Valuers to apportion the Rent-charge.

Valuers may enter on Lands

for the Purpose of valuing Tithes.

Old Plans and

said Parish, or their Agents, present at the Meeting, may appoint a Valuer or Valuers; and in case the Majority in respect of Number and the Majority in respect of Interest shall not agree upon the Appointment, then they shall appoint Two or such other even Number of Valuers as shall be then agreed on by such Land Owners, Half of such Number to be chosen by a Majority in respect of Number, and the other Half by a Majority in respect of Interest, of such Land Owners then present.

XXXIII. And be it enacted, That as soon as may be after the choosing of such Valuer or Valuers, and after the Confirmation of the said Agreement, the Valuer or Valuers so chosen shall apportion the total Sum agreed to be paid by way of Rent-charge instead of Tithes, and the Expences of the Apportionment, amongst the several Lands in the said Parish, according to such Principles of Apportionment as shall be agreed upon at the Meeting at which the Valuer or Valuers shall be chosen, or if no Principles shall be then agreed upon for the Guidance of the Valuer or Valuers, then, having regard to the average titheable Produce and productive Quality of the Lands, according to his or their Discretion and Judgment, but subject in each Case to the Provisions hereinafter contained, and so that in each Case the several Lands shall have the full Benefit of every Modus and Composition Real, Prescriptive and Customary Payment, and of every Exemption from or Non-liability to Tithes relating to the said Lands respectively, and having regard to the several Tithes to which the said Lands are severally liable; provided that it shall be lawful for the said Valuers, when an even Number is chosen, by any Writing under their Hands, to appoint an Umpire before they proceed upon the Business of such Apportionment, and the Decision of the Umpire on the Questions in difference between the Valuers shall be binding on them, and shall be adopted by them in the Apportionment.

XXXIV. And be it enacted, That the said Valuers and Umpire (if it shall become necessary for him to act), and their Agents or Servants, at all reasonable Times, may enter upon any of the Lands to be included in the Apportionment, and make an Admeasurement, Plan, and Valuation of the same, without being subject to any Action or Molestation for so doing: Provided always, that no Valuer or Umpire shall be capable of acting until he shall have made and subscribed before the said Commissioners, or some Assistant Commissioner or Justice of the Peace, a solemn Declaration to the same Purport and Effect as the Oath hereinbefore directed to be made by the said Commissioners, substituting only the proper Description of such Person instead of the Word Commissioner, and adding to his Signature the usual Place of his Residence, which Declaration it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners, or any Assistant Commissioner or Justice, to administer; and every such Declaration so made and subscribed shall be countersigned by the Person before whom the same shall have been made, and shall be sent by him to the Office of the Commissioners.

XXXV. And be it enacted, That the Valuer or Valuers or Surveys may be Umpire may, if they think fit, use for the Purposes of this Act any Admeasurement, Plan, or Valuation previously made of the Lands

used if the

Lands or Tithes in question of the Accuracy of which they shall Valuers think
be satisfied; and that it shall be lawful for the Meeting at which proper,
such Valuer or Valuers shall be chosen to agree upon the Adoption
for the Purposes aforesaid of any such Admeasurement, Plan, or
Valuation, and such Agreement shall be binding upon the Valuer
or Valuers; provided always, that Three Fourths of the Land
Owners in Number and Value shall concur therein.

XXXVI. And be it enacted, That after the First Day of October One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight the Commissioners shall proceed in manner herein-after mentioned, at such Time and in such Order as to them shall seem fit, either by themselves or by some Assistant Commissioner, to ascertain and award the total Sum to be paid by way of Rent-charge instead of the Tithes of every Parish in England and Wales in which no such Agreement binding upon the whole Parish as aforesaid shall have been made and confirmed as aforesaid: Provided nevertheless, that if any Proceeding shall be had towards making and executing any such Agreement after the Commissioners shall have given or caused to be given Notice of their Intention to act as aforesaid in such Parish, the Commissioners may refrain from acting upon such Notice, if they shall think fit, until the Result of such Proceeding shall appear.

After 1st Oct. 1838, Com

missioners may

ascertain total

Value of Tithes
in any Parish
in which no
previous Agree-
ment has been

made.

