(c) i.e., Town Council, Improvement Act Board, or Local Board (see Section 27, page 38); but though in a Borough the Act is to be carried into execution by the Town Council as being the Urban Authority under the Public Health Act, the expenses are not payable out of the rates levied under that Act.

(d) See next Section. For Metropolitan provisions, see Sections 21, 22, page 32.

CONSTITUTION OF COMMISSIONERS FOR EXECUTING ACT IN PARISH.

5. (1) Where this Act is adopted for any Parish (a) the Vestry (b) shall forthwith appoint not less than three or more than nine Voters (c) in the Parish to be Commissioners for carrying this Act into execution.

," and

(2) The Commissioners shall be a body corporate by the name of "The Commissioners for Public Libraries and Museums for the Parish of in the County of shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold lands for the purposes of this Act, without any licence in mortmain (d).

NOTES.

(a) Or Metropolitan District, Section 22, page 32.

(b) Or District Board in the Metropolis. See Section 22, page 32. As to the constitution of the Vestry, see Section 26, page 38.

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

(d) There is no limit to the area of lands which the Commissioners may acquire and hold as in the case of Municipal Corporations, but they must be acquired and held "for the purposes of this Act"; and see Section 12, page 16, as to the acquisition and disposal of land. The Local Government Board advised under the repealed Acts that in a Parish the Library Commissioners were not themselves to make a rate, but were to call upon the Overseers to make it. This is now so provided in Section 18 (1) (c), page 23. The Commissioners' expenses are subject to approval by the Vestry. See Section 18 (2), page 23.

ROTATION OF COMMISSIONERS.

6. (1) The Commissioners (a) shall, as soon as conveniently may be after their appointment, divide themselves by agreement, or in default of agreement by ballot, into three classes, one-third or as nearly as may be one-third of them being in each class.

(2) The offices of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of one year, the offices of the second class at the expiration of two years, and the offices of the third class at the expiration of three years from the time of their appointment.

(3) The offices of vacating Commissioners shall be filled by an equal number of new Commissioners to be appointed by the Vestry (b) from among the Voters (c) in the Parish; and every newly elected Commissioner shall hold his office for the term of three years from the date when the office became vacant (cc), and no longer, unless re-elected; but a person, on ceasing to be a Comsioner, shall, unless disqualified (d), be re-eligible.

(4) Any casual vacancy among the Commissioners, whether arising by death, resignation, incapacity (d), or otherwise, shall, as soon as may be after the occurrence thereof, be filled up by the Vestry (b); but the term of office of a Commissioner appointed to fill up a casual vacancy shall expire at the date at which the term of office of the Commissioner in whose place he is appointed would have expired.

NOTES.

This Section is much more explicit than the Section in the Act of 1855, which it replaces (a) See Section 5 ante. The retirement of Commissioners was settled under the repealed Acts by the Vestry by ballot. Under this Section the Commissioners themselves are to decide their rotation either by "agreement" or "ballot".

(b) Or District Board in the Metropolis. See Section 22 (2), page 33. See Section 26 as to the constitution of the Vestry, page 38.

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

(cc) The words in italics are new.

(d) The only qualification required is that in Section 5 ante, viz., that the Commissioners shall be "voters". While they remain registered as such, probably no question can arise, but if during the term of office they cease to be so registered, or to be qualified as voters, a question might arise as to whether or not they were disqualified. There seems to be no provision on this point.

MEETINGS OF COMMISSIONERS.

7. The Commissioners shall meet at least once in every month, and at such other times as they think fit, at some convenient place; and any one Commissioner may summon a special meeting by giving three clear days' notice in writing to each Commissioner, specifying therein the purpose for which the meeting is called. Business shall not be transacted at any meeting of the Commissioners unless at least two of them are present (a).

NOTE.

(a) Commissioners are not included in Section 15 (3), page 19, which authorises the appointment of a Committee.

PROCEEDINGS OF COMMISSIONERS TO BE

RECORDED.

8. All orders and proceedings of the Commissioners shall be entered in books to be kept for that purpose, and shall be signed by the Commissioners or by any two of them; and all such orders and proceedings so entered, and purporting to be so signed, shall be deemed to be original orders and proceedings, and such books may be produced and read as evidence of all such orders and proceedings upon any judicial proceeding (a).

NOTE.

(a) This Section follows Section 11 of the Act of 1855 now repealed.

POWER TO VESTRIES OF NEIGHBOURING PARISHES TO COMBINE (1).

9. (1) Where this Act is adopted for any two or more neighbouring (a) Parishes (aa), the Vestries (b) of those Parishes may by agreement combine for any period in carrying this Act into execution, and the expenses of carrying this Act into execution shall be defrayed by the Parishes in such proportions as may be agreed on by the Vestries (bb).

(2) The Vestry (b) of each of the said Parishes (aa) shall appoint not more than six (c) Commissioners in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the Commissioners so appointed for the several Parishes shall form one body of Commissioners, and shall act accordingly in the execution of this Act (d).

NOTES.

(1) As to combination of neighbouring Urban Districts see the Act of 1893, Section 4, p. 159. (a) Not necessarily adjoining.

(aa) i.e., Parishes which are not within any Urban District (Section 1 (2), page 2).

(b) See Section 26 for definition of Vestry, page 38.

