage. It may be pointed out here

that these expressions are defined by the act, the effect of the

definitions being shortly that a drain is a conduit for the drainage

of one building or of several within the same curtilage, while a sewer

comprises every kind of drain except that which is covered by the

definition of a drain as above stated. The result has been that

district councils frequently find themselves in the position of being

responsible for the repair and condition of drains which, by reason of

having been laid for more than one house, are sewers vested in and

repairable by them. An attempt was made to remedy this state of things

by the Public Health Amendment Act 1890, section 19, but the remedy so

provided was very partial, and may be said to be confined to the case

where two or more houses belonging to different owners are drained

into a common drain laid under private land, and ultimately

discharging into a sewer in a road or street.

Sanitary accommodation for houses.

Removal of refuse.

The district council are charged with the duty of enforcing the

provision of proper sanitary accommodation (water-closets, privies,

ashpits, &c.) for all dwelling-houses, new or old, and for factories,

and the maintenance of such conveniences in proper condition. The

urban council have power to provide and maintain and make provision

for the regulation of urinals, water-closets, earth-closets, privies,

ashpits and other similar conveniences for public accommodation. In

the event of a complaint being made to a district council that any

drain, closet, privy, ashpit or cesspool is a nuisance or injurious to

health, the council may empower their surveyor to enter and examine

the premises, and, if the complaint is well founded, they may require

the owner to do the necessary works. The district council are not

bound to undertake the removal of house refuse from premises, or the

cleansing of closets, privies, ashpits and cesspools. They may,

however, undertake these duties, and, if the Local Government Board

require, they must do so. An urban council and a rural council, if

invested with the requisite power by the Local Government Board, may,

and when required by order of that board must, provide for the proper

cleansing of streets, and may also provide for the proper watering of

streets. When they have undertaken, or are required to perform these

duties, a penalty is imposed upon them for neglect. If they do not

undertake these duties, they may make by-laws imposing on the

occupiers of premises the duty of cleansing footways and pavements,

the removal of house refuse, and the cleansing of earth-closets,

privies, ashpits and cesspools; and an urban council may also make

by-laws for the prevention of nuisances arising from snow, filth,

dust, ashes and rubbish, and for the prevention of the keeping of

animals on any premises so as to be injurious to health. The keeping

of swine in a dwelling-house, or so as to be a nuisance, is made an

offence punishable by a penalty in an urban district, as also is the

suffering of any waste or stagnant water to remain in any cellar, or

within any dwelling-house after notice, and the allowing of the

contents of any closet, privy or cesspool to overflow or soak

therefrom. Provision is also made for enforcing the removal of

accumulations of manure, dung, soil or filth from any premises in an

urban district, and for the periodical removal of manure or other

refuse from mews, stables or other premises.

Water-supply.

With regard to water-supply, district councils have extensive powers.

They may provide their district or any part of it with a supply of

water proper and sufficient for public and private purposes, and for

this purpose they may construct and maintain waterworks, dig wells,

take on lease or hire any waterworks, purchase waterworks or water, or

right to take or convey water either within or without their district,

and any rights, powers and privileges of any water company, and

contract with any person for the supply of water. They may not,

however, commence to construct waterworks within the limits of supply

of any water company empowered by act of parliament or provisional

order to supply water without giving notice to the company, and not

even then so long as the company are able and willing to supply the

necessary water. Any dispute as to whether the company are able and

willing has to be settled by arbitration. Where the council do supply

water, they have the same powers of carrying mains under streets or

through private lands as they have with respect to the laying of

sewers, as already mentioned. They can charge water rents which depend

upon agreements with consumers, or they may charge water rates

assessed on the net annual value of the premises supplied. It is to be

observed that they are not bound to charge for a supply of water at

all, unless they are required to do so in an urban district by at

least ten persons, rated to the poor rate, or in a parish in a rural

district by at least five persons so rated in the parish. Even then

the amount of the rate is left to the council, any deficiency in the

cost of the water, in so far as it is not defrayed out of water rates

or rents, being borne in an urban district by the general district

rate, and in a rural district by the separate sanitary rates made for

the parish or contributory place supplied. For the purpose of enabling

them to supply water, most of the provisions of the Waterworks Clauses

Acts are incorporated with the Public Health Act, and are made

available for the district council. They are empowered to supply water

by measure if they think fit, and may charge a rent for water-meters.

The power of the district council to supply water is strictly limited

to their own district, but they may, with the sanction of the Local

Government Board, supply water to the council of an adjoining district

on such terms as may be agreed upon, or as, in case of dispute, may be

settled by arbitration. If any house is without a sufficient supply,

and it appears that a supply can be furnished at a reasonable cost, as

defined in the Public Health Act and the Public Health Water Act 1878,

the owner may be required to provide the supply, and, if he fails, the

council may themselves provide the supply and charge the owner with

the cost. All public sources of water-supply such as streams, pumps,

wells, reservoirs, conduits, aqueducts and works used for the

gratuitous supply of water to the inhabitants of the district are

vested in the council, who may cause all such works to be maintained

and plentifully supplied with pure and wholesome water for the

gratuitous use of the inhabitants, but not for sale by them. The

council may supply water to public baths or wash-houses, or for trade

or manufacturing purposes. In the case of the former the supply may be

gratuitous. In the latter case it is to be on terms agreed between the

parties. The urban council are required to cause fire-plugs, and all

necessary works, machinery and assistance for securing a supply of

water in case of fire, to be provided and maintained, and for this

purpose they may enter into an agreement with any water company or

person. Provision is made for preventing the pollution of water by gas

refuse and enabling a district council, with the sanction of the

attorney-general, to take any proceedings they may think fit for

preventing the pollution of any stream in their district by sewage.

The district council are also empowered to obtain an order of justices

directing the closing of any well, tank or cistern, public or private,

or any public pump the water from which is likely to be used for

drinking or domestic purposes, or for manufacturing drinks for the use

of man, if such water is found to be so polluted as to be injurious to

health.

Cellar dwellings.

Power is given to prohibit the use as dwellings of any cellars, vaults

or underground rooms built or occupied after 1875, and with regard to

such cellars as were occupied as dwellings before 1875, the continued

occupation of these is also forbidden unless they comply with certain

stringent requirements as to the height of the rooms, height of the

ceilings above the surface of the street, open areas in front,

effectual drainage, sanitary conveniences appurtenant to the cellars,

and the provision of fireplaces.

Common lodging-houses.

District councils are required to keep a register of the common

lodging-houses in their district. No person is allowed to keep a

common lodging-house unless he is registered, and a house may not be

registered until it has been inspected and approved for the purpose by

an officer of the council. Further, the council may refuse to register

a keeper unless they are satisfied of his character and of his fitness

for the position. The council are empowered to make by-laws for fixing

the number of lodgers and separating the sexes therein, promoting

cleanliness and ventilation, giving of notices and taking precautions

in case of any infectious disease, and generally for the well-ordering

of such houses. The keepers of common lodging-houses are required to

limewash their walls and ceilings in the months of April and October

in every year, and if paupers or vagrants are received to lodge, they

may be required to report as to the persons who have resorted thereto.

They must give notice of any infectious disease to the medical officer

of health and to the poor-law relieving officer, and they must give

free access for inspection. There is no definition of the expression

"common lodging-house" in the Public Health Acts, and at one time the

courts decided that shelters for the destitute kept by charitable

persons were not common lodging-houses. That idea is now exploded, and

the acts apply to charitable institutions which receive persons of the

class ordinarily received into common lodging-houses.

Houses let in lodgings.

By-laws may also be made relating to houses let in lodgings which are

not common lodging-houses. These by-laws are in practice limited to

those inhabited by the poorer classes, although the act imposes no

such restriction.

