for London v. The Greenwich District Board of Works, The School Board of Rochdale v. The Mayor, &c., of Rochdale, and The School Board of Birmingham v. The Mayor, &c., of Birmingham. A mandamus was granted in each case.

In the case of the Shelley School Board v. Overseers of Shelley, which came before the Court of Queen's Bench in December 1873, a mandamus was granted requiring the payment by the overseers of the amount specified in the precept issued by the school board. The ground on which the overseers defended the non-payment of the sum in question was that the deficiency in the school fund which had made the precept necessary had been caused by the school board providing school accommodation for children not resident within the district. The Court, without calling upon the counsel for the school board, gave judgment in their favour, pointing out that it was by no means clear that, even if accommodation had been provided in excess of the requirements of the district, the proper remedy was not to object to the expenditure at the audit of the accounts. In this case, however, there was nothing to show that there was such an excess; it might well be that only sufficient accommodation had been provided for the children of the district, and that while some of them were away, or not using the accommodation, children from the neighbouring township had been permitted to avail themselves of it. This would not vitiate the precept.

(3) In a parish not included in a borough or in the metropolis, it is the duty of the overseers to pay the amount called for by the precept of the school board out of the poor rate if there is money in hand available for the purpose, but if not, they should forthwith make a new poor rate, and that rate may provide also for other liabilities of the parish. The overseers are to set out in the demand notes the proportion of the rate required to meet the call of the school board, but no such entry should be made in the rate book. As the rate out of which the precept of the school board is to be discharged is a poor rate, the collector of poor rates, or the assistant overseer, if his duty includes the collection of the poor rate, is bound to collect it, and will not be entitled to claim any remuneration beyond his salary for the service.

When a parish is partly within and partly without a municipal borough, it would, independently of legal objections, be inequitable for the overseers to pay out of the sums raised by the general poor rate of the parish the amount required by a precept to meet the expenses of the school board for the part of the parish which is outside the borough. The case will, however, be met by the levy of a separate rate in that part of the parish by an officer appointed under sec. 56 of this Act, or by the levy by the overseers of the parish of a rate in the nature of a poor rate, in the part of the parish, either as a separate rate or as an addition to the poor rate, under sec. 49 of the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post.

Apportionment of School Fund in United and
Contributory District.

55. In a united district the school board shall apportion the amount required to meet the deficiency in the school fund among the districts constituting such united district in proportion to the rateable value of each such constituent

district, and may raise the same by a precept sent to the rating authority of each constituent district.

Where one school district contributes to the expenses of the schools in another school district, the authority of the school-owning district may send their precept either to the school board, if any, or to the rating authority of the contributing district, requiring them to pay to their treasurer the amount therein specified, and such authority or board shall pay the same accordingly, and the receipt of the treasurer shall be a good discharge for the same, and such amount, if paid by the school board, shall be paid out of the school fund.

The precept, if sent to the rating authority, either on the default of the school board or otherwise, shall be deemed to be a precept for meeting a deficiency in the school fund, and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly.

See sec. 79 as to rateable value, and sec. 54 as to precepts.

Remedy of School Board on Default of Rating Authority, &c. 56. In either of the following cases, that is to say, (1.) If the rating authority of any place make default in paying the amount specified in any precept of the school board; or

(2.) Where a school board require to raise a sum from any place which is part of a parish, (1)

then, without prejudice to any other remedy, (2) the school board may appoint an officer or officers to act within such place; and the officer or officers so from time to time appointed shall have within the said place, for the purpose of defraying the sum due from such place, all the powers of the rating authority of levying the local rate and any contributions thereto, and also all the powers of making and levying a rate which he or they would have if the said place were a parish, and such rate were a rate for the relief of the poor, and he or they were duly appointed an overseer or overseers of such parish, and he and they shall have such access to and use of the documents of the rating authority of such place relative to the local rate, and of all the valuation lists and rate books of the parish or parishes comprised in or comprising such place, as he or they may require. (3)

(1) This provision will meet the cases of parishes partly within and partly without a municipal borough, and parts of parishes which have been constituted separate school districts under sec. 12 of the 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, post. But see also with reference to these cases sec. 49 of the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post, which enables the overseers of a parish to levy in the part of the parish which forms a separate school district a rate in the nature of a poor rate, either as a separate rate or an addition to the poor rate.

The accounts of the overseers with reference to a rate made in respect of part of a parish for the purposes of this Act will be audited by the district auditor in pursuance of the provisions contained in the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 61, sec. 37. See note on sec. 49 of 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post.

(2) As to enforcement of precepts by mandamus, see sec. 54, note.

(3) The section contains no provision with regard to the remuneration of an officer appointed by the school board for the purpose referred to. If the remuneration is assigned to the officer under sec. 35, in the case of a united school district, it would appear that the several places included in the district would have to bear the charge of any remuneration awarded to the officer, although it would be equitable that the expense should be borne exclusively by the place in respect of which the appointment was rendered necessary.

