Boundaries.
50Boundary of county for first election.
(1)The first council elected under this Act for any administrative county shall, subject as herein-after mentioned, be elected for the county at large as bounded at the passing of this Act for the purpose of the election of members to serve in Parliament for the county : Provided always, that—
(a)This enactment shall not apply to the boundary between two administrative counties which are portions of one entire county, and in case of those administrative counties, the boundary between the portions, as existing for the purposes of county rate, shall, subject to any change made by or in pursuance of this Act, be the boundary of the administrative county for which the council is elected; and,
(b)Where any urban sanitary district is situate partly within and partly without the boundary of such county, the district shall be deemed to be within that county which contains the largest portion of the population of the district, according to the census of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
(c)Where any portion of an administrative county has before the passing of this Act been transferred to another administrative county for the purposes of the Acts relating to the police or Contagious Diseases (Animals) or otherwise, nothing in this Act shall affect such transfer,
(d)The wapentake of the ainsty of York (except so much as is included in the municipal borough of York as extended by the [47 & 48 Vict. c. ccxxxii.] York Extension and Improvement Act, 1884) shall for all purposes of this Act be deemed to be part of the west riding of the county of York.
(2)The county council elected under this Act shall have for the purposes of this Act authority throughout the administrative county for which it is elected, and the administrative county as bounded for the purpose of the election shall, subject to alterations made in manner herein-after mentioned, be for all the purposes of this Act the county of such county council.
(3)If any difference arises as to the county which contains the largest portion of the population of any such district as above in this section mentioned, such difference shall be referred to the Local Government Board, whose decision shall be final.
(4)This section applies to an administrative county within the meaning of this Act, save that it shall not apply to the administrative county of London, nor to any county borough, and any place which, though forming part of any such borough for the purposes of the election of members to serve in Parliament, is not within the municipal boundary of such borough shall, notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, form, for the purposes of this section, part of the county in which such place is situate.
51Directions for constitution of electoral divisions.
In the constitution, of electoral divisions of a county, whether for the first election or for subsequent elections, the following directions shall be observed—
(1)The divisions shall be arranged with a view to the population of each division being, so nearly as conveniently may be, equal, regard being had to a proper representaion both of the rural and of the urban population, and to the distribution and pursuits of such population, and to area, and to the last published census for the time being, and to evidence of any considerable change of population since such census ;
(2)Electoral divisions shall, so far as may be reasonably practicable, be framed so that every division shall be a county district or ward, or a combination of county districts or wards, or be comprised in one county district or ward, but where an electoral division is a portion of a county district or ward, and such portion has not a defined area for which a separate list or part of a list of voters is made under the Acts relating to the registration of electors, such portion shall, until a new register of electors is made, continue to be part of the district or ward of which it has been treated as being part in the then current register of electors;
(3)Whenever under the provisions of this section a county district is divided into two or more portions, every such portion shall, as far as possible, consist of an entire parish or of a combination of entire parishes ;
(4)In determining the electoral divisions for the first election, the foregoing provisions shall apply as if, where a rural sanitary district is situate in more than one county, each portion of the district which is situate in the same county were a county district, and any such portion may be combined with a county district, or portion of a county district, although not adjoining;
(5)The electoral divisions for the first election shall be fixed on or before the eighth day of November next after the passing of this Act.
52Provisional order as respects boroughs and .urban sanitary districts in same area.
(1)The Local Government Board shall make provisional orders for dealing with every case where the council of a borough is not the urban sanitary authority for the whole of the area of such borough, and the area of the borough is either co-extensive with or is wholly or partly comprised in any urban sanitary district, and such order shall determine whether the area of the borough or of the sanitary district, or an area comprising both the borough and the urban sanitary district, or a portion of such united area, shall, whether with or without any adjoining area, be the area of the county district for the purposes of this Act, so, however, that in either case the order shall provide for the council of the borough becoming the district council, and the order may for that purpose alter the boundaries of the borough, and may, if need be, alter the boundaries of the county; and if the population exceeds fifty thousand, the order may constitute the borough into a county borough, and make such provision as may be necessary for carrying this Act into effect as respect such county borough ; and the provisions of this Act respecting county boroughs shall, subject to the provisions of the order, apply.
(2)Where certain members of the sanitary authority for any such urban sanitary district are appointed by a university or any colleges therein, the order may provide for the appointment by such university or colleges of members on the district council.