Nuisances.

The Public Health Acts 1875 to 1907 contain elaborate provisions for

dealing with nuisances. Those which are dealt with summarily are thus

enumerated:--(1) any premises in such a state as to be a nuisance or

injurious to health; (2) any pool, ditch, gutter, watercourse, privy,

urinal, cesspool, drain or ashpit so foul or in such a state as to be

injurious to health; (3) any animal so kept as to be a nuisance or

injurious to health; (4) any accumulation or deposit which is a

nuisance or injurious to health; (5) any house or part of a house so

overcrowded as to be dangerous or injurious to the health of the

inmates, whether or not members of the same family; (6) any factory,

workshop or workplace not already under the operation of any general

act for the regulation of factories or bakehouses not kept in a

cleanly state or not ventilated in such a manner as to render harmless

as far as practicable any gases, vapours, dust or other impurities

generated in the course of the work carried on therein that are a

nuisance or injurious to health, or so overcrowded while work is

carried on as to be dangerous or injurious to the health of those

employed therein; (7) any fireplace or furnace which does not as far

as practicable consume the smoke arising from the combustible used

therein, and which is used for working engines by steam or in any

mill, factory, dye-house, brewery, bakehouse or gas work, or in any

manufacturing or trade process whatsoever; and (8) any chimney not

being the chimney of a private dwelling-house sending forth black

smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance. The nuisances above

enumerated are said to be nuisances liable to be dealt with summarily.

It is the duty of every district council to inspect their district

with a view to the discovery of any such nuisances. In the event of

such discovery by them or of information given to them of the

existence of any such nuisance, the district council are required to

serve a notice requiring the abatement of the nuisance on the person

by whose act, default or sufferance it arises or continues, or if such

person cannot be found, on the owner or occupier of the premises at

which the nuisance arises. The notice must require the abatement of

the nuisance within a specified time, and must prescribe the works

which in the opinion of the council are necessary to be done. If the

nuisance arises from the absence or defective construction of any

structural convenience, or if there is no occupier of the premises,

the notice must be served upon the owner. If the person who causes the

nuisance cannot be found, and it is clear that the nuisance does not

arise or continue by the act, default or sufferance of the owner or

occupier of the premises, the local authority may themselves abate the

nuisance without further order. If the person on whom the notice is

served objects to give effect to it, he may be summoned before

justices, and the justices may make an order upon him to abate the

nuisance, or prohibiting the recurrence of the nuisance if this is

likely, and directing the execution of the necessary works. If the

nuisance is such as to render a dwelling-house unfit for human

habitation, the justices may close it until it is rendered fit for

that purpose. Disobedience under the order of justices involves a

penalty and a daily penalty for every day during which default

continues. Private persons may complain to justices in respect of

nuisances by which they are personally aggrieved, and if the district

council make default in doing their duty, the Local Government Board

may authorize any officer of police to institute any necessary

proceedings at the cost of the defaulting council. The district

council may, if in their opinion proceedings before justices afford an

inadequate remedy, take proceedings in the high court, but in that

case, if the nuisance is of a public nature, they must proceed by

action in the name of the attorney-general. The provisions as to

nuisances are extended to ships by an act of 1885.

It is forbidden to establish within an urban district without the

consent of the council any offensive trade, business or manufacture.

With regard to any offensive trade which has been established or may

be consented to in any urban district, if it is verified by the

medical officer or any two legally qualified medical practitioners, or

by any ten inhabitants of the district, to be a nuisance or injurious

to health, the urban district council are required to take proceedings

before magistrates with a view to the abatement of the nuisance

complained of.

Unsound meat.

Any medical officer or inspector of nuisances may inspect any meat,

&c., exposed for sale or deposited in any place for the purpose of

sale or of preparation for sale and intended for the food of man. This

power of inspection is, in districts where the Public Health Act 1890

has been adopted, extended to all articles intended for the food of

man. If upon such inspection the meat, &c., appears to be diseased,

unsound or unwholesome, it may be taken before a justice for the

purpose of being condemned, and the person to whom the meat, &c.,

belongs or in whose possession it was found is liable to a penalty or,

in the discretion of the justices, to imprisonment for three months

without the option of a fine.

Infectious diseases.

The Public Health Acts contain important provisions relating to

infectious disease. Any person who knows he is suffering from an

infectious disease must not carry on any trade or business unless he

can do so without risk of spreading the disease. Local authorities may

require premises to be cleansed and disinfected; they may order the

destruction of bedding, clothing or other articles which have been

exposed to infection; they may provide proper places for the

disinfection of infected articles free of charge; they may provide

ambulances, &c. In the case of a person found suffering from

infectious disease who has not proper lodging or accommodation, or is

lodging in a room occupied by more than one family, or is on board any

ship or vessel, such person may by means of a justice's order be

removed to a hospital; a local authority may pay the expenses of a

person in a hospital or, if necessary, provide nursing attendance; any

person exposing himself or any other in his charge while suffering

from infectious disease, or exposing infected bedding, clothing or the

like, is made liable to a penalty. Owners and drivers of public

conveyances must not knowingly convey any person suffering from

infectious disease, and if any person suffering from such a disease is

conveyed in any public vehicle the owner or driver as soon as it comes

to his knowledge must give notice to the medical officer. It is also

forbidden to let houses or rooms in which infected persons have been

lodging, or to make false statements to persons negotiating for the

hire of such rooms. An act was passed in the year 1890, called the

Infectious Diseases Prevention Act. When adopted it enabled an urban

or district council to obtain the inspection of dairies where these

were suspected to be the cause of infectious disease, with a view to

prohibiting the supply of milk from such dairies if the fact were

established. The act of 1907 extended the provisions of the act of

1890. It enables a local authority to require dairymen to furnish a

complete list of sources of supply if the medical officer certifies

that any person is suffering from infectious disease which he has

reason to suspect is attributable to milk supplied within his

district. It also compels dairymen to notify infectious diseases

existing among their servants. The act of 1890 also forbids the

keeping for more than forty-eight hours of the body of a person who

has died of infectious disease in a room used at the time as a

dwelling-place, sleeping-place or workshop. It provides for the bodies

of persons dying of infectious diseases in a hospital being removed

only for burial, and gives power to justices in certain cases to order

bodies to be buried. The diseases to which the act applies are

smallpox, cholera, membranous croup, erysipelas, scarlatina or scarlet

fever, typhus, typhoid, enteric, relapsing, continued or puerperal

fever, and any other infectious disease to which the act has been

applied by the local authority of the district in the prescribed

manner. The most important provision, however, relating to infectious

disease is that contained in the Infectious Disease Notification Act

1889. That was originally an adoptive act, but it is now extended to

all districts in England and Wales. It requires the notification to

the medical officer of health of the district of every case in which a

person is suffering from one of the diseases above mentioned. The duty

of notification is imposed upon the head of the family, and also upon

the medical practitioner who may be in attendance on the patient. The

medical attendant is entitled to receive in respect of each

notification a fee of 2s. 6d. if the case occurs in his private

practice, and of 1s. if the case occurs in his practice as medical

officer of any public body or institution. These fees are paid by the

urban or rural district council as the case may be. The provisions as

to notification are applied to every ship, vessel, boat, tent, van,

shed or similar structure used for human habitation in like manner as

nearly as may be as if it were a building. Exception is made, however,

in the case of a ship, vessel or boat belonging to a foreign

government. It is not too much to say that this act has been one of

the most effectual means of preventing the spread of infectious

disease in modern times.

Hospitals.