(bb) Section 14 of the Act of 1855 provided that the Vestries might agree as to the erection of a Public Library or Museum, or both, in any one of the Parishes. This is omitted here, because the Joint Commissioners have all the powers of a Library Authority.

(c) Section 14 of the Act of 1855, now repealed, provided for the appointment of not more than three Commissioners by each Vestry. The change to six should be noted.

(d) This Section provides for the combination of Parishes which are not in any Urban District. Section 16, page 21, should be read in connection with it. Section 10, post, authorises a combination between any "Library District" and a Parish, if near or adjoining, but there is no provision for a combination of two Urban Districts [but see now the Act of 1893, page 159], nor have the Library Authorities in such Districts power to enter into agreements for the use of one Library under Section 16 (1). As to Metropolitan Districts, see Section 22 (4), page 33.

POWER TO ANNEX PARISH TO ADJOINING DISTRICT.

10. Where the voters (a) in a Parish (b) adjoining or near (c) any Library District (d) for which either this Act has been adopted, or the adoption thereof is contemplated, consent to such Parish being annexed (dd) to the said District, such Parish (b), subject to the consent of the Library Authority (e) of the said District being also given, shall be annexed to and form part of that District for the purposes of this Act; the Vestry (f) of such Parish shall appoint not more than six (9) Commissioners in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the Commissioners so from time to time appointed shall during their respective terms of office be deemed for all the purposes of this Act to be members of the Library Authority of the said District (h).

NOTES.

(a) i.e., Burgesses or County Electors (Section 27, page 38). A majority of answers on valid voting papers decides the question (see Section 3 (c), page 4, and form of voting paper, question 3, page 43).

(b) i.e., a Parish not within any Urban District (Section 1 (2), page 2). (c) The words or near are new.

Previous to the Act of 1892 only Parishes whose boundaries adjoined any Borough, &c., could be annexed; by the addition of the words 66 or near," a Parish some distance apart, may for the purposes of this Section be "annexed"

to any Borough, Urban District, or Parish in which the Act has been adopted.

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

(dd) Observe that Section 9 relates to the "combination" of Parishes, and this Section to the "annexation" of a Parish to an adjoining District.

(e) See definition, Section 4, page 10.

(f) For definition of "Vestry" see Section 26, page 38.

(g) Formerly three by the Act of 1866, Section 4.

(h) It is doubtful whether this Section applies to Metropolitan Districts. See the note to Section 22 (4), page 33.

EXECUTION OF ACT.

Provision of Libraries, Museums, and Schools of Science and Art (aa).

11. (1) The Library Authority (a) of any Library District (b) for which this Act has been adopted may, subject to the provisions of this Act (c), provide all or any of the following institutions, namely, Public Libraries, Public Museums, Schools for Science, Art Galleries, and Schools for Art (aa), and for that purpose may purchase and hire land (cc), and erect, take down, rebuild, alter, repair, and extend buildings, and fit up, furnish, and supply the same with all requisite furniture, fittings, and conveniences (d).

(2) Where any of the institutions mentioned in this Section has been established either before or after the passing of this Act by any Library Authority (a) under this Act or the Acts hereby repealed, that Authority may establish in connection therewith any other of the said institutions without further proceedings being taken with respect to the adoption of this Act (d).

(3) No charge shall be made for admission to a Library or Museum (e) provided under this Act (f) for any Library District (b), or, in the case of a Lending Library (g), for the use thereof by the inhabitants of the District; but the Library Authority, if they think fit, may grant the use of a Lending Library to persons not being inhabitants of the District, either gratuitously or for payment (h).

NOTES.

(a) See Section 4, page 10. As to the City of London, see Section 21, and the Metropolis, Section 22, page 32.

(aa) See the Schools for Science and Art Act, 1891, page 156.

(b) See Section 1 (2), page 2.

(c) See Section 12, page 16, as to the acquisition and disposal of land, and Section 19, page 25, as to borrowing.

(cc) The sanction of the Local Government Board was required by the repealed Acts on the purchase or hire of any land or buildings (Section 18 of the Act of 1855 as amended), but this requirement is not repeated in the present Act; and though it does not say specifically that "buildings" may be hired, the Authority may "provide" Libraries, &c., and, having the power to hire "land," it has the power to hire "buildings," since the expression "land" includes (unless a contrary intention appears), messuages, tenements, and hereditaments, and houses and buildings of any tenure, by virtue of Section 3 of the Interpretation Act, 1889. See Section 12, page 16, as to the purchase of land, and Section 19, page 25, as to borrowing.

(d) Always subject to the limit on the rate to be levied. And the repayment of principal and interest being for "the purposes of this Act" must be provided out of the rate.

(e) This does not include an Art Gallery or School for Science or Art.

(f) The repealed Act provided that there should be no charge for admission to Libraries and Museums provided under it. It would have been better to have inserted the words " or under the Acts hereby repealed," as in the last preceding Sub-section.

(g) This is the first reference to "Lending Libraries". Probably they are included in the term "Libraries," but it was deemed necessary to amend the Act of 1885 by Section 5 of the Public Libraries Amendment Act, 1887, so as to authorise the establishment of branch Lending Libraries—a provision which does not appear to be repeated.

(h) The last sentence is new and should be carefully noted. At Chesterfield, under the repealed Acts, the Town Council decided that non-residents of the Borough should be allowed to use the Library subject to conditions.