Years,

XXXVII. And be it enacted, That in every Case in which the Value of Tithes Commissioners shall intend making such Award, Notice thereof to be calculated shall be given in such Manner as to them shall seem fit; and upon an Aveafter the Expiration of Twenty-one Days after such Notice shall rage of Seven have been given the Commissioners or some Assistant Commissioner shall, except in the Cases for which Provision is herein-after made, proceed to ascertain the clear Average Value (after making all just Deductions on account of the Expences of collecting, preparing for Sale, and marketing, where such Tithes have been taken in Kind,) of the Tithes of the said Parish, according to the Average of Seven Years preceding Christmas in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five: Provided that if during the said Period of Seven Years, or any Part thereof, the said Tithes or any Part thereof shall have been compounded for or demised to the Owner or Occupier of any of the said Lands in consideration of any Rent or Payment instead of Tithes, the Amount of such Composition or Rent or Sum agreed to be paid instead of Tithes shall be taken as the clear Value of the Tithes included in such Composition, Demise, or Agreement during the Time for which the same shall have been made; and the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall award the average annual Value of the said Seven Years so ascertained as the Sum to be taken for calculating the Rent-charge to be paid as a permanent Commutation of the said Tithes: Provided also, that Tithes to be whenever it shall appear to the Commissioners that the Party valued without entitled to any such Rent or Composition shall in any One or more of the said Seven Years have allowed and made any Abatement from the Amount of such Rent or Composition on the ground of the same having in any such Year or Years been higher than the Sum fairly payable by way of Composition for the Tithe, but not otherwise, then and in every such Case such diminished Amount, after making such Abatement as aforesaid, shall be

Deduction on

account of

Parochial and
County Rates,

&c.

1

Commissioners

in certain Cases
may increase
or diminish the

Sum to be paid

for Commuta

tion.

Special Adjudications how to be made.

deemed and taken to have been the Sum agreed to be paid for any such Year or Years: Provided also, that in estimating the Value of the said Tithes the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall estimate the same without making any Deduction therefrom on account of any Parliamentary, Parochial, County, and other Rates, Charges, and Assessments to which the said Tithes are liable; and whenever the said Tithes shall have been demised or compounded for on the Principle of the Rent or Composition being paid free from all such Rates, Charges, and Assessments, or any Part thereof, the said Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall have regard to that Circumstance, and shall make such an Addition on account thereof as shall be an Equivalent.

XXXVIII. Provided always, and be it enacted, That in case Notice in Writing under the Hand of any Patron, or the Hands of any Land Owners or Tithe Owners whose Interest in the Lands or Tithes of the Parish shall not be less than One Half of the Lands subject to Tithes, One Half of the Great Tithes or One Half of the Small Tithes of the Parish, shall be given to the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner acting in that Behalf, within One Calendar Month next after the Notice of the Intention to make an Award shall have been given as aforesaid, that the Average Value to be ascertained as aforesaid will not fairly represent the Sum which ought to be taken for calculating a permanent Commutation of the Great or Small Tithes of the said Parish, the Commissioners shall have Power to diminish or increase the Sum to be so taken by a Sum amounting to not more than One Fifth Part of the Average Value ascertained as aforesaid: Provided always, that every Case which shall appear to the Commissioners to be fraudulent or collusive, or which, by reason of the Length of Time which shall have elapsed since the making of any Composition then in force, or which by reason of the peculiar Interest in the Lands or Tithes of either of the Parties to any Composition, or by reason of any other special Circumstances, ought in the Judgment of the Commissioners to be separately adjudicated upon, shall be reserved for separate Adjudication as herein-after provided; and the Commissioners shall certify and report to One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, under their Hands and Seals, before the First Day of May in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, in what Manner the Discretion hereby vested in them ought in their Judgment to be exercised, and shall in the said Report lay down such Rules for the Guidance of the Assistant Commissioners as may to them seem expedient; and such Report shall be laid before Parliament within Six Weeks after the same shall have been received or after the Meeting of Parliament, and, unless Parliament shall otherwise provide, such Rules shall be observed by the said Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners in the Exercise of the Discretion hereby vested in the Commissioners.

XXXIX. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners shall from Time to Time report to One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, under their Hands and Seals, all the Cases which under the Power herein-before reserved to them in that Behalf shall have been reserved for separate Adjudication, and

shall

shall state in every such Report the Reasons for so reserving every Case mentioned therein, and the Commissioners shall in every such Case award the Rent-charge to be paid as a permanent Commutation for Tithes, having regard to the Average Rate which shall be awarded in respect of Lands of the like Description and similarly situated in the neighbouring Parishes; provided always, that a Draught of such intended Award, with a Copy of so much of the said Report as is applicable to such Award, shall be deposited in the Parish; and the Commissioners, or an Assistant Commissioner to be specially appointed by the Commissioners for that Purpose, shall hear and determine all Objections to the Award in the like Manner as is herein provided in an ordinary Case of Award, and the Commissioners shall have Power thereupon to amend the Draught of the said Award accordingly.