The district council are empowered to provide hospitals or temporary

places for the reception of the sick. They may build them, contract

for the use of them, agree for the reception of the sick inhabitants

of their district into an existing hospital, or combine with any other

district council in providing a common hospital. As has already been

mentioned when dealing with county councils, if a district council

make default in providing hospital accommodation, the county council

may put in operation the Isolation Hospitals Act. The power given to

provide hospitals must be exercised so as not to create a nuisance,

and much litigation has taken place in respect of the providing of

hospitals for smallpox. Up to the present time, however, the courts

have refused to accept as a principle that a smallpox hospital is

necessarily a source of danger to the neighbourhood, and for the most

part applications for injunction on that ground have failed.

Epidemics.

Where any part of the country appears to be threatened with or is

affected by any formidable epidemic, endemic or infectious disease,

the Local Government Board may make regulations for the speedy

interment of the dead, house-to-house visitation, the provision of

medical aid and accommodation, the promotion of cleansing, ventilation

and disinfection, and the guarding against the spread of disease. Such

regulations are made and enforced by the district councils. The

provisions of the Public Health Acts relating to infectious disease

are for the most part extended to ships by an act of the year 1885.

Mortuaries.

District councils may, and if required by the Local Government Board,

must provide mortuaries, and they may make by-laws with respect to the

management and charges for the use of the same. Where the body of a

person who has died of an infectious disease is retained in a room

where persons live or sleep, or the retention of any dead body may

endanger health, any justice on the certificate of a medical

practitioner may order the removal of a body to a mortuary and direct

the body to be buried within a time limited by the friends of the

deceased or in their default by the relieving officer. A district

council may also provide and maintain a proper place (otherwise than

at a workhouse or at a mortuary) for the reception of dead bodies

during the time required to conduct any _post mortem_ examination

ordered by a coroner.

Cemeteries.

Under an act of 1879 the district council have power to provide and

maintain a cemetery either within or without their district, and they

may purchase or accept a donation of land for that purpose. The

provisions of the Cemeteries Clauses Act 1847 apply to a cemetery thus

provided. These cannot all be referred to here, but it may be noted

that no part of the cemetery need be consecrated, but that if any part

is, such part is to be defined by suitable marks, and a chapel in

connexion with the Established Church must be erected in it. A

chaplain must also be appointed to officiate at burials in the

consecrated portion. The power to provide a cemetery under the act

under consideration must not be confounded with that of providing a

burial ground under the Burial Acts. These acts will be mentioned

later in connexion with the powers of parish councils, for in general

they are adopted for a parish, part of a parish or combination of

parishes, and are administered by a burial board, except where that

body has been superseded by a parish council or joint committee. It

may be mentioned, however, that under the Local Government Act 1894,

where a burial board district is wholly in an urban district, the

urban council may resolve that the powers, duties and liabilities of

the burial board shall be transferred to the council, and thereupon

the burial board may cease to exist. And it is provided by the same

act that the Burial Acts shall not hereafter be adopted in any urban

parish without the approval of the urban council. The distinction

between a burial ground provided under the Burial Acts and a cemetery

provided under the act of 1879 is important in many ways, of which one

only need be mentioned here--the expenses under the Burial Acts are

paid out of the poor rate, while the expenses under the act of 1879

are paid in an urban district out of the general district rate, the

incidence of which differs materially from that of the poor rate, as

will be seen hereafter.

Highways.

In an urban district the urban council have always had all the powers

and duties of a surveyor of highways under the Highway Acts. But

before 1894 a rural district council had no power or duty in respect

of highways except in a few cases where, by virtue of a provision in

the Highway Act 1878, the rural sanitary authority of a district

coincident in area with a highway district were empowered to exercise

all the powers of a a highway board. Except in these cases the highway

authority in a parish was the surveyor of highways, elected annually

by the inhabitants in vestry, or in a highway district consisting of a

number of parishes united by order of quarter sessions, the highway

board composed of waywardens representing the several parishes. By the

Local Government Act 1894, there were transferred to the district

council of every rural district all the powers, duties and liabilities

of every highway authority, surveyor or highway board within their

district, and the former highway authorities ceased to exist. The

highway authority in every district, rural as well as urban, is

therefore the district council. Of the chief duties of a district

council with regard to highways, the first and most obvious is the

duty to repair. This duty was formerly enforceable by indictment of

the inhabitants of the parish, but it is not quite clear whether this

procedure is applicable, now that the liability to repair is

transferred to a council representing a wider area. Under the Highway

Acts it is enforceable by summary proceedings before justices and by

orders of the county council, but in either case, if the liability to

repair is disputed, that question has to be decided on indictment

preferred against the highway authority alleged to be in default. In a

rural district any parish council may complain to the county council

that the district council have made default in keeping any highway in

repair, and the county council may thereupon transfer to themselves

and execute the powers of the district council at the cost of the

latter body, or they may make an order requiring the district council

to perform their duty, or they may appoint some person to do so at the

cost of the district council. It is important to observe, however,

that an action does not lie against a district council in respect of

the failure to repair a highway even at the suit of a person who has

thereby been injured. The reason assigned for this doctrine is that

the council as highway surveyor stand in the same position as the

inhabitants of the parish, against whom such an action would not lie.

The district council are, however, liable for any injury caused

through negligence on the part of their officers or servants in

carrying out the work of repair.

Streets.

But while rural as well as urban district councils have the powers and

duties of surveyors of highways, the provisions of the Public Health

Acts relating to streets apply only in urban districts, except in so

far as the Local Government Board may by order have conferred urban

powers upon a rural district council. These provisions have now to be

referred to. It may be convenient to state that the expression

"street" is here used in a sense much wider than its ordinary meaning.

It is defined by the act to include any highway and any public bridge

(not being a county bridge), and any road, lane, footway, square,

court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not. For certain

purposes streets as thus defined are divided into two classes, viz.

those which are and those which are not highways repairable by the

inhabitants at large. But it has to be borne in mind that it is not

every highway that is repairable by the inhabitants at large. Before

the year 1836 as soon as a way was dedicated to public use and the

public had by user signified their acceptance of it, it became without

more notice repairable by the parish. Therefore every highway--whether

carriage-way, driftway, bridleway or footway--which can be shown to

have been in use before 1836, is presumably repairable by the

inhabitants at large, the only exceptions being such highways as are

repairable by private persons or corporate bodies _ratione clausurae_,

_ratione tenurae_, or by prescription. But in the year 1836, when the

Highway Act 1835 came into operation, the law was altered. It was

possible, just as formerly, to dedicate a way to the use of the

public, and it thereupon became a highway to all intents and purposes.

But mere dedication did not make the way repairable by the public.

That result was not to follow unless certain stringent requirements

were fulfilled. When it is shown, therefore, that a highway has been

dedicated after 1836, it is not repairable by the inhabitants at large

unless it can be shown that these provisions have been complied with,

or that it has been declared to be repairable under provisions of the

Public Health Acts presently to be mentioned. (There was also power

given to justices, by the Highway Act 1862, to declare a private road

or occupation road in a highway district to be a public highway

repairable by the parish; but this power does not appear to have been

acted upon to any extent.)

All streets being highways repairable by the inhabitants at large

within an urban district, are vested in and under the control of the

urban council. After much litigation it has now been established that

this provision does not give the council an absolute property in the

soil of the street, but merely such a qualified property in the

surfaces as enables them to exercise control. The urban council are

required from time to time to cause all such streets to be made up and

repaired as occasion may require, and they are empowered to raise,

lower or alter the soil of the street, and to place and keep in repair

fences and posts for the safety of foot-passengers. The other class of

streets consists of those which are not highways repairable by the

inhabitants at large. Under the Public Health Act 1875 such streets

may be dealt with in manner following:--If any such street or part

thereof is not sewered, levelled, paved, metalled, flagged,

channelled, made good or lighted to the satisfaction of the council,

the council may cause it to be made up at the expense of the owners of

premises fronting the street in proportion to their several frontages.

