was an accident within the meaning of the act, 7 Vict. c. 15. s. 22 (1); and it is submitted that there can be no doubt that it was such an accident. It is not necessary that the accident should be caused by the actual working of the machinery in the factory. In many cases it would be very difficult to say whether the accident was caused by the works in the factory or not. The legislature intended that every accident which occurred in a factory, no matter how caused, should be reported to the proper officer. There are provisions in the statutes which compel the owner or occupier of a factory to fence his machinery; it may possibly be to his interest to prevent an injury which would disclose a breach of the regulations from being made public. The next question is, whether the accident prevented the girl from returning to her work in the factory. It does not seem to have occurred to the Magistrates that there may be a colourable return which does not satisfy the words of the statute.

[LUSH, J.-It may be said that if a workman is absent, the foreman will know of it, but that he cannot know whether the workman is able to return to his work or not. Suppose the girl had worked on till the middle of the day, could she then be said to have returned, or not?]

No such difficulty arises in the present case, as for all practical purposes the girl was unable to resume her work on the next day.

No counsel appeared for the respondent.

(1) By 7 Vict. c. 15. s. 22, it is enacted, "That if any accident shall occur in a factory which shall cause any bodily injury to any person employed therein, which shall have been of such a nature as to prevent the person so injured from returning to his work in the factory before nine of the clock of the following morning, the occupier of the factory, or in his absence his principal agent, shall within twenty-four hours of such absence send a notice thereof in writing to the surgeon appointed to grant certificates of age for the district in which the factory is situated, in which notice the place of residence of the person injured, or the place to which he may have been removed, shall be stated; and the surgeon shall send a copy of such notice to the sub-inspector of the district by the first post after the receipt thereof."

COCKBURN, C.J.-I am of opinion that our judgment should be in favour of the appellant. The true meaning of section 22. is, that to take a case out of the statute the person injured must not only return, but at the time of his return must be in a condition to work. A return with the intention of resuming work, is not by itself sufficient. In the present case it appears that although the girl returned with the intention of continuing her work, she had not the capacity to do so. The respondent does not appear to have had notice of her condition when she first returned; but he was bound, as soon as he knew of the real facts of the case, to give the notice required by the statute. With regard to the question whether the accident was of the description intended by the statute, it appears that the girl was not hurt by the machinery of the factory, but in consequence of a stupid trick played by a relation of the respondent. But there can be no doubt that the accident occurred within the factory; and the fact that it was not caused by the machinery does not exonerate the respondent from giving notice of it.

BLACKBURN, J., MELLOR, J. and LUSH, J. concurred.

Judgment for the appellant.

Jurisdiction of Justices of the PeaceWarrant of Distress to levy Rates under Local Act-Limitation under Jervis's Act (11 & 12 Vict. c. 43), s. 11.-Power to state a Case under 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43.

A local act provided that if any person rated under its powers should for ten days after demand neglect to pay the rate, it should be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of the borough, by warrant under his hand and seal, to authorize the collector to levy the rate by distress and sale :—Held, that the issuing of a warrant under this act was not within the limitation of Jervis's

Act (11 & 12 Vict. c. 43), s. 11, which enacts that, in the absence of special limitation, complaints under the act are to be made within six months from the time when the matter of complaint arose.

Semble-that, upon application for such a warrant of distress as above mentioned, the Justices may state a case for the opinion of the Court under 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43. s. 2.

CASE stated by Justices under 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43.

At a petty session for the borough of Kidderminster, held on the 10th of May, 1867, a complaint was preferred by the respondent against the appellant for the nonpayment of two rates duly made according to the 53 Geo. 3. c. 83, "An act for paving, cleansing, lighting, watching and otherwise improving the streets and other public passages and places in Kidderminster, in the county of Worcester."

By section 67, the money directed to be raised by this act is to be assessed and collected by two assessors nominated by the Commissioners entrusted with the execution of the act. By section 68, rates made in pursuance of the act are to be allowed and signed by the Commissioners or any seven of them, who are empowered to amend such rates by inserting or causing to be inserted the name or names of any person or persons who ought to have been rated or who should appear to have been omitted therein, or by taking out the name or names of any person or persons whose name or names should have been inserted in any such rate and who ought not to be rated, or by varying, altering or reducing the amount of the rate. By section 72, the rates when signed and allowed by the Commissioners are to be collected, and if any person liable to pay them refuses or neglects to do so, "it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of the borough of Kidderminster, by warrant under his hand and seal, to authorize and direct the collector or any other person to levy such rate or assessment and all arrears thereof by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such person or persons so refusing or neglecting to pay as aforesaid, rendering the overplus (if any) to the owner or owners of the goods and chattels to be so distrained, after deducting

the costs of recovering the same, and of the distress and sale."

