ENGLAND AND WALES.

General Note.—What are now popularly known as Free Public Libraries were, in England and Wales, established and regulated by the Public Libraries Act, 1850, or the Public Libraries Acts, 1855-90, a summary whereof appears at page 88 et seq. Since 1st October, 1892, those institutions have been regulated by, and new ones will be established under the Consolidating Act known as the Public Libraries Act, 1892. The Bill for this measure was prepared by the Library Association of the United Kingdom, and introduced in the House of Commons in the Session of 1892 by the Rt. Hon. Sir John Lubbock, M.P., whose name has long been associated with Public Library legislation. The Bill passed through both Houses with unexpected rapidity. Only the few amendments indicated in the following notes were introduced. The Act leaves untouched many details of Public Library management requiring attention; but, having been introduced mainly as a Consolidating Bill, it was deemed expedient to defer some important amendments for future legislation rather than jeopardise so necessary a measure.

55 AND 56 VICT., CAP. LIII.

An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to Public Libraries. -[27th June, 1892.1

Be it 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 the same, as follows:

ADOPTION OF ACT AND CONSTITUTION OF LIBRARY

AUTHORITY.

Extent and Application of Act.

1. (1) This Act shall extend to every Library District for which it is adopted (a).

(2) For the purposes of this Act and subject to the provisions thereof every Urban District (b) and every Parish in England and Wales which is not within an Urban District (c) shall be a Library District (d).

(3) This Act shall have effect as regards any Parish which is partly within and partly without an Urban District as if the part which is without the District were a separate Parish, and the overseers for the Parish shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the overseers for that part (e).

NOTES.

(a) See Section 3, page 4, as to the proceedings for the adoption of the Act.

(b) i.e., a Municipal Borough, Improvement Act District, or Local Government District. See Section 27, page 38.

(c) In an Urban District the Act is to be carried into execution by the Urban Authority, but in a Parish by Commissioners appointed under the Act. See Section 4, page 10.

(d) The City of London is also a Library District (see Section 21, page 32), and so is any District under the Metropolis Management Act, 1855, or any amending Act. See Section 22, page 32.

(e) This is taken from Section 9 of the Public Libraries Acts Amendment Act, 1887, and its effect is that under Sub-section 2 ante the outlying part becomes a Parish, and consequently a Library District within Sub-sections (1) and (2) ante. See also Section 5, page 11, as to appointment of Commissioners, and Section 18 (1) (c), page 23, as to financial matters. The rate can only be levied in the outlying part if the Act is adopted for it.

Limitations on Expenditure for purposes of Act.

2. (1) A rate or addition to a rate (a) shall not be levied for the purposes of this Act for any one financial year (aa) in any Library District (b) to an amount exceeding one penny in the pound (c).

(2) This Act may be adopted for any Library District (d) subject to a condition that the maximum (e) rate or addition to a rate to be levied for the purposes of this Act in the District or in any defined portion of the District (f) in any one financial year (aa) shall not exceed one halfpenny or shall not exceed three farthings in the pound, but such limitation if fixed at one halfpenny may be subsequently raised to three farthings, or altogether removed, or where it is for the time being fixed at three farthings may be removed (g).

(a) The words in italics are new.

NOTES.

(aa) See definition in Section 27, page 38. The expression is new.

(b) Except the City of London (Section 21, page 32) and any District where the limit, if any, is prescribed in a Local Act (Section 29, page 39).

(c) This Sub-section does not absolutely set at rest the difficulty as to whether or not the amount realised by the rate must be expended in the year for which it is levied. Probably the maximum rate may be levied in addition to any surplus remaining from the previous years, for there is no provision in the Act corresponding with Section 2 of the repealed Act of 1866 (limiting the amount to be paid in Boroughs in the year) or Section 3 of the repealed Act of 1871 (limiting the amount to be expended in Local Board Districts). And it is conceived that proceedings could only be taken against an Authority for an infringement of this Sub-clause when it levied more in one year than the amount prescribed. The side-note (which forms the head-line in this edition), however, refers to limitations on 'expenditure," but it may be reasonably argued that this does not affect the clause itself. It would appear that the amount to be levied is not to exceed the amount which a penny in the pound would realise after allowing for empty property, deductions, and allowances, i.e., the amount which the rate actually yields. In Expte. Brown In re Liverpool Corporation where the rate, under a local Act, was limited, the justices having refused to issue a distress warrant against the Overseers, it was held that the justices were right, and that a penny rate means a penny rate on the nominal rateable value, although part of it is unproductive, and that a deficiency thus arising cannot be supplied out of the productive part. (31 L. J. M. C. 108 [Reg. v. Liverpool J J.] 6. L. T. 241.)

66

Whether the cost of collecting the rate is (except in Parishes) to be deducted is very doubtful, and especially where a separate rate is levied. At Chelsea the Commissioners were charged by the Rating Authority (in that case the Board of Guardians) for collecting the Library Rate when the Metropolitan District Auditor surcharged the amount, being evidently of opinion that the charge for collecting the rate was not properly payable by the Commissioners, but quare whether it should not be deducted in ascertaining the actual yield of the rate where the maximum is levied. The matter was dealt with by the Public Libraries Amendment Act, 1889, which provided that in a Parish the expenses should be paid out of a rate "to be raised with and as part of the Poor Rate". This provision is now incorporated in Section 18 (1) (c), page 23; but the phrase "with and as part of the Poor Rate" does not make it clear that the cost of collecting the Poor Rate is not to be deducted so as to ascertain the actual yield of the rate.