When all or any of the works aforesaid have been executed in the

street, and the council are of opinion that the street ought to become

a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, they may by notice

to be fixed up in the street declare it to be a highway repairable by

the inhabitants at large, and the declaration will be effective

unless, within one month after the notice has been put up, the

majority of the owners in the street object thereto. An alternative

procedure has been provided by the Private Street Works Act, which may

be adopted by any urban council. One important point of difference is

that under the latter act the council may resolve that the expenses

shall be apportioned among the owners not merely according to

frontage, but according to the greater or less degree of benefit to

be derived by any premises from the works.

Where a house or building in a street is taken down to be rebuilt, the

urban district council may prescribe the line to which it is to be

rebuilt, paying compensation to the building owner for any damage

which he may sustain consequent upon the requirement. Save to this

extent, no power is given by the general law to a district council to

prescribe a building line. But under an act of 1888 it is provided

that it shall not be lawful in any urban district without the consent

of the urban authority to erect or bring forward any house or building

in any street or any part of such house or building beyond the front

main wall of the house or building on either side thereof in the same

street.

The control exercised by an urban district council over streets and

buildings is to a very large extent exercised through by-laws which

they are empowered to make for various purposes relating to the laying

out and formation of new streets, the erection and construction of new

buildings, the provision of sufficient air-space about buildings to

secure a free circulation of air, and the provision of suitable and

sufficient sanitary conveniences. The manner in which such by-laws are

made and confirmed will be hereafter noticed. In general, the by-laws

require plans of new streets to be submitted to the council, and they

are required to approve or disapprove of these plans within a month.

They cannot disapprove of a plan unless it contravenes the provisions

of some statute or by-law; but if a person builds otherwise than

according to an approved plan he does so at the risk of having his

work pulled down or destroyed. Among the miscellaneous powers of an

urban council with respect to streets may be mentioned the power to

widen or improve, and certain powers incorporated from the Towns

Improvement Clauses Act 1847, with respect to naming streets,

numbering houses, improving the line of streets, removing

obstructions, providing protection in respect of ruinous or dangerous

buildings, and requiring precautions to be taken during the

construction and repair of sewers, streets and houses. An urban

council may also provide for the lighting of any street in their

district, and may contract with any person or company for that

purpose. If there is no company having statutory powers of supply

within their district, they may themselves undertake the supply of

gas, and they may purchase the undertaking of any gas company within

their district.

Public parks.

An urban council may acquire and maintain lands for the purpose of

being used as public walks or pleasure-grounds, and may support or

contribute to the support of such walks or grounds if provided by any

other person. They may also contribute to the cost of laying out,

planting or improvement of lands provided for this purpose by any

person, in their own district or outside that district, if it appears

that the walks or grounds could eventually be used by the inhabitants

of that district. An urban council may also provide public clocks or

pay for the reasonable cost of repairing and maintaining any public

clocks in the district, though not vested in them.

Markets and slaughter-houses.

Where an urban council are the council of a borough, and in other

cases with the consent of the owners and ratepayers of the district,

they may provide market accommodation for their district. They may

not, however, establish any market so as to interfere with any market

already established in the district under a franchise or charter. For

purposes of markets certain provisions of the Markets and Fairs

Clauses Act 1847 are incorporated with the Public Health Act. The only

one of these that need be noticed is that which provides that after

the market is opened for public use every person, other than a

licensed hawker, who shall sell or expose for sale in any place within

the district, except in his own dwelling-place or shop, any articles

in respect of which tolls are authorized to be taken shall be liable

to a penalty. The tolls which may be taken by an urban council must be

approved by the Local Government Board; and any by-laws which they

make for the regulation of the market must be confirmed by the same

body. An urban council may also provide slaughter-houses and make

by-laws with respect to the management and charges for the use of

them. Where they do not provide slaughter-houses, all previously

existing slaughter-houses have to be registered and new ones licensed;

and no person may lawfully use a slaughter-house which is not either

registered or licensed. Licences may be suspended by justices in the

event of their being used contrary to the provisions of the act or of

the by-laws, and on a second conviction the licence may be revoked. On

a conviction of selling or exposing for sale, or having in his

possession or on his premises unsound meat, the court may also revoke

the licence.

Hackney carriages, &c.

Certain police regulations contained in the Town Police Clauses Act

1847 are by virtue of the Public Health Act 1875 in force in all urban

districts. These relate to obstructions and nuisances in streets,

fires, places of public resort, hackney carriages and public bathing.

An urban council may also license proprietors, drivers and conductors

of horses, ponies, mules or asses standing for hiring in the district

in the same way as in the case of hackney carriages, and they may also

license pleasure boats and vessels, and the boatmen or persons in

charge thereof, and they may make by-laws for all these purposes.

Contracts, purchase of lands.

Every district council may enter into such contracts as are necessary

for carrying into execution the various purposes of the Public Health

Acts. A district council being a corporation, the general law applies

in the case of a rural council that they must contract under their

common seal, the exception to this rule including the doing of acts

very frequently recurring or too insignificant to be worth the trouble

of affixing the common seal. In the case of an urban council certain

stringent regulations are laid down. A contract made by an urban

council, whereof the value and amount exceed L50, must be under seal,

and certain other formalities must be observed, some of which are

imperative; for example, the taking of sureties from the contractor,

and the making provision for penalties to be paid by him in case the

terms of the contract are not observed. Every local authority may

also, for purposes of the act, purchase or take on lease, sell or

exchange, any lands. Such lands as are not required for the purpose

for which they were purchased must, unless the Local Government Board

otherwise direct, be sold. Powers of compulsory purchase of lands are

also given under the Lands Clauses Acts, but before these can be put

in operation certain conditions must be observed. The Local Government

Board must make inquiry into the propriety of allowing the lands to be

taken, and the power to acquire the lands compulsorily can only be

conferred by means of a provisional order confirmed by parliament.

By-laws.

With regard to the by-laws which district councils may make for many

purposes, the subjects of which have been already from time to time

mentioned, it is only necessary to state that these require to be

confirmed by the Local Government Board. Such confirmation does not,

however, give validity to a by-law which cannot be justified by the

provisions of the act, and many by-laws which have been so confirmed

have been held to be invalid under the general law as being uncertain,

unreasonable or repugnant to the law of the realm. For the guidance of

local authorities, the Local Government Board have from time to time

issued model series of by-laws dealing with the various subjects for

which by-laws may be made, and these are for the most part followed

throughout England and Wales.

Finance.

