on the occasion of the first assessment the time to be allowed for remitting the said sum shall be twelve months instead of eight months, as before provided.

XLVIII. That the said annual value of the various kinds of property to be rated under the authority of this Act shall be taken to be the rent at which, one year with another, the same might in their actual state be reasonably expected to let from year to year, under deduction of the probable annual average cost of the repairs, insurance, and other expenses, if any, necessary to maintain the heritages in their actual state, and all rates, taxes, and public charges payable in respect of the same; provided that no mine shall be assessed unless it has been worked during some part of the year preceding the day on which the assessment may be ordered to be levied.

XLIX. Provided and enacted, That in any burgh in which the free yearly proceeds of the common good, property, and revenues thereof may be judged by the magistrates thereof to be sufficient to pay the sum, or any part thereof, annually apportioned on such burgh as aforesaid, after defraying the ordinary municipal and police charges and expenses, and other annual burdens chargeable on such common good, property, or revenues, including the interest of debts due by such burgh, it shall be competent to the magistrates thereof to pay so much of the sum so apportioned on such burgh as is due by that part of the burgh entitled to such common good, property, and revenues.

L. That the assessment authorized by this Act to be assessed and collected within burghs shall be payable by the tenant or occupant of property assessed; but such tenant or occupant by whom such assessment shall be paid shall be entitled to deduct one half of such assessment from the rent payable to the proprietor or person by whom such property was let; and such assessment shall be payable at such terms as the magistrates may appoint: Provided, that one half of such assessment may be levied directly from the proprietor of property assessed within the burgh: Provided also, that where the rent is under 5l. the magistrates of any burgh may remit, on account of poverty, the whole or any part of the assessment authorized by this Act to be levied from any tenant or occupant of property within burgh.

LI. That where houses in counties or burghs have been or shall be built by the tenant of any land held under lease upon such land, the tenant and his heirs and assignees in such lease shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed and taken to be the proprietors of such houses.

LII. That for the purpose of erecting and maintaining local prisons for the custody of prisoners after conviction only, and paying the cost of such prisons and prisoners, the Commissioners of Supply of two or more counties, and the magistrates of the burghs in the said counties, at their meetings respectively to elect the county boards, shall have power to form a union of their respective counties upon such terms as they may agree upon and as may be approved of and confirmed by the general board: Provided always, that in the towns of Cupar Angus and Galashiels it shall be lawful to admit prisoners before conviction into any prison which may be erected and maintained at the mutual expense of the adjoining counties within which such towns are situated.

LIII. That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners for the issue of Exchequer bills in aid of public works, under the provisions of the several Acts already passed or which may hereafter be passed, for regulating their proceedings, from time to time to make advances to the said general board or county boards, or any of them, on the security of the property and assessments vested in the said boards and to be raised by virtue of this Act, and which security the said boards are hereby authorized to give, in such form, upon such terms, and to such effect as the said Commissioners may direct and appoint, for securing the repayment of the principal of the said advance by instalment before the expiry of this Act, with interest not exceeding 51. per centum per annum on the principal money from time to time remaining unpaid.

LIV. That no security to be given to the said Commissioners for the issue of Exchequer bills in aid of public works by the said boards shall be affected by any informality on the part of the said boards or their secretary or any other person, and that the security to be given to the said Commissioners shall have and be entitled to priority over all other securities, of what nature or kind soever, which shall be granted by the said boards, until the sums secured to the said Commissioners, with interest thereon, and all charges relating thereto, shall be fully paid and satisfied.

LV. That all sums of money payable to or on account of any one of the said boards shall be without delay paid into one of the incorporated banks of Scotland in the name of the said boards; and the account kept by the board with such bank or banks shall only be operated on by drafts or orders signed by not less than three of the directors of the said board; and it shall not be lawful for the secretary to the board, or any person intrusted with the receipt of the monies belonging thereto, to retain in his hands, of such monies, any sum exceeding 501. beyond such time as may be necessary for paying the same into an incorporated bank, declaring that such secretary or any such person shall be liable in a penalty at the rate of 51. for every 100l. for each day during which the same may have been so unnecessarily retained.

