to pay the same, by warrant under the hands and seals of such justices, who are hereby authorised and required to summon and examine any witness upon oath or affirmation of and concerning such offences, matters and things, and to hear and determine the same; and the overplus (if any) of the money raised or recovered, after discharging the fine, penalty, or forfeiture for which such warrant shall be issued, and the costs and expenses of recovering and levying the same (if any such there be), shall be rendered to the owner or owners of the goods and chattels so seized and distrained; all which penalties, not herein directed to be otherwise applied, shall be paid to the said inspectors or their treasurer, to be applied for such purposes of this act as the said inspectors shall order and direct, except in all such cases where the penalty or forfeiture shall be incurred by the said inspectors, and then the same shall be paid to the informer: and it shall be lawful for the said justices to order the offender or offenders so convicted, to be detained in safe custody until return can be conveniently made to such warrant or warrants of distress, unless the said offender or offenders shall give sufficient security, to the satisfaction of such justices, for his, her, or their appearance before the said justices on such day or days as shall be appointed for the return of such warrant or warrants of distress, such day or days not being more than seven days from the time of taking such security, and which security the said justices are hereby empowered to take by way of recognizance or otherwise; but if upon the return of such warrant or warrants it shall appear that no sufficient distress can be had whereupon to levy the said penalty or penalties and such costs as aforesaid, and the same shall not be forthwith paid, or in case it shall appear to the satisfaction of any such justices, upon the confession of the offender or offenders, or otherwise, that he, she, or they have or hath not sufficient goods and chattels whereupon such penalties, forfeitures, costs, and expenses can be levied if a warrant of distress were issued, such justices shall not be required to issue such warrant of distress, and thereupon it shall be lawful for such justices, and they are hereby required and empowered, by warrant or warrants under their hands and seals, to commit such offender or offenders to the common gaol, or house of correction in the said county, or place in which the said parish shall be situate, there to be kept, with or without hard labour, without bail or mainprize, for any time not exceeding six calendar months, or until such offender or offenders shall have paid such penalty or penalties, and all costs and charges attending such proceedings as aforesaid, to be ascertained by such justices, or shall otherwise be discharged by due course of law. Inspectors ex- LXIV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That empted from personal liabi- nothing herein contained shall be deemed, construed, or taken lity. to extend to render the said inspectors personally, or any of their goods and chattels (other than such as may be invested LXVI. Provided also, and be it further enacted, That if any Appeal to the person or persons shall find himself, herself, or themselves quarter sessions against aggrieved by any order, direction, or appointment of the said order of ininspectors, or any order or conviction of one or more justice or spectors, &c. justices of the peace, it shall be lawful for such person or persons to appeal to any general or quarterly sessions of the peace to be held in and for the county, city, riding, borough, town, shire, division, liberty, or place in which the parish shall be situate, within four calendar months next after the cause of complaint shall have arisen, or if such sessions shall be held before the expiration of one calendar month, then such appeal shall be made to the secondly succeeding sessions, either of which court of sessions is hereby empowered to hear and finally determine the matter of the said appeal, and to make such order therein as to them shall seem meet, which order shall be final and conclusive to and upon all parties; provided that the person or persons so appealing shall give or cause to be given at least fourteen days' notice in writing of his, her, or their intention of appealing as aforesaid, and of the matter or cause thereof, to the said inspectors, or other the respondent or respondents, that within five days after such notice shall enter into a recognizance before some justice of the peace, with sufficient securities, conditioned to try such appeal at the then next general sessions or quarter sessions of the peace, which shall first happen, and to abide the order of and pay such costs as shall be awarded by the justices at such quarter sessions or any adjournment thereof; and such justices, upon hearing and finally determining such matter of appeal, shall and may, according to their discretion, award such costs to the party appealing or appealed against as they shall think proper; and their determination in or concerning the premises shall be conclusive and binding on all parties to all intents and purposes what soever. LXVII. Provided also, and be it further enacted, That if Appeals any person or persons shall find himself, herself, or themselves against rate to be subject to aggrieved by any rate made by the overseers of the poor for same rules the purposes of this act, he, she, and they may appeal to any as appeals general or quarterly sessions of the peace to be held in and for against poor the