As a general rule, all the expenses of carrying into execution the

Public Health Acts in an urban district fall upon a fund which is

called the general district fund, and that fund is provided by means

of a rate called the general district rate. To this there are some

exceptions. First, in the case of boroughs where from the time of the

first adoption of the Sanitary Acts these expenses have been paid out

of the borough rate, the expenses continue to be so paid; and in an

urban district which was formerly subject to an Improvement Act, the

expenses may be payable out of the improvement rate authorized by that

act. The general rule, however, prevails over by far the greater part

of England and Wales. The general district rate is made and levied on

the occupiers of all kinds of property for the time being assessable

to any rate for the relief of the poor, subject to a few exceptions

and conditions. Of these the first is that the owner may be rated

instead of the occupier, at the option of the urban authority, where

the value of the premises is under L10, where the premises are let to

weekly or monthly tenants, or where the premises are let in separate

apartments, or the rents become payable or are collected at any

shorter period than quarterly. When the owner is rated he must be

assessed upon a certain proportion only of the net annual value of the

premises. The owners or occupiers of certain specified properties are

assessed in respect of the same in the proportion of one-fourth part

only of the net annual value thereof. These properties include tithes,

tithe commutation rent charge, land used as arable, meadow or pasture

ground only, or as woodlands, market gardens or nursery grounds,

orchards, allotments, any land covered with water such as the

reservoir of a waterworks company, or used only as a canal or

towing-path of the same, or as a railway constructed under the powers

of any Act of Parliament for public conveyance. The reason for these

partial exemptions apparently is that sanitary arrangements are made

chiefly for the benefit of houses and buildings, while the properties

just enumerated do not receive the same amount of benefit. The only

other point to be noticed in this connexion is that an urban council

may divide their district into parts for all or any of the purposes of

the act, rating each part separately for those purposes. The expenses

of highways in an urban district fall as a rule upon the general

district rate, but under certain conditions, which need not be here

set out, a separate highway rate may have to be levied. The urban

council have extensive powers of amending the rate, and the rate is

collected in such manner as the urban authority may appoint.

The expenses of a rural district council are of two kinds. Of these

the first is called general expenses, and it includes the expense of

the establishment and officers of the council, of disinfection,

providing of conveyance for infected persons, and the expenses of

highways. These expenses are payable out of a common fund which is

raised out of the poor rate of the several parishes in the district,

according to the rateable value of each. Special expenses include the

expenses of the construction and maintenance and cleansing of sewers,

providing water-supply, and all other expenses incurred or payable in

respect of a parish or contributory place within the district

determined by order of the Local Government Board to be special

expenses. The expression "contributory place" means a place other than

a parish chargeable with special expenses. For the most part it has

reference only to what is called a special drainage district, that is

to say, a district formed out of one or more parishes or parts of

parishes for the purpose of the provision of a common water-supply, or

scheme of sewerage, or the like, and in the event of such a district

including part only of a parish, the remaining portion would, so far

as the special expenses for which the district was created are

concerned, be a separate contributory place. These special expenses

are chargeable to each parish or contributory place, and they are

defrayed by means of special sanitary rates, such rates being raised

on all property assessed to the relief of the poor, but with the same

exemptions of certain properties as have been mentioned under the head

of general district rate in urban districts.

Borrowing powers.

District councils are empowered to borrow with the sanction of the

Local Government Board, subject to certain restrictions and

regulations. The money must be borrowed for permanent works, the

expenses of which ought in the opinion of the Local Government Board

to be spread over a term of years which must not exceed sixty. The

sums borrowed must not exceed, with the outstanding loans, the amount

of the assessable value for two years of the district for which the

money is borrowed; and if the sum borrowed would, with the outstanding

loans, exceed the assessable value for one year, the sanction of the

Local Government Board may not be given except after local inquiry.

The money may be repaid by equal instalments of principal, or of

principal and interest, or by means of a sinking fund.

Audit.

Where the urban council are the council of a borough, their accounts

as urban council are made up and audited in the same ineffective

manner as has already been mentioned in the case of the accounts of

the council under the Municipal Corporations Act, but each of the

borough auditors receives remuneration for auditing the accounts of

the council as urban district council. Where the urban council are not

the council of a borough, the accounts are made up annually, and

audited by the district auditor in the same effective manner as has

already been mentioned in the case of the accounts of a county

council. The accounts of a rural district council are made up

half-yearly and are audited in the same way.

Proceedings against district councils.

The Public Authorities Protection Act 1893 was passed to repeal the

numerous provisions contained in many acts of parliament, whereby,

before legal proceedings could be taken against a public body, notice

of action had to be given and the proceedings commenced within a

certain limited time. The act applies to all public authorities,

including, of course, district councils, and it provides in effect

that where any action or legal proceeding is taken against a council

for any act done in pursuance or execution, or intended execution, of

an act of parliament, or of any public duty or authority, the action

must be commenced within six months next after the act, neglect or

default complained of, or in the case of a continuance of injury or

damage, within six months next after the ceasing thereof. And it

provides further that, in the event of the judgment of the court being

given in favour of the council, the council shall be entitled to

recover their costs taxed as between solicitor and client. Notice of

action is abolished in every case.

Housing of the working classes.

Among other acts which are either incorporated with the Public Health

Acts or have been passed subsequently to them, one of the most

important is the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890. It contains

three distinct parts. Under the first an urban district council may,

by means of a scheme, acquire, rearrange and reconstruct an area which

has been proved to be insanitary. The scheme has to be confirmed by

the Local Government Board, and carried out by means of a provisional

order. The second part of the act deals with unhealthy

dwelling-houses, and requires the urban district council to take steps

for the closing of any dwelling-houses within their district which are

unfit for human habitation. The third part of the act deals with what

is called in the act working-class lodging-houses. But the expression

is a little misleading, for it includes separate houses or cottages

for the working classes, whether containing one or several tenements,

and the expression "cottage" may include a garden of not more than

half an acre, provided that the estimated annual value of such garden

shall not exceed L3. This part of the act may be adopted by a rural

district council, but an urban district council can carry it into

execution without formal adoption. Land may be acquired for erecting

lodging-houses as above defined, and these, when erected, may be

managed and let by the council.

Baths and wash-houses.

The urban district council may adopt the provisions of the Baths and

Washhouses Acts, and thereunder provide public baths, wash-houses,

open bathing-places, covered swimming baths, which they may close in

the winter months and use as gymnasia.

Tramways.

Under the Tramways Act 1870 the urban district council may obtain from

the Board of Trade a provisional order authorizing the construction of

tramways in their district by themselves. Any private persons, and any

corporation or company may, with the consent of the council, obtain

the like authority, but the Board of Trade have power in certain cases

to dispense with the consent of the local authority. Where the order

is obtained by a person or body other than the district council, the

council may purchase the undertaking at the end of twenty-one years

after the tramways have been constructed or at the expiration of every

subsequent period of seven years, and the terms of purchase are that

the person or company must sell the undertaking upon payment of the

then value, exclusive of any allowance for past or future profits of

the undertaking, or any compensation for compulsory sale or other

consideration whatsoever of the tramway, and all lands, buildings,

works, materials and plant suitable to and used for the purposes of

the undertaking. It should be observed, however, that although the

local authority may themselves construct, and may acquire from the

original promoters a system of tramways, they may not themselves work

them without special authority of the legislature, and must in general

let the working of the undertaking to some person or company.

Bills in Parliament and legal proceedings.

Under the Borough Funds Act 1872 the urban district council may, if in

their judgment it is expedient, promote or oppose any local and

personal bill or bills in parliament, or may prosecute or defend any

legal proceedings necessary for the promotion or protection of the

interests of the district, and may charge the costs incurred in so

doing to the rates under their control. The power to incur

parliamentary costs, however, is subject to several important

restrictions. The resolution to promote or oppose the bill must in the

first instance have been carried by an absolute majority of the whole

number of the council at a meeting convened by special notice, and

afterwards confirmed by the like majority. The resolution must have

been published in newspapers circulated in the district, and must have

received the consent of the Local Government Board or of a secretary

of state, if the matter is one within his jurisdiction; and further,

the expenses must not be incurred unless the promotion or opposition

has been assented to by the owners and ratepayers of the district

assembled at a meeting convened for the purpose of considering the

matter, and if necessary, signified by a poll. Moreover, the expenses

must, before they can be charged to the rates, be examined and allowed

by some person authorized by a secretary of state or the Local

Government Board, as the case may be.

Under the Pawnbrokers Act 1872 the licences to pawnbrokers, which were

formerly granted by justices, are now granted by district councils.

Adulteration.