(3)A provisional order under this section shall not be of any effect until it is confirmed by Parliament.
53Consideration of alterations of boundaries by county councils.
(1)Every report made by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government (Boundaries) Act, 1887, shall be laid before the council of any administrative county or county borough affected by that report.
(2)It shall be the duty of the council to take into consideration such report, and to make such representations to the Local Government Board as they think expedient for adjusting the boundaries of their county, and of other areas of local government partly situate in their county, with a view of securing that no such , area shall be situate in more than one county.
54Future alterations of boundaries.
(1)Whenever it is represented by the council of any county or borough to the Local Government Board—
(a)that the alteration of the boundary of any county or borough is desirable ; or
(b)that the union, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, of a county borough with a county is desirable ; or
(c)that the union, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, of any counties or boroughs or the division of any county is desirable; or
(d)that it is desirable to constitute any borough having a population of not less than fifty thousand into a county borough; or
(e)that the alteration of the boundary of any electoral division of a county, or of the number of county councillors and electoral divisions in a county, is desirable; or
(f)that the alteration of any area of local government partly situate in their county or borough is desirable,
the Local Government Board shall, unless for special reasons they think that the representation ought not to be entertained, cause to be made a local inquiry, and may make an order for the proposal contained in such representation, or for such other proposal as they may deem expedient, or may refuse such order, and if they make the order may by such order divide or alter any electoral division.
(2)Provided that in default of such representation by the council of any county or borough before the first day of November one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, the Local Government Board may cause such local inquiry to be made, and thereupon may make such order as they may deem expedient.
(3)Provided that if the order alters the boundary of a county or borough, or provides for the union of a county borough with a county, or for the union of any counties or boroughs, or for the division of any county, or for constituting a borough into a county borough, it shall be provisional only, and shall not have effect unless confirmed by Parliament.
(4)Where such order alters the boundary of a borough, it may, as consequential upon such alteration, do all or any of the following things, increase or decrease the number of the wards in the borough, and alter the boundaries of such wards, and alter the apportionment of the number of councillors among the wards, and alter the total number of councillors, and in such case, make the proportionate alteration in the number of aldermen.
(5)At any time before the appointed day, the Local Government Board may make an order in pursuance of this section without any such representation as in this section mentioned.
55Contents of provisional order amalgamating two county boroughs.
(1)Where the Local Government Board make a Provisional Order for uniting two county boroughs, such Order may make them one borough and one county for the purposes of this Act.
(2)Such Order, and also any other Order under this Act for uniting boroughs, whether county boroughs or not, may also contain such provisions as may seem necessary or proper for regulating the division of the combined borough into wards, the number of councillors to be elected for each ward, and the first election of the council of the combined borough, and for providing for the clerks of the peace, coroners, town clerks, and officers of the boroughs, and the application to them of the provisions of this Act as to existing officers, and for providing for all matters incidental, to or consequential on the union of the boroughs.
(3)When any such Provisional Order is confirmed, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty to grant a commission of the peace and court of quarter sessions to the combined borough in like manner as to any other borough under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and the Provisional Order may contain such provisions as appear necessary or proper for regulating all matters incidental to such grant, and to the changes caused by the union of the boroughs in matters connected with such commission or court, or otherwise with the administration of justice.
56Procedure for charter of new borough.
Where a petition is presented to Her Majesty the Queen by the inhabitant householders of any town or towns or district, in pursuance of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, for the giant of a charter of incorporation, notice of such petition shall be given to the county council of the county in which such town, towns, or district is or are situate, and shall also be sent to the Local Government Board, and the Privy Council shall consider any representations made by such county council or the Local Government Board, together with the petition for such charter.
57Future alteration of county districts and parishes and. wards, and future establishment of urban districts.
(1)Whenever a county council is satisfied that a prima facie case is made out as respects any county district not a borough, or as respects any parish, for a proposal for all or any of the following things ; that is to say—
(a)the alteration or definition of the boundary thereof;
(b)the division thereof or the union thereof with any other such district or districts, parish or parishes, or the transfer of part of a parish to another parish;
(c)the conversion of any such district or part thereof, if it is a rural district, into an urban district, and if it is an urban district, into a rural district, or the transfer of the whole or any part of any such district from one district to another, and the formation of new urban or rural districts;
(d)the division of an urban district into wards; and
(e)the alteration of the number of wards, or of the boundaries of any ward, or of the number of members of any district council, or of the apportionment of such members among the wards,
the county council may cause such inquiry to be made in the locality, and such notice to be given, both in the locality, and to the Local Government Board, Education Department, or other Government department as may be prescribed, and such other inquiry and notices (if any) as they think fit, and if satisfied that such proposal is desirable, may make an order for the same accordingly.
