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

321
LOCH
Wash
houses
Acts.
Burial
Acts.
and Watching Act was formerly adopted for a parish, or part
of a parish, by the inhabitants in vestry, who elected lighting
inspectors, of whom one-third went out of office in
Lighting every year. The inspectors took the necessary steps for
anci . having the parish lighted (the provisions as to watch-
Watchwg jiavjng been obsolete for many years), and the ex-
Act’ penses of lighting were raised by the overseers upon an
order issued to them by the inspectors. The owners and occupiers
of houses, buildings, and property, other than land, pay a rate in
the £ three times greater than that at which the owners and
occupiers of land are rated and pay for the purposes of the Act.
Jfovf this Act, like the other adoptive Acts, can only be adopted
by the parish meeting, and where adopted for part only of a parish,
must be adopted by a parish meeting held for that part. After
the adoption of the Act, it is carried into execution by the parish
council, if there is one, and if not, by the parish meeting, and the
. expenses are raised in the same manner as heretofore.
aad The Baths and Washhouses Acts have already been
referred to in dealing with district councils, and it is
sufficient to say that they are now adopted and ad¬
ministered in a rural parish in the manner pointed out
with reference to the Lighting and Watching Act. The same may
be said of the Burial Acts, but these are sufficiently
important to require special notice. These Acts con¬
tain provisions whereby burials may be prohibited in
urban districts, and churchyards or burial grounds already
existing may be closed when full. Formerly, when the Acts had
been adopted by the vestry, it was necessary to appoint a burial
board to carry the Acts into execution and provide and manage
burial grounds. Now, in a rural parish which is co-extensive with
an area for which the Acts have been adopted, the burial board is
abolished and the Acts are administered by the parish council; and
the Acts cannot be adopted in a rural parish save by the parish
meeting. If the area under a burial board in 1894 was partly in a
rural parish and partly in an urban district, the burial board was
superseded, and the powers of the board are exercised by a joint
committee appointed partly by the urban district council and
partly by the parish council, or parish meeting, as the case may be.
In a rural parish where there is no parish council, though the Acts
are adopted by the parish meeting, it is still necessary to elect the
burial board, and that board will be elected by the parish meeting.
The distinction between a burial ground under the Burial Acts and
a cemetery provided under the Public Health Acts has already
been noticed. A burial ground, properly so called, has to be
divided into consecrated and unconsecrated portions, and the
former really takes the place of the parish churchyard; and the
incumbent of the parish church, the clerk, and the sexton continue
to receive the same fees upon burials in the consecrated portion as
they would have done in the parish churchyard. It has been
mentioned that a portion of the burial ground must be left unconse¬
crated. But this is subject to one important exception, that the
parish meeting may unanimously resolve that the whole of the
burial ground shall be consecrated. In that case, however, the
parish council may, within ten years thereafter, determine that a
separate unconsecrated burial ground shall also be provided for the
parish. The expenses of the execution of the Burial Acts are
provided by the overseers out of the poor rate upon the certificate
of the body entrusted with the execution of them. In the event of
the Acts being adopted for a portion only of a rural parish, the
burial board, or the parish meeting, may by resolution transfer all
the powers of the board to the parish council.
The Public Improvement Act, when adopted, enables a parish
council to purchase or lease, or accept gifts of land for the purpose
Public forming public walks, exercise or play grounds, and
Itnoro - Provide for the expense by means of a parish
meat Act iraProvement rate. Before any such rate is imposed,
however, a sum in amount not less than at least half of
the estimated cost of the proposed improvement must have been
raised by private subscription or donation, and the rate must not
exceed sixpence in the £.
The Public Libraries Acts enable the authority adopting them
to provide public libraries, museums, schools for science, art
Public galleries, and schools for art. The expenses in a rural
Libraries Par’s^ are defrayed by means of a rate raised with, and
Acts as part of, the poor rate, with a qualification to the
effect that agricultural land, market gardens, and nursery
grounds are to be assessed to the rate at one-third only of their
rateable value.