Under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts certain important duties devolve

upon medical officers and inspectors of nuisances who are officers of

district councils. But for the most part the acts do not impose upon

district councils themselves any special powers or duties, although,

as a matter of fact, prosecutions for offences are usually undertaken

by the district councils, and the expenses of the execution of the

acts are paid out of their funds. In quarter sessions boroughs,

however, where the council have the duty of appointing a public

analyst, they are under an obligation to put the acts in force from

time to time, as occasion may arise. The acts themselves must be

consulted for the procedure, beginning with the taking of samples and

ending with the conviction of an offender.

Rivers pollution.

The powers and duties of a district council under the Rivers Pollution

Prevention Act 1876 have been incidentally noticed when dealing with

county councils, whose powers under the acts are precisely the same.

Electric lighting.

Under the Electric Lighting Acts the Board of Trade may license any

district council to supply electricity, or may grant to them a

provisional order for the same purpose. A similar licence or order may

be granted to a private person or company to supply electricity within

the district of a district council, but in that case the consent of

the district council must be given, unless the Board of Trade, for

special reasons, dispense with such consent. These licences are now

rarely applied for or granted, and the provisions which were formerly

contained in the provisional orders have now been consolidated by the

Electric Lighting Clauses Act 1899, the effect of which will be to

make provisional orders uniform for the future. It is now almost the

exception, at least in urban districts, to find a district council

which has not obtained a provisional order under these acts, and for

the most part the undertakings of local authorities in the way of

supplying electricity have been very prosperous.

Allotments.

Under the Allotment Acts district councils were empowered to provide

allotments for the labouring population of their district, if they

were satisfied that there was a demand for allotments, that these

could not be obtained at a reasonable rent by voluntary arrangement,

and that the land could be let at such a price as would not involve a

loss to the council. The district council might acquire land, let it

and regulate it, and they might provide common pasture. These powers

were, by an act of 1907, transferred to parish councils.

Public libraries.

The urban district council execute the Public Libraries Acts for their

district, and the rate for the expenses of the acts, which may not

exceed 1d. in the L, is in a borough in the nature of a borough rate,

and in any other urban district in the nature of a general district

rate. Under the acts not only public libraries, but also public

museums, schools for science, art galleries and schools for art, with

the necessary buildings, furniture, fittings and conveniences, may be

provided for the inhabitants of the district. Land may be acquired,

and money borrowed, for the purposes of the acts.

A great number of other statutes confer powers or impose duties upon

district councils, such as the acts relating to town gardens,

agricultural gangs, fairs, petroleum, infant life protection, commons,

open spaces, canal boats, factories and workshops, margarine, sale of

horse-flesh and shop hours.

The parish and the parish council.

Before the passing of the Local Government Act 1894 there was really

nothing in the form of local government for a parish. It is true that

the inhabitants in vestry had certain powers. They could adopt various

acts, which will be more particularly referred to hereafter, and they

could appoint the persons who were to carry these acts into execution.

They elected the churchwardens and overseers, the highway surveyor, if

the parish was a separate unit for highway purposes, and the waywardens

if it was included in a highway district. But there was nothing in the

nature of a representative body exercising any powers of government in

the parish regarded as a separate area. Under the act of 1894 this was

changed. In every rural parish, that is to say, in every parish which is

not included within an urban district, there is a parish meeting, which

consists of the parochial electors of the parish. As already stated,

these are the persons whose names are on the parliamentary and local

government registers. If the parish has a population exceeding 300, a

parish council must be elected. If it has a population of 100 or

upwards, the county council are bound to make an order for the election

of a parish council if the parish meeting so resolves. Where there is no

parish council, as will be seen hereafter, the various powers conferred

upon a council are exercised by the parish meeting itself. Two or more

parishes may be grouped together under a common parish council by order

of the county council if the parish meetings of each parish consent. An

annual parish meeting in every rural parish must be held on the 25th day

of March or within seven days before or after that date; and if there is

no parish council, there must be at least one other parish meeting in

the year. At the annual parish meeting the parish council, if there is

one, is elected, and the members of the council, who originally held

office for one year only, now, under a subsequent act, hold office for

three years. Any person who is a parochial elector, or who has for

twelve months preceding the election resided in the parish, or within 3

m. thereof, may be elected parish councillor, and the number of

councillors is to be fixed from time to time by the county council, not

being less than five nor more than fifteen. Women, whether married or

single, are eligible.

Powers to appoint overseers.

The council are elected in manner provided by the rules of the Local

Government Board. The rules now in force will be found in the

_Statutory Rules and Orders_. They are very similar to those which are

in force with reference to the elections of district councils, which

have already been noticed. If a poll is demanded, it must be taken

under the Ballot Act, as applied by the rules, and for all practical

purposes it may be taken that the election proceeds in the same manner

as that of a district council. The parish council elects a chairman

annually. He may be one of their own number, or some other person

qualified to be a parish councillor. The council is a body corporate,

may hold land in mortmain, and can appoint committees for its own

parish or jointly with any other parish council. Among the powers

conferred upon a parish council are those of appointing overseers and

of appointing and revoking the appointment of assistant overseers.

Churchwardens are no longer overseers, and the parish council may

appoint as overseers a number of persons equal to the number formerly

appointed as overseers and churchwardens. It may be useful to mention

here that for purposes of the administration of the poor law,

overseers no longer act, their duties in that respect having been

superseded by the guardians. They remain, however, the rating

authority so far as regards the poor rate and nearly all other rates,

the exceptions being the general district rate in an urban district

and the borough rate in a borough, made by the town council. They

still have power to give relief to poor persons in case of sudden and

urgent necessity, but their principal duty is that of rating

authority, and they are bound to make out the lists for their parishes

of jurors and electors. No payment is made to them. The office is

compulsory, but certain persons are privileged from being elected to

it. The assistant overseer, who was formerly nominated by the

inhabitants and vestry and then formally appointed by justices, is

now, as has been stated, appointed by the parish council. He holds

office at pleasure, and receives such remuneration as the council fix,

and he performs all the duties of an overseer, or such of them as may

be prescribed by the terms of his appointment. There may be in a

parish a collector of rates appointed by the guardians. In that event,

an assistant overseer cannot be appointed to perform the duties of

collector of rates, but, on the other hand, the parish council may

invest the collector with any of the powers of an overseer. The parish

council may appoint a clerk, who may be either one of their own number

without payment, or the assistant overseer, rate collector or some

other fit person, with remuneration.

Powers and duties of parish councils.

Among the duties transferred to parish councils may be mentioned the

provision of parish books and of a vestry room or parochial office,

parish chest, fire engine or fire escape, the holding or management of

parish property, other than property relating to affairs of the church

or held for an ecclesiastical charity, the holding or management of

village greens or of allotments, the appointment of trustees of

parochial charities other than ecclesiastical charities in certain

cases, and certain limited powers with reference to the supply of

water to the parish, the removal of nuisances, and the acquisition of

rights of way which are beneficial to the inhabitants.

Among the most important of the matters which concern a rural parish

is the administration of what are commonly called the adoptive acts.

These include the Lighting and Watching Act, the Baths and Washhouses

Acts, the Burial Acts, the Public Improvement Act and the Public

Libraries Acts. The

Lighting and Watching Act.

Baths and Washhouses Acts.

Burial Acts.