(2)Notice of the provisions of the order shall be given, and copies thereof shall be supplied in the prescribed manner, and otherwise as the county council think fit, and if it relates to the division of a district into wards, or the alteration of the number of wards or of the boundaries of a ward, or of the number of the members of a district council, or of the apportionment of the members among the wards, shall come into operation upon being finally approved by the county council.
(3)In any other case the order shall be submitted to the Local Government Board; and if within three months after such notice of the provisions of the order as the Local Government Board determine to be the first notice, the council of any district affected by the order, or any number of county electors registered in that district or in any ward of that district, not being less than one sixth of the total number of electors in that district or ward, or if the order relates only to a parish, any number of county electors registered in that parish, not being less than one sixth of the total number of electors in that parish, petition the Local Government Board to disallow the order, the Local Government Board shall cause to be made a local inquiry, and determine whether the order is to be confirmed or not.
(4)If any such petition is not presented, or being presented is withdrawn, the Local Government Board shall confirm the order.
(5)The Local Government Board, on confirming an order, may make such modifications therein as they consider necessary for carrying into effect the objects of the order.
(6)Au order Under this section, when confirmed by the Local Government Board, shall be forthwith laid upon the table of both Houses" of Parliament, if Parliament be then sitting, and, if not, forthwith after the then next meeting of Parliament.
(7)This section shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any power of the Local Government Board in respect of the union or division or alteration of parishes.
58Additional power of Local Government Board as to unions.
The Local Government Board, where it appears expedient so to do with reference, to any poor law union which is situate in more than one county instead of dissolving the union may by order provide that the same shall continue to be one union for the purposes of indoor paupers or any of those purposes, and shall be divided into two or more poor law unions for the purpose of outdoor relief, and may by the order make such provisions as seem expedient for determining all other, matters in relation to which such union is to be one union or two or more unions.
59Supplemental provisions as to alteration of areas.
(1)A scheme or order under this Act may make such administrative and judicial arrangements incidental to or consequential on any alteration of boundaries, authorities, or other matters made by the scheme or order as may seem expedient.
(2)A place which is part of an administrative county for the purposes of this Act shall, subject as in this Act mentioned form part of that county for all purposes, whether sheriff lieutenant, custos rotulorum, justices, militia, coroner or other; Provided that—
(a)Notwithstanding this enactment each of the entire counties of York, Lincoln, Sussex, Suffolk, Northampton, and Cambridge shall continue to be one county for the said purposes so far as it is one county at the passing of this Act; and
(b)This enactment shall not affect the existing powers or privileges of any city or borough as respects the sheriff, lieutenant, militia, justices, or coroner; but, if any county borough is, at the passing of this Act, a part of any county for any of the above purposes, nothing in this Act shall prevent the same from continuing to be part of that county for that purpose; and
(c)This enactment shall not affect parliamentary elections nor the right to vote at the election of a member to serve in Parliament, nor land tax, tithes, or tithe rentcharge, nor the area within which any bishop, parson, or other ecclesiastical person has any cure of souls or jurisdiction.
(3)For the purposes of parliamentary elections, and of the registration of voters for such elections, the sheriff, clerk of the peace, and council of the county in which any place is comprised at the passing of this Act for the purpose of parliamentary elections shall, save as otherwise provided by the scheme or order, or by the [51 & 52 Vict. c. 10.] County Electors Act, 1888, or this Act, continue to have the same powers, duties, and liabilities as they would have had if no alteration of boundary had taken place.