The 67th section and the two subsequent ones are as follows:

Section 67. enacts, "That it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, not exceeding twice in every year, as they shall see occasion, under their hands to nominate and appoint, and they are hereby empowered to nominate and appoint, two or more inhabitants or residents in the said town, to be assessors, with their consent, of the money by this act directed to be raised, and from time to time to issue their order or precept to the said assessors to be appointed as aforesaid, specifying how much in the pound shall be raised by taxation upon all messuages, tenements, buildings and hereditaments, within the said town, at the same rate and in the same proportion as the same messuages, tenements, buildings and hereditaments shall be then rated or assessed in the poor rate or assessment for the relief of the poor of the said borough, and shall and may from time to time divide the said town into such suitable and convenient parts, and also direct and appoint the said assessors to such parts as they the said Commissioners shall think proper, for the more convenient and easy assessment and collection of the money by this act directed to be assessed and collected; and which said rate or assessment so to be made, raised and assessed be levied and assessed in the proportions as aforesaid, for the purposes of this act, shall following (that is to say), upon all and every person and persons who shall rent or occupy within the said town of Kidderminster any houses, tenements or other hereditaments, which shall for the time being be rated or assessed in the then rate or assessment for the poor of the said borough, under 5l. 1s., in the pound; at 5 and under 10., the sum of 28. in the pound; at 101. and upwards, the sum of 38. in the pound; and the said assessors are hereby authorized and required to rate and assess the same accordingly, which said tenants and occupiers shall pay and are hereby made liable to pay the whole of every such rate according to the annual buildings or other hereditaments and premises value or rent of all such houses, tenements, whatsoever, to be occupied by him, her or them respectively, at which they shall be so rated in the said poor rate or assessment."

Section 68. enacts, "That all rates and assessments which shall be made in pursuance of this act as aforesaid shall be allowed and signed by the said Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, and they shall and may have power to amend any such rates or assessments by inserting, or causing to be inserted, the name or names of any person or persons who

ought to have been rated, and shall appear to have been omitted therein, or by taking out the name or names of any person or persons whose name or names shall have been inserted in any such rate or assessment, and who ought not to be rated, or by varying, altering, raising or reducing the several and respective sum and sums of money which shall be charged, rated or assessed in such rate or assessment upon any person or persons whomsoever, regard being had to the then poor rate for the said borough, and such assessors shall appear and bring with them, at any time or place, when thereto required by the said Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, or by the clerk for the time being, a true copy of such assessment, fairly written and subscribed by them, and shall deliver the same unto the said Commissioners; and shall, upon any reasonable notice, from time to time attend upon the said Commissioners at any of their meetings in pursuance of this act, or at any Court or Courts of Quarter Sessions for the said borough, or at any adjournment thereof or otherwise, as there shall be occasion, then and there to explain, amend and justify such assessments; and after the said rates and assessments are so made and confirmed, the said Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, shall and may, and they are hereby authorized and required to cause the same to be collected and received as soon as may be, of and from the person and persons respectively on whom the same shall be rated, charged and assessed."

Section 72. enacts, "That when and so soon as the said rate or rates, assessment or assessments shall have been made, and assigned and allowed by the said Commissioners, or any seven or more of them, as aforesaid, the collector or collectors appointed by the said Commissioners shall, and he and they is and are hereby required to collect the same accordingly; and in case any person or persons who shall be rated or assessed, or subject or liable to the payment of any rate or assessment to be made or laid, or made payable by virtue of this act, shall refuse or neglect to pay such rate or assessment to any collector to be appointed as aforesaid, for the space of ten days next after personal demand made by the collector or collectors thereof, or demand in writing under the hand of such collector left at the last or usual place of abode of the person or persons so refusing or neglecting to pay as aforesaid, or on the premises so charged with such rate or assessment, then and in every such case it shall and may be lawful to and for any Justice of the Peace of the said borough of Kidderminster, by warrant under his hand and seal, to authorize and direct the said collector, or any other person to levy, such rate or assessment, and all arrears thereof, by distress and sale of the goods

and chattels of such person or persons so refusing or neglecting to pay as aforesaid, or on the goods and chattels so found on such premises, rendering the overplus (if any) to the owner or owners of the goods or chattels to be so distrained on demand, after deducting the costs and charges of recovering the same, and of such distress and sale; or it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Commissioners to recover any such rate or rates, assessment or assessments, due and payable by virtue of this act, by action of debt or on the case, in any of His Majesty's courts of record at Westminster, or in any court of request, wherein no essoign, protection, wager of law or more than one imparlance shall be allowed."