Lighting and Watching Act was formerly adopted for a parish, or part

of a parish, by the inhabitants in vestry, who elected lighting

inspectors, of whom one-third went out of office in every year. The

inspectors took the necessary steps for having the parish lighted (the

provisions as to watching having been obsolete for many years), and

the expenses of lighting were raised by the overseers upon an order

issued to them by the inspectors. The owners and occupiers of houses,

buildings and property, other than land, pay a rate in the L three

times greater than that at which the owners and occupiers of land are

rated and pay for the purposes of the act. Now this act, like the

other adoptive acts, can only be adopted by the parish meeting, and

where adopted for part only of a parish, must be adopted by a parish

meeting held for that part. After the adoption of the act it is

carried into execution by the parish council, if there is one, and if

not, by the parish meeting, and the expenses are raised in the same

manner as heretofore. The Baths and Washhouses Acts have already been

referred to in dealing with district councils, and it is sufficient to

say that they are now adopted and administered in a rural parish in

the manner pointed out with reference to the Lighting and Watching

Act. The same may be said of the Burial Acts, but these are

sufficiently important to require special notice. These acts contain

provisions whereby burials may be prohibited in urban districts, and

churchyards or burial grounds already existing may be closed when

full. Formerly, when the acts had been adopted by the vestry, it was

necessary to appoint a burial board to carry the acts into execution

and provide and manage burial grounds. Now, in a rural parish which is

coextensive with an area for which the acts have been adopted, the

burial board is abolished and the acts are administered by the parish

council; and the acts cannot be adopted in a rural parish save by the

parish meeting. If the area under a burial board in 1894 was partly in

a rural parish and partly in an urban district, the burial board was

superseded, and the powers of the board are exercised by a joint

committee appointed partly by the urban district council and partly by

the parish council, or parish meeting, as the case may be. In a rural

parish where there is no parish council, though the acts are adopted

by the parish meeting, it is still necessary to elect the burial

board, and that board will be elected by the parish meeting. The

distinction between a burial ground under the Burial Acts and a

cemetery provided under the Public Health Acts has already been

noticed. A burial ground, properly so called, has to be divided into

consecrated and unconsecrated portions, and the former really takes

the place of the parish churchyard; and the incumbent of the parish

church, the clerk, and the sexton continue to receive the same fees

upon burials in the consecrated portion as they would have done in the

parish churchyard. It has been mentioned that a portion of the burial

ground must be left unconsecrated. But this is subject to one

important exception, that the parish meeting may unanimously resolve

that the whole of the burial ground shall be consecrated. In that

case, however, the parish council may, within ten years thereafter,

determine that a separate unconsecrated burial ground shall also be

provided for the parish. The expenses of the execution of the Burial

Acts are provided by the overseers out of the poor rate upon the

certificate of the body entrusted with the execution of them. In the

event of the acts being adopted for a portion only of a rural parish,

the burial board, or the parish meeting, may by resolution transfer

all the powers of the board to the parish council.

Public Improvement Act.

The Public Improvement Act, when adopted, enables a parish council to

purchase or lease, or accept gifts of land for the purpose of forming

public walks, exercise or play grounds, and to provide for the expense

by means of a parish improvement rate. Before any such rate is

imposed, however, a sum in amount not less than at least half of the

estimated cost of the proposed improvement must have been raised by

private subscription or donation, and the rate must not exceed

sixpence in the L.

Public Libraries Acts.

The Public Libraries Acts enable the authority adopting them to

provide public libraries, museums, schools for science, art galleries

and schools for art. The expenses in a rural parish are defrayed by

means of a rate raised with, and as part of, the poor rate, with a

qualification to the effect that agricultural land, market gardens and

nursery grounds are to be assessed to the rate at one-third only of

their rateable value.

Finance: expenses of parish council.

The expenses of a parish council may not, without the consent of a

parish meeting, exceed the amount of a rate of threepence in the L for

the financial year; but with the consent of the parish meeting the

limit may be increased to sixpence, exclusive of expenses under the

adoptive acts. If it is necessary to borrow, the consent of the parish

meeting and of the county council must be obtained. The expenses are

payable out of the poor rate by the overseers on the precept of the

parish council.

One of the most important powers conferred upon a parish council is

that which enables them to prevent stoppage or diversion of any public

right of way without their consent and without the approval of the

parish meeting. The council may also complain to the county council

that the district council have failed to sewer their parish or provide

a proper water-supply, or generally to enforce the provisions of the

Burial Acts; and upon such complaint, if ascertained to be well

founded, the county council may transfer to themselves the powers and

duties of the district council, or may appoint a competent person to

perform such powers and duties. In a parish which is not sufficiently

large to have a parish council, most of the powers and duties

conferred or imposed on the parish council are exercised by the parish

meeting. It may be convenient here to add that where, under the Local

Government Act 1894, the powers of a parish council are not already

possessed by an urban district council, the Local Government Board may

by order confer such powers on the urban council. This has been done

almost universally, as far as regards the power to appoint overseers

and assistant overseers, and in many cases urban councils have also

obtained powers to appoint trustees of parochial charities.

General observations.

The foregoing is a sketch of the scheme of local government carried out

in England and Wales. No attempt has been made to deal with poor law

(q.v.) or education (q.v.). The local administration of justice

devolving upon the justices in quarter or petty sessions is hardly a

matter of local government, although in one important respect, that,

namely, of the licensing of premises for the sale of intoxicating

liquors, it may be thought that the duties of justices fall within the

scope of local government. It will be seen that the scheme, as at

present existing, has for its object the simplification of local

government by the abolition of unnecessary independent authorities, and

that this has been carried out almost completely, the principal

exception being that in some cases burial boards still exist which have

not been superseded either by urban district councils or by parish

councils or parish meetings. There are also some matters of local

administration arising under what are called commissions of sewers.

These exist for the purpose of regulating drainage, and providing

defence against water in fen lands or lands subject to floods from

rivers or tidal waters. The commissioners derive their authority from

the Sewers Commission Acts, which date from the time of Henry VIII.,

from the Land Drainage Act 1861, and from various local acts. It is

unnecessary, however, to consider in any detail the powers exercised by

commissioners of sewers in the few areas under their control.

AUTHORITIES.--G. L. Gomme, _Lectures on the Principles of Local

Government_; S. and B. Webb, _English Local Government_; Redlich and

Hirst, _Local Government in England_; Wright and Hobhouse, _Local

Government and Local Taxation_; W. Blake Odgers, _Local Government_;

Alex. Glen and W. E. Gordon, _The Law of County Government_; Alex.

Glen, _The Law relating to Public Health_; _The Law relating to

Highways_; W. J. Lumley, _The Public Health Acts_ (6th ed., by

Macmorran and Dill); Macmorran and Dill, _The Local Government Act

1888_, &c.; _The Local Government Act 1894_, &c.; Hobhouse and

Fairbairn, _The County Councillors' Guide_; Pratt, _The Law of

Highways_ (15th ed., by W. Mackenzie); Archbold, _Law of Quarter

Sessions_ (4th ed., by Mead and Croft); J. Brooke Little, _The Law of

Burials_; Archbold, _On Lunacy_ (4th ed., by S. G. Lushington).

(A. McM.; T. A. I.)

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Among earlier works devoted to, or dealing largely with topography, a

few may be mentioned out of a considerable mass. W. Camden,

_Britannia; sive florentissimorum regnorum Angliae, Scotiae, Hiberniae

... chorographica descriptio_ (1586 and subsequent editions; in

Latin, but translated by several successive writers both in Camden's

time and later); M. Drayton, _Poly-Olbion_ (a descriptive poem, first

issued in a complete form in 1622); T. Fuller, _History of the

Worthies of England_ (1662); J. Leland, _Itinerary_, and

_Collectanea_, edited by T. Hearne respectively in 1710 and 1715; T.

