New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

314 LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ENGLAND AND WALES)
with county councils, boroughs having a population of less than
10,000 according to the census of 1881 can no longer have a separ-
„ .. ate police force. But for some time before that year
Pol ce. }la(| become the rule not to grant to any new borough
with a population of less than 20,000 a separate police force.
The subject of police is separately treated in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, and it is not necessary to supplement what is there
stated. Under an Act of 1893 the borough police may, in addition
to their ordinary duties, be employed to discharge the duties of a
fire brigade.
The powers and duties of a borough council in the
Municipal Corporations Act do not arise or exist to any
The district grea^ extent' under that Act. In a few cases,
and the those namely of county boroughs, the councils
district have the powers of county councils. In the
council. quarter sessions boroughs other than county
boroughs they have some only of these powers. But in
every case the council of the borcugh have the powers and
duties of an urban district council, and, except where they
derive their authority from local Acts, it may be said that
their principal powers and duties consist of those which
they exercise or perform as an urban council. These will
now be considered.
Before the year 1848 there was not outside the municipal
- boroughs any system of district government in England.
It is true that in some populous places which were not
corporate boroughs local Acts of Parliament had been
passed appointing improvement commissioners for the
government of these places. In many boroughs similar
Acts had been obtained conferring various powers relating
to sanitary matters, streets and highways, and the like.
But there was no general system, nor was there, save by
special legislation, any means by which sanitary districts
could be constituted. In the year 1848 the first Public
Health Act was passed. It provided for the formation of
local boards in boroughs and populous places, such places
outside boroughs being termed local government districts.
In boroughs the town council were generally appointed the
local board for purposes of the Act. It was not, however,
until 1872 that a general system of sanitary districts was
adopted. By the Public Health Act of that year the
whole country was mapped out into urban and rural
sanitary districts, and that system has been maintained
until the present time, with some important changes
introduced by the Public Health Act, 1875, and the Local
Government Act, 1894.
The whole of England and Wales is divided into districts, which
are either urban or rural. Urban districts include boroughs and
Constitu- P^aces which were formerly under the jurisdiction of local
tion of ' hoards or improvement commissioners. The power to
district constitute new urban districts is now conferred upon
councils couuty councils, as already stated. There is a concurrent
power in the Local Government Board under the Public
Health Act, 1875, but that power is now rarely exercised, and new
urban districts are in practice created only by orders of county
councils made under the Local Government Act, 1888, section 57.
Rural districts were first created in 1872. Before that time there
was practically no sanitary authority outside the urban district, for
although the vestry of a parish had in some cases power to make
sewers and had also some other sanitary powers, there was no
authority for such a district as now corresponds to a rural district.
There were, indeed, highway boards and burial boards which had
powers for special purposes, but district authority in the sense in
which it is now understood there was none. Before the year 1894
the rural district consisted of the area of the poor-law union,
exclusive of any urban district which might be within it, and the
guardians of the poor were the rural sanitary authority. Since
1894 this has been changed. By the Local Government Act of
that year the guardians ceased to be the rural sanitary authority.
The union was preserved as the rural sanitary district, with this
qualification, that if it extended into more than one county it was
divided so that no rural district should extend into more than one
county. Rural district councillors are elected for each parish in
the rural district, and they become by virtue of their office guardians
of the poor for the union comprising the district, so that there is
now no election of guardians in a rural district. Guardians are
still elected as such for urban districts, but the rural district
council have ceased to be the same body as the guardians and are now
wholly distinct. A district councillor, whether urban or rural, holds
office for a term of three years. One-third of the whole council
retire in each year, the annual elections being held in March, but
there may be a simultaneous retirement of the whole council in
every third year if the county council at the instance of the district
council so order. The qualification and disqualification of district
councillors, whether urban or rural, now depend upon the Local
Government Act, 1894. Property qualification is abolished. Any
person may be elected who is either a parochial elector of some
parish within the district or has during the whole of the twelve
months preceding his election resided in the district, and no person
is disqualified by sex or marriage. The electors both in urban and
rural districts are the body called the parochial electors. These
are practically the persons whose names appear in the Parliamentary
Register or in the Local Government Register as being entitled to
vote at elections for members of Parliament or county or parish
councillors as the case may be. The election takes place subject to
rules made by the Local Government Board, these rules being
largely founded upon adaptations of the Municipal Corporations
Act, 1882. The rules issued 1st January 1898 will be found
in the Statutory Rules and Orders, 1898, pp. 264, 302. The
election is by ballot on the same lines as those prescribed for a
municipal election, and the Corrupt Practices Act, the provisions of
which have been referred to 'when dealing with county councils,
applies to the elections of district councils. The provisions with
reference to election petitions, the grounds upon which they may
be presented and the procedure upon them, are the same in every
respect as have already been mentioned when dealing with county
councils. It may be convenient here to state that the Local
Government Board has power to unite any number of
districts or parts of districts into what is called a united
district for certain special purposes such as water-supply, s c s‘
sewerage, or the like. This is done by means of a provisional order
made by the board and confirmed by Parliament. In such a united
district the governing body is a joint board constituted in manner
provided by the order, and it has under the order such of the
powers of a district council as are necessary for the purposes for
which the united district is created. Thus a joint sewerage board
would generally be invested by the order with all the powers of a
district council relating to the provision and control of sewers and
the disposal of sewage. It may also be convenient here to mention
another special kind of district authority, that is, a pQrt
port sanitary authority. It is also constituted by order ,,
of the Local Government Board, and it may include one aufjj0rjfy
or more sanitary districts or parts of districts abutting
upon a port. In this case also the authority consists of such
members and is elected in such manner as the order determines,
and it has such of the powers of an ordinary district council as the
order may confer upon it. These relate for the most part to
nuisances and infectious disease, having special reference to ships.
It has been thought convenient to deal here with district councils,
whether urban or rural, together, but the powers of the powers 0/
former are much more extensive than those of the latter, urf)an an(j
and as the consideration of the subject proceeds it will ruraj
be necessary to indicate what powers and duties are councjjs
conferred or imposed upon urban district councils only. compare(i.
It must be pointed out, however, that 'when the
necessity arises for conferring upon a rural district council any of
the powers exercisable only by an urban district council, that can
be done by means of an order of the Local Government Board.
The necessity for this provision arises because it sometimes happens
that in a district otherwise rural there are some centres of popula¬
tion, hardly large enough to be constituted urban districts, which
nevertheless require the same control as an urban district. Thus
it may be desirable to confer upon a rural district council in respect
of such a populous area the power to make up private streets, or to
make bye-lauTs relating to newT streets and buildings, and similar
purposes.
A district council may from time to time make regulations with
respect to summoning, notice, place, management, and adjourn¬
ment of their meetings and generally with respect to plisjness
the transaction and management of their business. an^0ffices.
Three members must be present to constitute a quorum.
At the annual meeting, which is held as soon as convenient after
the 15th April in each year, a chairman for the succeeding year has
to be appointed. He presides at all meetings, and in his absence
another member appointed by the meeting takes his place.
Questions are determined by the majority present and voting, the
chairman having the casting vote. Minutes are taken and, if
signed at the meeting or the next ensuing meeting, are made
evidence. The officers of the council consist of a clerk, a medical
officer, a surveyor, one or more inspectors of nuisances, and a
treasurer. Of these all but the medical officer of health and
inspectors of nuisances hold office at pleasure and receive such re¬
muneration as the council may determine. If the urban district is a
borough, the town clerk and borough treasurer fulfil the same office
for purposes of the Public Health Acts. The salaries of the medical