Sections 78. and 79. impose various penalties for offences committed against its provisions, and provide the particulars and special modes of recovering "all penalties, forfeitures and fines inflicted or imposed," the manner of levying and recovering whereof is not therein otherwise directed.

The following are copies of sections 78. and 79:

Section 78, "That all penalties, forfeitures and fines by this act inflicted or imposed, or authorized to be imposed, the manner of levying and recovering whereof is not herein otherwise directed, shall, upon the proof of the offences respectively before any one or more Justice or Justices of the Peace for the said borough, either by the confession of the party or parties offending, or by the oath of one or more witness or witnesses (which oath such Justice or Justices of the Peace is and are hereby authorized and required to administer, without fee or reward), be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the party or parties offending, by warrant or warrants under the hand and seal or hands and seals of such Justice or Justices, which warrant or warrants such Justice or Justices is and are hereby empowered to grant; and the penalties and forfeitures, when recovered, after rendering the overplus (if any there be) upon demand to the party or parties whose goods and chattels shall be so distrained and sold, (the costs, charges and expenses of making such distress, and the keeping and selling thereof being first deducted) shall, if not directed to be otherwise applied by this act, be paid to the treasurer for the time being to the said Commissioners, and applied towards the purposes of this act, and in aid of the rates to be made in pursuance of this act, &c.; and in every such case where distress is directed to be made, levied or taken by this act, and sufficient distress shall not be found, and such penalties, forfeitures and fines shall not be forthwith paid, it shall and may be law

ful for such Justice or Justices of the Peace, and he and they is and are hereby authorized and required, by warrant or warrants under his or their hand and seal or hands and seals, to cause such offender or offenders to be committed to the common gaol or house of correction of the county of Worcester, there to remain without bail or mainprize, for any time not exceeding one calendar month for the first offence, and for the second and every other offence of the same kind, for any time not exceeding three calendar months, unless such penalties, forfeitures or fines, and all reasonable charges and expenses attending the same, shall be sooner paid and satisfied."

Section 79. enacts, "That all and every Justice or Justices of the Peace, before whom any person or persons shall be convicted of any offence against this act, shall and may cause the conviction to be drawn up in the following words, or any other form of words to the same effect; (that is to say,)

day

is

of

"Be it remembered, That on this of in the year of our Lord duly convicted before me [or, us] His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the borough of Kidderminster, of having [here state the offence against this act, as the case may be] contrary to the form of the statute in that case made and provided; and I [or, we, as the case may be] do declare and adjudge that the said hath forfeited for his [or her, as the case may be] said offence, the sum of Given under my hand and seal [or, hands and seals, as the case may be] the day and year above written."

All the powers, directions and authorities contained in the said act have been duly and legally transferred to and vested in the town council and body corporate of the borough of Kidderminster, under and by virtue of the 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76. s. 75, intituled, 'An Act to provide for the regulation of Municipal Corporations in England and Wales.'

The complaint stated that the appellant was subject and liable to the payment of two rates and assessments, duly made and laid, and made payable by virtue of the act of 53 Geo. 3, to wit, a certain rate and assessment of 21. 2s. 9d., made on the 2nd of August, 1865, and one other certain rate and assessment of 15s. 4d., made on the 6th of March, 1866, and had refused and neglected to pay such rates and assessments to the said Ebenezer Guest, the duly-appointed collector, for the space of ten days next after demand

in writing made by him thereof, contrary to the said act of parliament, and therefore the said Ebenezer Guest prayed the issue of a warrant to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the said appellant. It was heard and determined by the Justices, and they directed that a warrant should issue to levy the rates upon the goods and chattels of the appellant, pursuant to the statute of 53 Geo. 3. The appellant, being dissatisfied with their determination as being erroneous in point of law, did, pursuant to section 2. of the statute 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43, apply to them, in writing, to state and sign a case setting forth the facts and the grounds of their determination, for the opinion of this Court, and duly entered into a recognizance with a surety, as required by the statute. The Justices, in compliance with the application and the provisions of the statute, stated and signed the following case:

Upon the hearing of the complaint the above-mentioned rates or assessments were produced before us, the first appearing, to be signed by the assessors, on the 25th of July, 1865, and allowed and signed by the mayor and eleven councillors of the said borough, on the 2nd of August, 1865.