The Local Government Board have stated that they were advised that in a Parish the Library Commissioners were not themselves to make the rate, but were to call upon the Overseers to make it under Section 13 of the Act of 1855. The new Act following the Act of 1889 expressly provides that the rate is to be raised "with and as part of the Poor

Rate".

(d) See definition, Section 1 (2), page 2.

(e) Not the actual rate to be used, but the maximum rate to be levied.

(f) Query whether it might be held to be legal to take the vote in one part for the full rate and at the same time for a reduced rate in another. The voting paper does not appear to provide for this-unless separate voting papers may be used in each part.

(g) As to alteration of any maximum prescribed by the voters, see Section 3 (6), page 4. Other clauses as to rating are: As to mode of collection and deductions, Section 18, page 23; as to exemptions by Local Acts, Sections 25 and 29, pages 38 and 39. Observe that in a Parish by Section 18 (2) the Vestry must sanction the amount to be expended.

PROCEEDINGS FOR ADOPTION OF ACT (1).

3. With respect to

(a) the adoption of this Act for any Library District (a); and (b) the fixing, raising, and removing of any limitation on the maximum rate to be levied for the purposes of this Act (b); and

(c) the ascertaining of the opinion of the voters (c) with respect to any matter for which their consent is required under this Act (d);

the following provisions shall have effect: that is to say,

(1) Any ten or more voters (c) in the Library District (a) may address a requisition in writing to the authority hereafter in this Section mentioned requiring that authority to ascertain the opinion of the voters (c) in the District with respect to the question or questions stated in the requisition: Provided that where the Library District is a Municipal Borough the requisition may be made by the Council of the Borough :

(2) On receipt of the requisition the said authority shall (dd) proceed to ascertain by means of voting papers (e) the opinion of the voters with respect to the said question or questions; but the said authority shall not ascertain the opinion of the voters on any question with respect to the limitation of the rate unless required to do so by the requisition, or with respect to any limitation of the rate other than the limitations specified in this Act:

(3) The procedure for ascertaining the opinion of the voters shall be in accordance with the regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Act (f); and those regulations shall have effect as if they were enacted in the body of this Act (g):

(4) Every question so submitted to the voters (c) shall be decided by the majority (h) of answers to that question recorded on the valid (i) voting papers, and where the majority of those answers are in favour of the adoption of this Act the same shall forthwith, on the result of the poll being made public, be deemed to be adopted (j) :

(5) Where the opinion of the voters in any Library District (a) is ascertained upon the question as to the adoption of

this Act, or upon a question as to the limitation of the rate, no further proceeding shall be taken for ascertaining the opinion of the voters until the expiration of one year at least from the day when the opinion of the voters was last ascertained, that is to say, the day on which the voting papers were collected:

(6) The authority to ascertain the opinion of the voters for the purposes of this Section shall be in a Municipal Borough the Mayor, and in any other Urban District (k) the Chairman of the Urban Authority, and in a Parish the Overseers (1).

NOTES.

(1) This Section is repealed so far as it relates to an Urban District. See the Act of 1893, p. 158, with respect to adoption of the Act in such a District.

(a) See Section 1 (2) for definition, page 2.

(b) See Section 2, page 2, as to what maximum may be fixed. The "authority" may not take the opinion of the voters on this point unless required to do so by the requisition. See Sub-section (2) post.

(c) i.e., County Electors or Burgesses. See Section 27, page 38.

(d) Such as agreements under Sections 9 and 10, pages 13 and 14, for the combination of neighbouring Parishes or the annexation of a Parish adjoining or near a Library District for the purposes of the Act, or agreements by Library Authorities for joint use of Library. Section 16, page 21. See also question 3 in the Form of voting paper, page 43.

(dd) In the event of neglect or refusal, the only remedy would be by mandamus. (e) See Schedule I. Part II., page 43, for form of voting paper.

(f) Page 40.

(9) This is an important provision, necessitating strict compliance with the regulations which will be judicially noticed if necessary.

(h) See Rule 14 in the Regulations, page 42.

(i) See Rules 10 and 11, page 42.

(j) A form for announcing the result of the poll is set out on page 45.

(k) i.e., Improvement Act or Local Board District. As regards the City of London and the Metropolis, see Sections 21 and 22, page 32.

(1) POLL TAKEN BY VOTING PAPERS.-Reg. v. Morris (Times, June 13, 1888). Public Libraries Acts adopted. Application for two warrants to question the election of Commissioners on the ground (1) that the Vestry and Guardians were not the prescribed Local Authority, (2) that voting papers were not issued to each ratepayer, (3) that those issued were not properly collected, (4) that a scrutiny lawfully demanded had been refused, (5) and, generally, that the result of the voting had not been conclusively ascertained. Application refused.

In view of the provisions of the Act of 1892, under which voting papers are to be used in all cases in future, the judgments of the Court in this case are here set out.

Mr. Justice Field: This is a rule which was obtained by Mr. Jelf on behalf of the relator, Mr. Ross, calling upon certain gentlemen connected with the Authority or Vestry to show cause why a quo warranto should not be issued to show their authority why they exercised