LVI. That it shall be lawful for Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, or any persons appointed by them or any of them, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenants of the several counties, the members of Her Majesty's Privy Council, the Judges of the Court of Session or Court of Justiciary, and the members of the said board of directors of prisons, and also for all sheriffs, conveners of the Commissioners of Supply of counties, Justices of the Peace, chief magistrates and bailies of burghs, members of the county prison boards, and committees thereof, and for committees of not more than three of the councillors of burghs to be appointed by such Commissioners and magistrates respectively, all within their several counties and burghs, and also for all persons to whom the board may grant such permission, to visit and inspect the state and condition of the several prisons, and discipline of prisoners therein, and from time to time, as they shall see cause, to report their observations to the general board, who shall give speedy and attentive consideration thereto; and copies of the annual reports of the proceedings of the general board, as before provided and required by this Act to be transmitted to the Secretary of State and laid before Parliament, shall be transmitted by the board to all the aforesaid persons who may desire the same, as soon as conveniently may be after the preparation and transmission thereof to the Secretary of State.

LVII. That the limits and boundaries of the said burghs shall, for the purposes of this Act, be taken and held to be according to the description and specification of such limits and boundaries determined by an Act, 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 65, intituled, VOL. XVII.-STAT. ૨

'An Act to amend the Representation of the People in Scotland:' Provided always, that in any burgh in which the ordinary jurisdiction of the magistrates shall not extend over the whole of the said boundaries, it shall be lawful to exclude therefrom, for the purposes of this Act, such part thereof, being beyond the ordinary jurisdiction of the magistrates, as may be mutually agreed on by the magistrates of the burgh and the Commissioners of Supply for the county, or, in case of disagreement, as shall be determined by the sheriff of the sheriffdom in which such burgh shall be situated: Provided also, that if the boundaries of any burgh shall not be determined by the said recited Act the same shall be determined by agreement between the magistrates and Commissioners of Supply, and, failing such agreement, by the sheriff as aforesaid: Provided further, that in cases where a burgh is situated partly in one county and partly in another, the boundaries of the said burgh shall be determined by the Commissioners of Supply of the two counties and the magistrates of the two divisions of the burgh, or, in case of disagreement, by the sheriff of that county in which the greater part of such burgh may be situated: Provided also, that the general board shall not be required to give effect to any agreement or decision respecting the boundaries of a burgh unless the same be made, and notice thereof sent to the said board, on or before the 13th of November 1840: Provided also, that in cases where a burgh is divided into two or more municipalities the magistrates of such burgh shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to be the magistrate of that municipal division which contains the greatest population.

LVIII. That it shall be lawful for any body politic, corporate, or collegiate, heir of entail, tutor, trustee, or any other person, although under any legal disability or incapacity, who shall be vested and seised in or possessed of any lands, houses, or heritages which the said general board or which any county board may desire to purchase or acquire for the purposes of this Act, to sell, dispone, and convey the same to the said board, for such fair and adequate price as shall be agreed upon; and all such conveyances, and the titles to be made up thereupon in favour of the board, or their trustees or secretary, shall be in common form, and shall be valid and effectual; and all such bodies politic, heirs of entail, and other persons so conveying are hereby indemnified for or in respect of such conveyance which they or any of them shall make in pursuance of this Act.

LIX. That if any price agreed to be paid by the said general or county board for any such lands, houses, or heritages, to or on behalf of any corporate body, heir of entail, pupil, or other person under disability or incapacity, shall exceed the sum of 201., the same shall be paid into one of the incorporated banks in Scotland to an account in the names of two persons, one to be named by the said board and the other by the persons making such conveyance; and such price shall be applied, under the direction of the Court of Session, obtained upon a petition presented in a summary way to the Court by the said two persons, in the purchase of the land-tax, or towards the discharge of debt or other incumbrance, or in the purchase of lands, bouses, or beritages, or in such other manner, being to the same or the like uses and purposes as those upon which the property so conveyed stood settled or invested, as the said Court shall direct; and if any price agreed to be paid as aforesaid shall be less than 201., the same shall be paid to the person or persons making such conveyance: Provided always, that the said board shall not be responsible for the application of any such price paid by them in terms of this Act.

LX. That any dispute which may arise in adjusting the boundaries of any burgh as aforesaid, or any dispute which may arise in assessing or collecting the assessments authorized by this Act, between the Commissioners of Supply of counties, or the magistrates of burghs, or the assessors, collectors, or others acting under them, on the one part, and any person aggrieved on the other part, for the settlement of which dispute no provision shall be made under the authority of this Act, and in case it shall not be convenient to raise and determine the same in the sheriff's small debt court, shall be determined in a summary way by any sheriff of the sheriffdom in which such dispute shall arise, who shall, on a written petition being presented to him by the procurator fiscal or by either of the aforesaid parties, appoint the said parties to appear before him, when he shall hear them, investigate the matter in dispute in such way as he may think proper, and decide the same summarily; and such decision shall be final, and shall not be liable to appeal or to suspension, advocation, or reduction, or any other form of review, except in the case of any canal or railway situated in more than one county, where the proprietors thereof, feeling themselves aggrieved by any decision of the sheriff, may appeal from the same to the Court of Session.