The second rate or assessment appeared to be signed by the assessors, on the 5th of March, 1866, and allowed and signed by the mayor and seven councillors of the said borough, on the 6th of March, 1866.

It was admitted by the appellant upon the hearing that he had not appealed to the council on the powers of the said act of 53 Geo. 3. against either of the said rates or assessments. It was admitted by the said appellant that all the proceedings before us as to the making and signing of the two several rates or assessments by the assessors, and the allowance and signing of them by the council, were legal and regular, with one exception, namely, that inasmuch as the rates or assessments appeared to be signed by the assessors, and allowed and signed by the council, on different days, they were in that respect illegal and void, and could not therefore be legally enforced against the appellant by distress.

It was also admitted that the requisite and proper statutory demand of the rates had been made upon the appellant by the col

lector, and that the appellant refused to pay.

It was proved in evidence that the written demand of the first rate was made on the 19th of October, 1865, and of the second rate on the 29th of May, 1866, in both cases more than six calendar months before the date of the complaint.

The appellant further objected to the jurisdiction of the Justices, upon the grounds that by the statute 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43. s. 11, commonly called Jervis's Act, it was enacted "that in all cases where no time is already or shall hereafter be specially limited for making any such complaint or laying any such information, in the act or acts of parliament relating to each particular case, such complaint shall be made, and such information shall be laid within six calendar months from the time when the matter of such complaint or information respectively arose," and that as upwards of six calendar months had elapsed, not only since the making of both rates, but since the demand for payment from the appellant, before the date of the complaint, the Justices had no power to issue a warrant of distress against him.

The respondent contended, as to the first objection, that as there was no time specified in the act of 55 Geo. 3, as to when the council should allow and sign the rate or assessment after being made by the assessors, it is perfectly immaterial to its validity whether it is the same day as when signed by the assessors, or within a reasonable time afterwards, as the two acts are distinct and separate, and that these rates may be compared to a poor-rate, which is first made by the overseers, dated and signed on one day, and afterwards on a necessarily different day is allowed and signed by two Justices. And as to the second objection, the respondent contended that Jervis's Act does not apply to such a case as the present, but only to cases where Justices are authorized by law, on complaint made to them, to make an order for payment of money or otherwise, and to hear and determine any matter between the complainant and the defendant, and make orders thereon in favour of the complaining party, that, in this case, the act of parliament directs in express terms the

mode of proceeding to recover the rate, if not paid after demand, and does not even require any summons to a defaulter to shew cause why he should not pay, and does not give the Magistrates any power or discretion either to lessen or excuse the payment of the rate, or to make any order thereon; and that the summoning of the defaulter is more an act of courtesy than of necessity.

The Justices, however, being of opinion that the objections raised to their jurisdiction in the matter were not good in law, gave their determination against the appellant in manner before stated.

The questions of law for the opinion of the Court, therefore, were, first, whether the variance in the dates of signing the rates or assessments by the assessors, as stated in the case, and of the dates of allowing and signing the same rates by the members of the town council (acting as Commissioners under the act of 53 Geo. 3), rendered the rates or assessments illegal; secondly, if such variance did not invalidate the rates or assessments, whether their jurisdiction was ousted by the operation of Jervis's Act, 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, or otherwise, so as to make it illegal for them to grant a warrant of distress to levy the rates upon the goods and chattels of the appellant.

If the Court should be of opinion that the Magistrates were right in their determination to issue a warrant of distress, then the same was to issue; but if the Court should be of opinion otherwise, then the complaint was to be dismissed.

F. T. Streeten, for the respondent.— There is a preliminary objection in this case, viz., whether the Justices had power to state a case under the 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43. s. 2, inasmuch as the issuing a distress warrant for rates under this local act is not a matter for summary decision within the meaning of that section; it is a purely ministerial act, and the Justices were not called upon to determine anything.

[COCKBURN, C.J.-Though the Justices had no power to interfere in questions relating to the validity of the rate, other questions may arise on the application for the distress warrant, such, for instance, as a question of identity. MELLOR, J.— The preamble of the 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43,