The expenses of a parish council may not, without the consent of
a parish meeting, exceed the amount of a rate of threepence in the
Finance • ^ ^or ^le financial year ; but with the consent of the
parish meeting the limit may be increased to sixpence,
exclusive of expenses under the adoptive Acts. If it
is necessary to borrow, the consent of the parish
meeting and of the county council must be obtained.
The expenses are payable out of the poor rate by the overseers on
the precept of the parish council.
expenses
of parish
council.
One of the most important powers conferred upon a parish
council is that which enables them to prevent stoppage or diversion
of any public right of way without their consent and without the
approval of the parish meeting. The council may also complain to
the county council that the district council have failed to sewer
their parish or provide a proper water supply, or generally to
enforce the provisions of the Burial Acts ; and upon such complaint,
if ascertained to be well founded, the county council may transfer
to themselves the powers and duties of the district council, or may
appoint a competent person to perform such powers and duties.
In a parish which is not sufficiently large to have a parish council,
most of the powers and duties conferred or imposed on the parish
council are exercised by the parish meeting. It may be convenient
here to add that where, under the Local Government Act, 1894,
the powers of a parish council are not already possessed by an
urban district council, the Local Government Board may by order
confer such powers on the urban council. This has been done
almost universally, as far as regards the power to appoint overseers
and assistant overseers, and in many cases urban councils have also
obtained powers to appoint trustees of parochial charities.
The foregoing is a sketch of the scheme of local
government carried out in England and Wales. No
attempt has been made to deal with poor law
{q.v.) or education (q.v.). The local administra- ohservl
tion of justice devolving upon the justices in tions.
quarter or petty sessions is hardly a matter of
local government, although in one important respect, that,
namely, of the licensing of premises for the sale of
intoxicating liquors, it may be thought that the duties of
justices fall within the scope of local government. It will
be seen that the scheme, as at present existing, has for
its object the simplification of local government by the
abolition of unnecessary independent authorities, and that
this has been carried out almost completely, the principal
exception being that in some cases burial boards still
exist which have not been superseded either by urban
district councils or by parish councils or parish meetings.
There are also some matters of local administration
arising under what are called commissions of sewers.
These exist for the purpose of regulating drainage, and
providing defence against water in fen lands or lands
subject to floods from rivers or tidal waters. The
commissioners derive their authority from the Sewers
Commission Acts, which date from the time of Henry
VIII., from the Land Drainage Act, 1861, and from
various local Acts. It is unnecessary, however, to con¬
sider in any detail the powers exercised by commissioners
of sewers in the few areas under their control.
Authorities. — Gom me, G. L. Lectures on the Principles of
Local Government.—Wright and Hobhouse. Local Government
and Local Taxation.—Odgers, W. Blake. Local Government.—
Glen, Alex., and Gordon, W. E. The Law of County Govern¬
ment. — Glen, Alex. The Law relating to Public Health;
The Law relating to Highways.—Lumley, W. J. The Public
Health Acts, 5th edit., by Macmorran and Dill.—Macmorran and
Dill. The Local Government Act, 1888, &c.; The Local
Government Act, 1894, &c.—Hobhouse and Fairbairn. The
County Councillors’ Guide.—Pratt. The Law of Highways,
14th edit., by W. Mackenzie.—Arch bold. Law of Quarter
Sessions, 4th edit., by Mead and Croft.—Brooke Little, J.
The Law of Burials.—Archbold. On Lunacy, 4th edit., by
S. G. Lushington. (a. m‘m.)
Loch, Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron
(1827-1900), British administrator, son of Mr James Loch,
M.P., of Drylaw, Midlothian, was born on 23rd May 1827.
At first destined for a naval career, he soon quitted the
navy for the East India Company’s military service, and in
1842 obtained a commission in the Bengal Light Cavalry.
On the outbreak of the Sikh war in 1845 he was given
an appointment on the staff of Sir Hugh Gough, and
served throughout the Sutlej campaign, where he displayed
the cool courage and unshakeable resolution which con¬
tinued to characterize his subsequent career. In 1852 he
became second in command of that famous corps, Skinner’s
Horse. At the outbreak of the Crimean war in 1854,
S. VI. —4i
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