LXI. That in case any convener or Commissioners of Supply of counties, or persons appointed or directed by them, or any magistrates of burghs, or persons appointed or directed by them, shall refuse or neglect to do what is herein required of such persons respectively, or in case any obstruction shall arise in the execution of this Act, it shall be lawful for the said board to apply by summary petition to the Court of Session, or during the vacation of the said Court to the Lord Ordinary on the Bills, which Court and Lord Ordinary are hereby authorized and directed in such case to do therein as to such Court or Lord Ordinary shall seem just and necessary for the execution of the purposes of this Act.

LXII. That the whole powers and right of issuing summary warrants and proceedings, and all remedies and provisions enacted for collecting, levying, and recovering the land and assessed taxes, or either of them, and other public taxes, shall be held to be applicable to the said assessments under this Act; and the sheriffs, magistrates, Justices of the Peace, and other Judges may grant the like warrants for recovery of all such assessments, in the same form and under the same penalties as is provided in regard to such land and assessed taxes and other public taxes; and all assessments imposed in virtue of this Act shall, in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency, be paid out of the first proceeds of the estate, and shall be preferable to all other debts of a private nature due by the parties assessed.

LXIII. That the following words and expressions used in this Act shall in the construction thereof be interpreted as follows, except where the nature of the provision or the context of the Act shall be repugnant to such construction; that is to say, the word "prison" shall extend to and include every gaol, bridewell, house of correction, penitentiary, lock-up house, or other house or place in which persons may be legally confined as civil or criminal prisoners, having regard in each case to the nature of the prison as declared and intimated by the board, and to the description of prisoners in question; "burgh" shall include and apply to the cities, burghs, and towns which are royal burghs, or which send or contribute as burghs to send a member to Parliament; "magistrates of burghs" shall include the Lord Provost, or provost or chief magistrate and magistrates and council of burghs; "sheriff” shall include sheriff substitute and stewart substitute; " landward part of a county" shall include and apply to a county exclusive of the burghs situated therein; "property," in landward parts of counties, shall extend to and include all descriptions, of property valued in the cess or valuation books of counties; "houses" shall extend to and include dwelling houses, shops, warehouses, mills, and manufactories; "property," in burghs, shall extend to and include houses, shops, warehouses, mills,

manufactories, cellars, gardens, yards, and all buildings and pertinents thereof; "civil prisoner" shall include all persons imprisoned for civil debt, or ad factum præstandum, or generally at the instance of a creditor for performance of civil obligation; "criminal prisoner" shall include all other descriptions of prisoners; "person" shall extend to a body politic, corporate, or collegiate; and every word importing the singular only shall extend to several persons or things as well as one person or thing; and every word importing the plural shall be applied to one person or thing as well as several persons or things; and every word importing the masculine gender only shall extend to a female as well as a male.

LXIV. That from and after the 1st of July 1840, all laws, statutes, and usages shall be and the same are hereby repealed in so far as they are at variance or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act: Provided always, that the same shall continue in force in all other respects.

LXV. That, unless where otherwise hereinbefore specially provided, this Act shall commence and take effect from the passing thereof, and shall continue in force for the period of ten years from and after the 1st of January 1841, and from thence to the end of the then next session of Parliament.

LXVI. That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed during the present session of Parliament.

CAP. XLIII.

AN ACT to suspend until the End of the next Session of Parliament the making of Lists and the Ballots and Enrolments for the Militia of the United Kingdom. (17th August 1839.)

CAP. XLIV.

AN ACT to prevent, until the End of the next Session of Parliament, Ships clearing out from a British North American Port loading any Part of their Cargo of Timber upon Deck.

ABSTRACT OF THE ENACTMENTS.

(17th August 1839.)