Cox and A. Hall, _Magna Britannia_ (1720, based on Camden's

_Britannia_, in English); D. Defoe, _Tour through the whole Island of

Great Britain ... divided into Circuits or Journeys_ (1724-1727);

various works of Thomas Pennant, published between 1741 and 1820, and,

at the same period, of Arthur Young (topographical treatises on

agriculture, &c.); W. Gilpin, _Observations on Picturesque Beauty made

in the Year 1776 in several Parts of Great Britain_ (1778); _Essays on

Prints and Early Engravings; Western Parts of England_ (1798), and

other works on various districts; _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1731-1868);

E. W. Brayley, J. Britton and others, _Beauties of England and Wales,

or, Original Delineation, Topographical, Historical and Descriptive,

of each County_ (1801-1818; both the authors named wrote other

descriptive works on special localities; Britton wrote _Architectural

Antiquities of Great Britain_, 1835); Daniel Lysons (with the

collaboration of his brother Samuel), _Magna Britannia_,

_Topographical Account of the several Counties of Great Britain_

(1806-1822; the counties were taken alphabetically but on the death of

Samuel Lysons in 1819 the work was stopped at Devonshire); Sir G.

Head, _Home Tour in the Manufacturing Districts of England_ (1835);

Nathaniel Hawthorne, _English Notebooks_ (1870). Among modern

publications, out of a great mass of works of more or less popular

character, there may be mentioned the well-known series of _Murray's

Guides_, in which each volume treats of a county or group of counties.

Early in the 20th century the _Victoria History of the Counties of

England_ (dedicated to Queen Victoria) began to appear; its volumes

deal with each county from every aspect--natural history, prehistoric

and historic antiquities, ethnography, history, economic conditions,

topography and sport being dealt with by authorities in all branches.

The maps of the Ordnance, Geological and Hydrographic Surveys

delineate the configuration and geology of England and the adjacent

seas with a completeness unsurpassed in any other country. For

ordinary detailed work the best series of maps is found in

Bartholomew's _Survey Atlas of England and Wales_ (Edinburgh

Geographical Institute, 1903), which, besides small distributional,

physical and other maps and letterpress, contains a magnificent series

of coloured-contour maps on the scale of 1/2 in. to 1 m. (also issued

in larger separate sheets).

Statistics of every kind--of climate, agriculture, mining,

manufactures, trade, population, births, marriages, deaths, disease,

migration, education--are liberally furnished by government agencies.

See also A. J. Jukes-Brown, _The Building of the British Islands_

(London, 1888); Sir A. C. Ramsay, _Physical Geography and Geology of

Great Britain_, edited by H. B. Woodward (London, 1894); Lord Avebury,

_The Scenery of England and the Causes to which it is due_ (London,

1902); Sir A. Geikie, _Geological Map of England and Wales_ (scale, 10

m. to 1 in.; Edinburgh, 1897); E. Reclus, _Universal Geography_, vol.

iv., _The British Isles_, edited by E. G. Ravenstein (London, 1880);

H. J. Mackinder, _Britain and the British Seas_ (2nd ed., Oxford,

1907); G. G. Chisholm, "On the Distribution of Towns and Villages in

England," in _Geographical Journal_, vol. ix. (1897), pp. 76-87; vol.

x. (1897), pp. 511-530; A. Haviland, _The Geographical Distribution of

Disease in Great Britain_ (London, 1892); A. Buchan, "The Mean

Atmospheric Temperature and Pressure of the British Islands" (with

maps), _Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society_, vol. xi.

(1898), pp. 3-41; W. M. Davis, "The Development of Certain English

Rivers," _Geographical Journal_, vol. v. (1895), pp. 127-148; H. R.

Mill, "The Mean and Extreme Rainfall of the British Isles," _Min.

Proc. Inst. C.E._ (1904), vol. clv. part i.; "A Fragment of the

Geography of England--South-west Sussex," _Geographical Journal_, vol.

xv. (1900), p. 205; "England and Wales viewed Geographically,"

_Geographical Journal_, vol. xxiv. (1904), pp. 621-636.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The general questions capable of a single treatment for England,

Scotland and Ireland are considered under UNITED KINGDOM.

[2] Measurements made on a map on the scale of 12-1/2 m. to 1 in., the

coast being assumed to run up estuaries until the breadth became 1

m., and no bays or headlands of less than 1 m. across being reckoned.

The coast-line of Anglesea and the Isle of Wight, but of no other

islands, is included.

[3] A separate topographical notice is given under the heading WALES,

but the consideration of certain points affecting Wales as linked

with England is essential in this article.

[4] The figures given here are for the ancient or geographical

counties. Section IX., on _Territorial Divisions_, indicates the

departures from the ancient county boundaries made for certain

purposes of administration. Each county is treated in a separate

article in the topographical, geological, economical and historical

aspects. Further topographical details are given in separate articles

on the more important hill-systems, rivers, &c.

[5] Partly belonging to Scotland.

[6] The principal members of the Humber-system are the Ouse of

Yorkshire (121 m. long from the source of the Swale or Ure) and the

Trent (170 m.), qq.v. for their numerous important tributaries.

[7] Including the Medway (680 sq. m.) in the drainage area.

[8] Including the Wye (1609 sq. m.) and the Lower Avon (891 sq. m.)

in the drainage area.

[9] These rivers have their earlier courses in Wales, and flow at

first to some point of east. Of wholly Welsh rivers only the Towy and

the Teifi are comparable in length and drainage area with the smaller

rivers in the above list (see WALES).

[10] From the source of its headstream the Goyt.

[11] As in Bartholomew's Survey Atlas of England and Wales (1903).

[12] The figures are for Registration Counties (see classification of

_Territorial Divisions_, below).

[13] Census of England and Wales, 1901; General Report, p. 15.

[14] Certain great offices of state are closed to Roman Catholics.

[15] The actual selection of the bishops is in practice in the hands

of the prime minister for the time being. This formerly led to purely

political appointments; but it is usual now to select clergymen

approved by public opinion.

[16] In 1906.

[17] There are in addition some thousands of Presbyterians

unconnected with the church, including members of the Church of

Scotland.

[18] Great Britain and Ireland, 1906.

[19] On September 17, 1907, the United Methodist Free Churches, the

Methodist New Connexion, and the Bible Christians were united under

the name of the United Methodist Church.

[20] The figure 17.76 is the percentage for the whole of Yorkshire.

[21] The West Midlands (Shropshire, &c.) include the coal-fields of

Shrewsbury, Leebotwood, Coalbrookdale, the Clee Hills and the Forest

of Wyre.

[22] The Forest of Dean coal-field is in Gloucestershire.

[23] The coal-field of Monmouthshire belongs properly to, and in the

Report is classified with, the great coal-field of South Wales.

ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF. The Church of England claims to be a branch of

the Catholic and Apostolic Church; it is episcopal in its essence and

administration, and is established by law in that the state recognizes

it as the national church of the English people, an integral part of the

constitution of the realm. It existed, in name and in fact, as the

church of the English people centuries before that people became a

united nation, and, in spite of changes in doctrine and ritual, it

remains the same church that was planted in England at the end of the

6th century. From it the various tribes which had conquered the land

received a bond of union, and in it they beheld a pattern of a single

organized government administered by local officers, to which they

gradually attained in their secular polity. In England, then, the state

is in a sense the child of the church. The doctrines of the English

Church may be gathered from its Book of Common Prayer (see PRAYER, BOOK

OF COMMON) as finally revised in 1661, with the form of ordaining and

consecrating bishops, priests and deacons, with the exception of the

services for certain days which were abrogated in 1859; from the XXXIX

Articles (see CREEDS), published with royal authority in 1571; and from

the First and Second Books of Homilies of 1549 and 1562 respectively,

which are declared in Article XXXV. to contain sound doctrine.

Christianity in Roman Britain.

The British church.