county, city, riding, borough, town, shire, division, liberty, or place in which the parish shall be situated; and all such appeals shall be subject to the same rules, regulations, provisions, and directions, and shall be prosecuted and proceeded rates. with in the like manner, as appeals against rates made for the relief of the poor in such parish. LXVIII. Plaintiffs are not to recover in any action after tender of sufficient amends. LXIX. Limitation of actions. LXX. And be it further enacted, That no proceedings to be had and taken in pursuance of this act shall be quashed or vacated for want of form, or be removed by certiorari, or any other writ or process whatsoever, into any of his Majesty's courts of record at Westminster or elsewhere. LXXI. Parishes may adopt only parts of act. LXXII. And be it further enacted, that nothing in this act contained shall be construed to extend to abridge, repeal, alter, amend, or interfere with the powers and provisions contained in an act made and passed in the tenth year of the reign of his late Majesty, king George the Fourth, intituled "An act for improving the police in and near the metropolis," or to extend to any parish or place already regulated by or under the provisions of any act of parliament for all the purposes hereinbefore provided for, or to interfere with the powers which any corporate body may have with respect to watching and lighting. LXXIII. Parts of parishes may adopt the provisions of this act; but not to interfere with any local act. LXXIV. Surveyor of commissioners of sewers may enter into gas works, to see if there be any escape of gas, &c. LXXV. Not to prejudice the rights of the commissioners of sewers. LXXVI. Nor to affect the Universities. LXXVII. And be it further enacted, That the powers given to watch and light any parish shall be understood to be given to any wapentake, division, city, borough, liberty, township, market town, franchise, hamlet, tithing, precinct, and chapelry, or parts within the same; and that where the word "parish' is used it shall be understood to extend to any parts within the same; and that the powers given to a churchwarden shall be understood to be given to any chapel warden, overseer, or other person usually calling any meeting on parochial business; and that the words "justice of the peace" shall be understood to mean justices of the peace for the county, city, borough, town, division, riding, shire, liberty, or place in which the parish which may adopt the provisions of this act shall be situate; and the word "rate payer" to include all persons assessed to and paying rates for the relief of the poor. LXXVIII. And be it further enacted, That this act shall be deemed and taken to be a public act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such by all judges, justices, and others, without being specially pleaded. 3 & 4 VICT. CAP. 47. An Act to repeal so much of an Act of the Ninth Year of the WHEREAS by an act passed in the ninth year of the reign of Her late Majesty, Queen Anne, intituled "An Act for render- 6 Anne, c. 20. ing the Proceedings upon Writs of Mandamus and Informations in the nature of a Quo warranto more speedy and effectual, and for the more easy trying and determining the rights of Offices and Franchises in Corporations and Boroughs," after reciting that "in divers counties, boroughs, towns corporate, and cinque ports, where the mayor, bailiff, or other officer or officers to whom it belonged to preside at the election, and make return of any member to serve in parliament, ought to be annually elected, the same person had been re-elected into such office for several years successively, which had been found inconvenient," it was enacted "that no person or persons who had been or should be in such annual office for one whole year, should be capable to be chosen into the same office for the year immediately ensuing; and that where any such annual officer or officers should be to continue for a year, and until some other person or persons should be chosen and sworn into such office, if any such officer or officers should voluntarily and unlawfully obstruct and prevent the choosing another person or persons to succeed into such office at the time appointed for making another choice, he or they should forfeit one hundred pounds for every such offence, to be recovered, with costs of suit, by such person as would sue for the same, in any of her Majesty's courts of record before mentioned, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, wherein no essoign, protection, or wager of law should be allowed, nor any more than one imparlance; one moiety thereof to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, and the other moiety to him or them that would sue for the same:" and whereas such provision has now become unnecessary and inexpedient: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of Provision in the same, That so much of the said act of the ninth year of the recited act repealed. reign of her late Majesty, Queen Anne, as is hereinbefore recited, shall be and the same is hereby repealed. officers re II. And be it enacted, That no person who shall before the Election of passing of this act have been re-elected into any office by virtue the returning of which it belongs to him to preside at any election or make elected not to return of any member to serve in Parliament shall be deemed be questioned to have been incapable of being chosen into such office, or be under the liable to have his right to exercise such office questioned, by vision. reason of so much of the said recited act as is hereby repealed. above pro |