By this ACT,

1. No part of the cargo of certain ships laden with timber to be placed on the deck,

2. Penalty for placing cargo on deck.-Proviso.

3. Continuance of Act.

4. Act may be altered.'

After reciting that great loss of life and severe sufferings have been occasioned amongst the crews of ships and vessels laden with timber from British ports in North America, from the practice of having a portion of the cargo of such ships stowed on or above deck :

It is Enacted,

I. That it shall not be lawful for any part of the cargo of any ships or vessels wholly or in part laden with timber, and clearing from any British port in North America, between the 1st of September and the 1st of May, to be stowed or placed during any part of the voyage upon or above the deck of such ship or vessel; and the captain or master of every ship or vessel so laden, and clearing from any British port in North America between such days, shall not be permitted to sail without first procuring a certificate from the clearing officer that all the cargo is below deck.

11. That if any captain, owner, supercargo, or other person having the command of any such ship or vessel shall so place, cause or permit to be so placed, any part of the cargo, every such captain, owner, supercargo, or other person so offending shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding 100l., to be recovered in like manner as penalties for offences under an Act, 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 53, intituled, An Act to repeal an Act of the Ninth Year of His late Majesty, for regulating the Carriage of Passengers in Merchant Vessels from the United Kingdom to the British Possessions on the Continent and Islands of North America, and to make further Provision for regulating the Carriage of Passengers from the United Kingdom :' Provided always, that nothing berein contained shall extend to prevent the carrying upon deck the necessary store spars for the vessel's use, or the removal on deck of a portion of the cargo of such ship or vessel in cases where the same may be rendered necessary by the springing a leak, or other damage during the voyage; and nothing in this Act shall apply to any ship which may have cleared out from any port in British North America before the 1st of September, or within seven days after notice of this Act shall have been received at the Custom House of the respective ports.

III. That this Act shall continue in force until the end of the next session of Parliament.

IV. That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed during the present session of Parliament.

CAP. XLV.

AN ACT to amend an Act of the Fifth and Sixth Years of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth relating to Highways.

ABSTRACT OF THE ENACTMENTS.

(17th August 1839.)

1. Proprietors of railroad to maintain gates where any railroad crosses the highway, &c.—Penalty 51. for each day's neglect. 2. How penalties shall be recovered and applied.

3. Commencement of Act.

By this ACT,

After reciting that by 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 50, it is amongst other things by the said Act enacted, that whenever a railroad shall cross any highway for carts or carriages the proprietors of the said railroad shall make and maintain good and sufficient gates at each of the said crossings, and shall employ good and proper persons to attend to the opening and shutting of such gates, so that the persons, carts, or carriages passing along such road shall not be exposed to any danger or damage by the passing of any carriages or engines along the said railroad, and any complaint for any neglect in respect of the said gates shall be made within one month after the said neglect to one Justice, who may summon the party so complained against to appear before the Justices at their next special sessions for the highways, who shall hear and decide upon the said complaint, and the proprietor so offending shall forfeit any sum not exceeding 51.: And that it is also by the said Act further enacted, that nothing in this Act contained shall apply to any turnpike roads, except where expressly mentioned, or to any roads, bridges, carriageways, cartways, horseways, bridleways, footways, causeways, churchyards, or pavements which now are or may hereafter be paved, repaired, or cleansed, broken up or diverted, under or by virtue of the provisions of any local or personal Act or Acts of Parliament: And whereas it is deemed expedient to amend the provisions in the said Act, and to extend the same to turnpike roads in England:

It is Enacted,

1. That whenever a railroad crosses or shall hereafter cross any turnpike road or any highway or statute labour road for carts or carriages in Great Britain, the proprietors or directors of the company of proprietors of the said railroad shall make and maintain good and sufficient gates across each end of such turnpike or other road as aforesaid at each of the said crossings, and shall employ good and proper persons to open and shut such gates, so that the persons, carts, or carriages passing along such turnpike or highway shall not be exposed to any danger or damage by the passing of any carriages or engines along the said railroad; and any complaint for any neglect in respect of the said gates shall be made within one calendar month after the said neglect to any Justice of the Peace, or if in Scotland to the sheriff of the county, who may summon the party so complained against to appear before them or him at the next petty session or court to be holden for the district or division within which such gates are situate, who shall hear and decide upon the said complaint; and the proprietor or director so offending shall for each and every day of such neglect forfeit any sum not exceeding 5l., together with such costs as to the Justices or sheriff depute aforesaid before whom the conviction shall take place shall seem fit.

11. That the penalties by this Act imposed, and the costs to be allowed by the authority of this Act, shall in England be recovered and applied in the same manner as any penalties and costs under the said Act, and in Scotland shall be recovered and applied to the maintenance of the statute labour roads within the district where the offence is committed. III. That this Act shall commence and take effect from and after the 30th of September 1839.