Borrowing by School Board.

57. Where a school board incur any expense in providing or enlarging a schoolhouse, they may, with the consent of the Education Department, spread the payment over several years, not exceeding fifty, and may for that purpose borrow money on the security of the school fund and local rate, and may charge that fund and the local rate with the payment of the principal and interest due in respect of the loan. They may, if they so agree with the mortgagee, pay the amount borrowed with the interest, by equal annual instalments, not exceeding fifty, and if they do not so agree, they shall annually set aside one-fiftieth of the sum borrowed, as a sinking fund. For the purpose of such borrowing the clauses of" The Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847," with respect to the mortgages to be executed by the commissioners, shall be incorporated with this Act; and in the construction of those clauses for the purpose of this Act, this Act shall be deemed to be the special Act, and the school board which is borrowing shall be deemed to be the commissioners. The Public Works Loan Commissioners may, on the recommendation of the Education Department, lend any money required under this section on the security of the school fund and local rate without requiring any further or other security, such loan to be repaid within a period not exceeding fifty years, and to bear interest at the rate of three and a half per centum per

annum.

This section is repealed by sec. 28 of the 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, post. The substituted provisions with regard to borrowing powers are contained in sec. 10 of that Act.

See also secs. 15 and 42 of the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post, as to further borrowing powers of school boards.

Borrowing by School Board for London.

58. Any sum borrowed by the School Board for London in pursuance of this Act, with the approval of the Education Department, may be borrowed from and may be lent by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and section thirty-seven of The Metropolitan Board of Works Loan Act, 1869, shall apply to such loan in the same manner as if the managers therein mentioned were the School Board for London, and there were added to the sum therein authorised to be borrowed the sum authorised by the Education Department to be borrowed under this section.

The 37th sec. of the Metropolitan Board of Works Loan Act provides as follows:-"Where the managers of the Metropolitan Asylum District require to borrow money under the Metropolitan Poor Act, 1867, and the Acts amending the same, such managers may borrow and the board may lend on the security authorised by those Acts such sums as the managers may have been authorised by the Poor Law Board, in pursuance of those Acts, to borrow, not exceeding in the whole five hundred thousand pounds.” "For the purpose of raising the money so lent to the managers, the board may create consolidated stock under the provisions of this Act, in like manner and with the like sanction as they may create the same for the purpose of raising money for the purposes of the Acts mentioned in the first Schedule to this Act, and all the provisions of this Act shall apply as if such money were raised and stock were created for the purposes of the last-mentioned Acts, with this exception, that the money required in pursuance of this section may be borrowed by the board in addition to the sum limited by this Act. All sums received by the board from the said managers in respect of interest on or the principal of such loan shall be carried to the Metropolitan Consolidated Loans Fund. Notwithstanding anything in the Metropolitan Poor Act, 1867, and the Acts amending the same, the amount so lent by the board shall be repaid to them by the said managers, with interest, within such period not exceeding sixty years as may be agreed upon between the board and the said managers, subject to the approval of the Treasury. The board may lend and the managers may borrow money in pursuance of this section for the purpose of repaying any loan due at the passing of this Act from the said managers. The board and the said managers may execute all such deeds and documents and do all such acts as may be necessary or expedient for carrying this section into effect."

ACCOUNTS And Audit.

Accounts to be made up and examined.

59. The accounts of the school board shall be made up and balanced to the twenty-fifth of March and twenty-ninth of September in every year. The accounts shall be examined by the school board and signed by the chairman within fourteen days after the day to which they are made up. As soon as practicable after the accounts are so signed they shall be audited.

This section is repealed by sec. 28 of the 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, post. The substituted provisions are contained in sec. 17 of that Act.

Audit of Accounts.

60. With respect to the audit of accounts of the school board the following provisions shall have effect: (1.) The auditor shall be the auditor of accounts relating

to the relief of the poor for the audit district in which the school district is situate, or if it is situate in more than one audit district by the auditor of such of the said audit districts as the Poor Law Board (1) may direct, and the term audit district in this provision shall be construed to include a parish for which an auditor is separately appointed to audit the accounts for the relief of the poor. The auditor shall receive such remuneration as the Poor Law Board (1) direct, and such remuneration, together with the expenses of or incident to the audit, shall be paid by the school board out of the school fund, and if unpaid may be recovered in a summary manner: (2)

(1) The powers of the Poor Law Board are now vested in the Local Government Board, by operation of the Local Government Board Act, 1871.

(2) The remuneration of the auditor is in each case fixed by the Local Government Board, and the remuneration so fixed is intended to include the personal expenses of the auditor. The reasonable expenses incurred in travelling are considered as "expenses incident to the audit," and do not therefore require the sanction of the board. As to proceedings for the recovery of the remuneration and expenses of the auditor, see sec. 92.

(2.) The audit shall be held at the office of the school