(4)Any scheme or order made in pursuance of this Act may, so far as may seem necessary or proper for the purposes of the scheme or order, provide for all or any of the following matters, that is to say,—
(a)may provide for the abolition, restriction, or establishment, or extension of the jurisdiction of any local authority in or over any part of the area affected by the scheme or order, and for the adjustment or alteration of the boundaries of such area, and for the constitution of the local authorities therein, and may deal with the powers and duties of any council, local authorities, quarter sessions, justices of the peace, coroners, sheriff, lieutenant, custos rotulorum, clerk of the peace, and other officer therein, and with the costs of any such authorities, sessions, persons, or officers as aforesaid, and may determine the status of any such area as a component part of any larger area, and provide for the election of representatives in such area, and may extend to any altered area the provisions of any local Act which were previously in force in a portion of the area; and
(b)may make temporary provision for meeting the debts and liabilities of the various authorities affected by the scheme or order, for the management of their property, and for regulating the duties, position, and remuneration of officers affected by the scheme or order, and applying to them the provisions of this Act as to existing officers; and
(c)may provide for the transfer of any writs, process, records, and documents relating to or to be executed in any part of the area affected by the scheme or order, and for determining questions arising from such transfer : and
(d)may provide for all matters which appear necessary or proper for bringing into operation and giving full effect to the scheme or order; and
(e)may adjust any property, debts, and liabilities affected by the scheme or order
(5)Where an alteration of boundaries of a county is made by this Act an order for any of the above-mentioned matters may, if it appears to the Local Government Board desirable, be made by that Board, but such. Order, if petitioned against by any council, sessions, or local authority affected thereby, within three months after notice of such order is given in accordance with this Act, shall be provisional only, unless the petition is withdrawn or the order is confirmed by Parliament.
(6)A scheme or order may be made for amending any scheme or order previously made in pursuance of this Act, and may be made by the same authority and after the same procedure as the original scheme or order. Where a provision of this Act respecting a scheme or order requires the scheme or order to be laid before Parliament, or to be confirmed by Parliament, either in every case or if it is petitioned against, such scheme or order may amend any local and personal Act.
60General provision as to alteration of boundaries.
In every alteration of boundaries effected under the authority of this Act, care shall be taken that, so far as practicable, the boundaries of an area of local government shall not intersect the boundaries of any other area of local government.
61Appointment of Commissioners.
(1)For the purposes of this Act the Right Honourable Edward Henry, Earl of Derby, the Right Honourable George John Shaw Lefevre, John Lloyd Wharton, Esquire, Francis Mowatt, Esquire, C.B., and Joseph J. Henley, Esquire, shall be appointed Commissioners.
(2)If a vacancy occurs in the office of any of the Commissioners by reason of death, resignation, incapacity, or otherwise, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty the Queen, under Her Royal Sign Manual, to appoint some other, person to fill the vacancy, and so from time to time as often as occasion requires.
(3)The Commissioners may from time to time, with the assent of the Treasury as to number, appoint or employ such number of officers and persons as they may think, necessary for the purpose of the execution of their duties under this Act, and may remove any officer or person so appointed or employed.
(4)There shall be paid to any officer or person appointed or employed under this section, such salaries or other remuneration as the Treasury may assign, and that remuneration and all expenses of the Commissioners, incurred with the sanction of the Treasury in the execution of this Act, shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.
(5)On holding any inquiry for the purposes of this Act, any Commissioner or officer of the Commissioners shall have the same powers as an inspector of the Local Government Board has on holding a local inquiry under the [38 & 39 Vict. c. 55.] Public Health Act, 1875.
(6)There shall be paid to the Commissioners by the councils of the counties and county boroughs whose financial relations are adjusted by the Commissioners in pursuance of this Act, such amounts as the Treasury may fix as necessary for the payment of the costs of such adjustment, including a proper share of the salaries and remuneration of the officers and persons appointed or employed by such Commissioners, and such amounts shall be paid into the Exchequer, and the amount so paid shall be included as part of the adjustment.
(7)The authority of the Commissioners shall extend to the settlement and the determination by them, on such terms and in such manner as they, in their absolute discretion, think most just and fit, of the matters referred to them, and also of all such matters and questions as are, in their judgment, incident thereto or consequent thereon, to the end that their award or awards may effect a final settlement, and until a final settlement is made the authority of the Commissioners shall extend to determine the proportions, in which payments are to be made to the councils of counties and county boroughs out of the Local Taxation Account, and all payments so made shall be taken into account in the making of the adjustment.