CAP. XLVI.

AN ACT to authorize the Trustees of Turnpike Roads to reduce the Scale of Tolls payable for Overweight.

(17th August 1859.)

By this ACT,

ABSTRACT OF THE ENACTMENT.

Trustees empowered to reduce additional tolls for overweight.

After reciting that by an Act, 3 Geo. 4, to amend the laws for regulating turnpike roads, the trustees or Commissioners of any turnpike road are authorized to cause weighing machines to be erected at any of the turnpike gates under their controul, and by a notice for that purpose, to be given as in the said Act is directed, to order every waggon or carriage conveying goods

or merchandise, and coming within one hundred yards of such machine, to be weighed: And that by the said recited Act, and by virtue of another Act, 4 Geo. 4, also passed for regulating turnpike roads, the trustees and Commissioners of any turnpike road are authorized to receive certain tolls for overweight at any weighing machines so erected: And that it is desirable to authorize the trustees or Commissioners of turnpike roads upon which such weighing machines may be erected to reduce the scale of tolls payable by the said recited Acts, or either of them, for overweight :

It is Enacted,

That the trustees or Commissioners of any turnpike road may and are hereby empowered, at any meeting or meetings to be held for the purpose (of which meeting or meetings and the purposes thereof fourteen days notice shall be given), to lower the several additional tolls by the said recited Acts or either of them directed to be taken for overweight, in such manner as to them shall seem fit and convenient, and from time to time to take such reduced tolls for overweight as shall be fixed and agreed on at such meeting or meetings.

CAP. XLVII.

AN ACT for further improving the Police in and near the Metropolis.

[See Appendix, p. i.]

(17th August 1839.)

CAP. XLVIII.-IRELAND.

AN ACT to amend Two Acts, of the Third and Fourth and Fourth and Fifth Years of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, for consolidating and amending the Laws relative to Jurors and Juries in Ireland.

(17th August 1839.)

ABSTRACT OF THE ENACTMENTS.

1. If special sessions for examining jury lists have not been duly held, the Lord Lieutenant may appoint a special sessions for the 2. Act may be altered this session.

purpose.

By this ACT,

After reciting the passing of 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 8, and that by 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 91, it was amongst other things enacted," that the Justices assembled at every October General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be holden in each division of each county at large, and the Justices for and in each county of a city and county of a town, in Ireland, should, at a sessions to be holden at October in every year, fix a place within such division, and within such counties of cities and counties of towns respectively, and also a time not less than two nor more than three calendar months after the first day of such General or Quarter Sessions, for holding a special sessions for the purpose of examining the lists of jurors in the said Act mentioned, pursuant to the provisions thereinafter contained;" and further reciting, that "the periods so prescribed for the holding of such special sessions had been found inconvenient, by reason of their approaching so nearly to the end of the current year as not to leave convenient time for the making out of the jurors book for the next ensuing year;" and it was by the said Act, 4 & 5 Will. 4, enacted, "that the Justices assembled at any October General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be holden in each division of each county at large, and each county of a city and county of a town, in Ireland, should fix a place within such cities and counties of towns respectively, and also a time, not less than one lunar month nor more than six weeks after the first day of such October General or Quarter sessions, for holding a special sessions for the purpose of examining the list of jurors, as by the said Act, 3 & 4 Will. 4, directed, and that the several provisions and clauses of the said last-mentioned recited Act, relating to the special sessions, thereby directed to be fixed at the October sessions, should be extended and applied to and be in force with respect to the special sessions by the said Act, 4 & 5 Will. 4, required to be fixed:" And that in some places the provisions of the said Acts, or either of them, have not been carried into operation by reason of the want of a sufficient number of Justices attending upon the day fixed for the holding of a special sessions for the purpose of examining the list of jurors :

It is Enacted,

1. That in every case in which in any county at large or any division thereof, or in any county of a city or county of a town, such special sessions shall not be effectually held for the purpose aforesaid, whether by reason of a sufficient number of Justices not attending, or by reason of a day or place not being fixed for the holding of such sessions, or for any other cause, it shall be lawful for the Lord Lieutenant or other chief governor or governors of Ireland, by warrant under his or their hand or hands, of which a copy shall be published in the Dublin Gazette and in some one newspaper circulating in such county, to fix any day not sooner than fourteen days from the publication of the same in such gazette, and also a place in such county or division, or