XL. And be it enacted, That in case any of the Lands in the Parish shall be Hop Grounds, Orchards, or Gardens, and Notice shall be given by the Owner thereof to the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner acting in that Behalf that the Tithes thereof should be separately valued, the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall estimate the Value of the Tithes thereof according to the Average Rate of Composition for the Tithes of Hops, Fruit, and Garden Produce respectively during Seven Years preceding Christmas in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, within a District to be assigned in each Case by the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner, and estimating the same as chargeable to all Parliamentary, Parochial, County, and other Rates, Charges, and Assessments to which the said Tithes are liable, and shall add the Value so estimated to the Value of the other Tithes of the Parish ascertained as aforesaid.

XLI. And be it enacted, That in case any of the Lands in the Parish shall be Coppices, and Notice shall be given by the Owner thereof, or by the Owner of the Tithes thereof, to the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner acting in that Behalf that the Tithes thereof should be separately valued, the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall estimate the Value of the Tithes thereof with a due Regard to the Average Value, estimated according to the best of their Judgment, of Coppice Wood of the same Kind cut during the said Period of Seven Years in that Parish and the neighbouring Parishes, estimating the same as chargeable to all Parliamentary, Parochial, County, and other Rates, Charges, and Assessments to which the said Tithes are liable, and shall add the clear Value of the Tithes so estimated to the Value of the other Tithes of the Parish ascertained as aforesaid; and the Commissioners shall, in the Report which they are herein-before required to make to One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State before the First Day of May in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, lay down Rules for the Guidance of the Assistant Commissioners in estimating the Value of the Tithes of Coppice Wood, and, unless Parliament shall otherwise provide, such Rules shall be observed by the said Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners.

XLII. And be it enacted, That the Amount which shall be charged by any such Apportionment as herein-after provided

Z 3

upon

Grounds and Market Gardens.

Provision for valuing Tithes of Lands to

which the Ave

rage of Seven Years cannot

apply.

upon any Hop Grounds or Market Gardens in any District so to be assigned shall be distinguished into Two Parts, which shall be called the Ordinary Charge and the Extraordinary Charge, and the Extraordinary Charge shall be a Rate per Imperial Acre, and so in proportion for less Quantities of Ground, according to the Discretion of the Valuers or Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner by whom the Apportionment shall be made as aforesaid; and all Lands whereof the Tithes shall have been commuted under this Act, and which shall cease to be cultivated as Hop Grounds or Market Gardens at any Time after such Commutation, shall be charged after the Thirty-first Day of December next following such Change of Cultivation only with the Ordinary Charge upon such Lands; and all Lands in any such District the Tithes whereof shall have been commuted under this Act, and which shall be newly cultivated as Hop Grounds or Market Gardens at any Time after such Commutation, shall be charged with an additional Amount of Rent-charge per Imperial Acre, equal to the Extraor dinary Charge per Acre upon Hop Grounds or Market Gardens respectively in that District; provided always, that no such additional Amount shall be charged or payable during the First Year, and Half only of such additional Amount during the Second Year, of such new Cultivation; and an additional Rent-charge by way of Extraordinary Charge upon Hop Grounds and Market Gardens, newly cultivated as such, beyond the Limits of every District in which any Extraordinary Charge for Hop Grounds or Market Gardens respectively shall have been distinguished as aforesaid at the Time of the Commutation, shall be charged by the Commissioners at the Time of such new Cultivation, upon the Request of any Person interested therein, if such new Cultivation shall have taken place during the Continuance of the Commission of the said Commissioners, and after the Expiration of the Commission shall be charged in such Manner and by such Authority as Parliament shall direct, and shall be payable and recoverable in like Manner and subject to the same Incidents in all respects as an Extraordinary Charge charged upon any Hop Grounds or Market Gardens at the Time of Commutation.

XLIII. And be it enacted, That in case any of the Lands in the Parish shall, during any Part of the said Period of Seven Years preceding Christmas in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, have been exempted from Payment of Tithes by reason of having been inclosed under any Act of Parliament or converted from Barren Heath or Waste Ground, or by reason of being Glebe Lands or of having been heretofore Parcel of the Possessions of any privileged Order, and Notice shall have been given as last aforesaid to the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner acting in that Behalf that the Tithes thereof should be separately valued, the Commissioners or Assistant Commissioner shall estimate the Value of the Tithes thereof according to the Average Value which shall be ascertained as aforesaid in respect of Lands of the like Description and Quality in that Parish and the neighbouring Parishes, or as near thereto as the Circumstances of each Case may in their Judgment require, and estimating the same as chargeable to all Parliamentary, Parochial, County, and other Rates, Charges,

and