(8)Every award, order, and other instrument made by or proceeding from the Commissioners, shall be binding and conclusive to and for all intents and purposes, and shall have the like effect as if it had been made by a judge of the High Court of Justice in England, and shall be acted on, obeyed, executed, and enforced by all sheriffs and other officers and persons accordingly. No such award, order, or other instrument shall be removable by any writ or process into any of Her Majesty's Courts, and the Commissioners proceedings or acts shall not be liable to be interfered with or questioned by or in any court, or elsewhere, by way of mandamus, prohibition, injunction, or otherwise.
(9)The costs of and attending the inquiry and award shall be borne and paid by the parties out of the fund or rate applicable to their general expenses, in such proportions as the Commissioners may direct, and the Commissioners may order the taxation of any costs in such manner as they may see fit.
(10)The powers . of the Commissioners shall, unless continued by Parliament, cease on the last day of December one thousand eight hundred and ninety.
62Adjustment of property and liabilities.
(1)Any councils and other authorities affected by this Act or by any scheme, order, or other thing made or done in pursuance of this Act, may from time to time make agreements for the purpose of adjusting any property, income, debts, liabilities, and expenses, so far as affected by this Act or such scheme, order, or thing, of the parties to the agreement, and the agreement and any other agreement authorised by this Act to be made for the purpose of the adjustment of any property, debts, liabilities, or financial relations, may provide for the transfer or retention of any property, debts, and liabilities, with or without any conditions, and for the joint use of any property, and for the transfer of any duties, and for payment by either party to the agreement in respect of property, debts, duties, and liabilities so transferred or retained, or of such joint user, and in respect of the salary, remuneration, or compensation payable to any officer or person, and that either by "way of a capital sum, or of a terminable annuity for a period not exceeding that allowed by the commissioners under this Act or the Local Government Board.
(2)In default of an agreement as to any matter requiting adjustment for the purpose of this Act, or any matter which, in case of difference, is to be referred to arbitration, then, if no other mode of making such adjustment or determining such difference is provided by this Act, such adjustment or difference may be made or determined by an arbitrator appointed by the parties, or in case of difference as to the appointment, appointed by the Local Government Board,
(3)An arbitrator appointed under this Act shall De deemed to be an arbitrator within the meaning of the [8 & 9 Vict. c. 18.] Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845; and the Acts amending the same, and the provisions of those Acts with respect to an. arbitration shall apply accordingly; and, further, the arbitrator may state a special case, and notwithstanding anything in the said Acts, shall determine the amount of the costs, and shall have power to disallow as costs in the arbitration the costs of any witness whom he considers to have been called unnecessarily, and any other costs which he considers to have been incurred unnecessarily.
(4)Any award or order made by the Commissioners or any arbitrator under this Act may provide for any matter for which an agreement might have provided.
(5)Any sum required to be paid for the purpose of adjustment, or of any award or order made by the Commissioners, or an arbitrator under this Act, may be paid out of the county or borough fund or out of such other special fund as the council, with the approval of the Commissioners under this Act or of the Local Government Board, may direct.
(6)The payment of any capital sum required to be paid for the purposes of the adjustment or of an agreement under this Act, or of any award or order made upon any arbitration under this Act, shall be a purpose for which a council may borrow under this Act, or in the case of a borough council, under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or any local Act, and such sum may be borrowed on the security of all or any of the funds, rates, and revenues of the council, and either by the creation of stock or in any other manner in which they are for th6 time being authorised to borrow, and such sum may be borrowed without the consent of the Treasury or any other authority, so that it be repaid within such period as the Local Government Board may sanction, by such method as is mentioned in Part Four of this Act for paying off a loan, or, if the sum is raised by stock under a local Act, by such method as is directed by that Act.
(7)Any capital sum paid to any council for the purpose of any adjustment, or in pursuance of any order or award of an arbitrator under this Act shall be treated as capital, and applied, with the sanction of the Local Government Board, either in the repayment of debt or for any other purpose for which capital money may be applied.
63Arbitration by Local Government Board.
Where the Local Government Board are required in pursuance of this Act to decide any difference or other matter referred to arbitration in pursuance of this Act, the provisions of the [31 & 32 Vict. c. 119.] Regulation of Railways Act, 1868, respecting arbitrations by the Board of Trade, and the enactments amending those provisions, shall apply as if they were herein re-enacted, and in terms made applicable to the Local Government Board and the decision of differences and matters under this Act.