and circular letter as to certificates by Her Majesty's Inspectors, see pp. 318, 370, 416, 472. (4) The 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, by secs. 25 and 26, post, provides facilities for obtaining certified copies of entries in the registers of births for purposes of school boards and public elementary schools. (5) As to powers of school boards to obtain information as to attendance of children at public elementary schools, see sec. 22. Forgery of Certificate, and giving false Information. 25. Every person who forges or counterfeits any certificate which is by this Act made evidence of any matter, or gives or signs any such certificate which is to his knowledge false in any material particular, or, knowing any such certificate to be forged, counterfeit, or false, makes use thereof, shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour. This section is extended, by sec. 37 of the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post, to the forgery of certificates under that Act. DEFINITIONS AND REPEAL. Schedules part of Act. 26. The schedules to this Act shall be of the same force as if they were enacted in the body of this Act. 27. In this Act Interpretation. "Guardians." The term "guardians" includes any body of persons performing the functions of guardians within the meaning of the Acts relating to the relief of the poor: "Union." The term "union" means any union or incorporation of parishes under any general or local Act, and any single parish having guardians as defined by this Act under any general or local Act: "Common Fund.” The term "common fund" means, in the case of a union which comprises only one parish, the fund applicable to the relief of the poor of such parish: The term "the Summary Jurisdiction Acts" means the Act of the session of the eleventh and twelfth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter forty-three, intituled, "An Act to facilitate the performance of the duties of Justices of the Peace out of sessions within England and Wales with respect to summary convictions and orders," inclusive of any Acts amending the same: "Court of Summary Jurisdiction." The term "court of summary jurisdiction" means any justice or justices of the peace, metropolitan police magistrate, stipendiary or other magistrate or officer, by whatever name called, to whom jurisdiction is given by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts. Repeal and Savings. 28. The principal Act is hereby repealed, to the extent specified in the third column of the fourth schedule to this Act. Provided that (1.) Any order or regulation of the Education Department made under any enactment hereby repealed shall continue in force as if it had been made under this Act: (2.) Any school board elected under any enactment hereby repealed shall continue and be deemed to have been elected under this Act: (3.) The repeal of any Act or enactment by this Act shall not (a.) Affect anything duly done or suffered under any such Act or enactment; or (b.) Affect any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred under any such Act or enactment, or bye-law; or (c.) Affect any penalty, forfeiture, or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against any such Act, enactment, or bye-law; or (d.) Affect any investigation, legal proceeding, or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment as aforesaid; and any such investigation, legal proceeding, and remedy may be carried on as if this Act had not passed. SCHEDULES. FIRST SCHEDULE. ORDERS AND REGULATIONS OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RELATING TO ELECTIONS OF AND APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL BOARDS. 7th October 1870. 27th October 1870. 27th October 1870. 21st December 1870. Order fixing the boundaries of the Order regulating the first election of the first election of school boards in boroughs. General regulations for the first election of school boards in parishes not situate within municipal boroughs, or within the metropolis. 21st December 1870. General regulations as to passing resolutions for application for school boards in parishes not situate within municipal boroughs or within the metropolis. 6th January 1871. Regulations for the first election of a school board for the district of the local board of Oxford. 15th March 1873. General regulations as to the formation of united school districts. See the orders which have been since issued with reference to resolutions for application for school boards and the election of school boards, pp. 330-359. SECOND SCHEDULE. Rules respecting Election of Members of a School Board. (1.) The election of a school board shall be held at such time and in such manner and in accordance with such regulations as the Education Department may from time to time by order prescribe; and the Education Department may by order appoint or direct the appointment and make regulations as to the duties, remuneration, and expenses of any officers requisite for the purpose of such election, and do and make regulations respecting all other necessary things preliminary or incidental to such election, and revoke or alter any previous order, whether confirmed by or made in pursuance of this Act. For general orders of the Education Department which have been issued under the powers given by this schedule, see Appendix, pp. 330–359. With regard to the remuneration and expenses of officers, the regulations of the Education Department provide that any question as to the amount payable shall be referred to that Department, and that their decision thereon shall be final and conclusive. In a circular letter issued by the Education Department in September, 1875, they lay down a scale which will be adopted by them in determining the charges for school board elections. The circular will be found in the Appendix, p. 425. In Re H. Beaven Jones, 41 L. J., N. S., Chan. 367, which came before the Master of the Rolls on the 26th of February, 1872, it appeared that Mr. Jones, a solicitor, acted as the returning officer in the election of a school board for the Llanon district, and after the election attended the first meeting of the school board, and took the minutes of the proceedings. His bill of fees and charges in respect of the election amounted to 25l. 178. 7d., and was made out in the usual form of a solicitor's bill of costs. The first item of the bill was, "Having received requisition from Education Department to elect school board, instructions for notice accordingly, 68. 8d. ;" and it contained such items as "Instruction for form of voting papers, 68. 8d.;" "Drawing same, 58. "Copy, 28. ;" and a charge for attending at, and drawing the minutes of, the first meeting of the board, with the ordinary concluding charge for letters and messengers. The school board obtained the common order to tax, as in the case of an ordinary bill of costs, and the case came before the court on a motion to discharge this order for irregularity. In support of the motion, it was contended that the relation of attorney and client had not existed between Mr. Jones and the school board, and that the accidental circumstance of Mr. Jones being a solicitor did not make these charges taxable. For the school board it was admitted that if Mr. Jones had charged a lump sum for his services, he would have been entitled to what those services were fairly worth; but it was contended that as he was a practising solicitor, and had chosen to send in a bill which was in all essentials a solicitor's bill, he could not resist taxation. The Master of the Rolls said that he thought that Mr. Jones had constituted himself solicitor of the parties, and that under the circumstances his bill was taxable. The bill was not solely, as it had been said, a bill of Mr. Jones's expenses as returning officer, for it contained items for attendance at the first meeting of the board. The motion must be refused. Prior to the issue of the circular letter of the Education Department as to the scale of charges for school board elections, several questions came before the Local Government Board for decision on appeals against disallowances by the district auditors. Amongst them were the following: With regard to payments for refreshments, one of the district auditors disallowed certain items in the accounts of a school board for a borough, and gave the following as his reasons for the disallowance: "I disallowed the said several sums of 111., 3l., 31. 48., 31. 38., and 31., making together the sum of 231. 78., cost of refreshments supplied to deputy returning officers, poll clerks, and others, employed on the day of election of members of the school board, and also on the day following, when engaged in adding up poll sheets, &c., because there is not any Act of Parliament, or other lawful authority from the Local Government Board or Education Department, for defraying such an expense out of the school fund; whereas a statutory authority of some kind is necessary to support all expenditure from such fund. Because I have allowed all such reasonable costs, charges, and expenses as were properly incurred in the election and taking the poll of the burgesses of the said borough, and as the law does not make any specific provision for payment of the expenses in question, the school board had no authority to make the said payments out of the funds in their possession arising from the rates of the borough. And, therefore, I had no alternative (in the discharge of the duties of my office) but to make the disallowance and surcharge aforesaid." The surcharges were appealed against, and the Local Government Board, in communicating their decision on the appeal, said :—"The questions which the board are called upon to decide relate, firstly, to the allowance of refreshments to gentlemen who acted gratuitously as deputy returning officers on the occasion of the election of a school board; and, secondly, to similar allowances to persons engaged, at certain rates of payment, to act as poll clerks. Upon the first point, although no judicial decision has been pronounced upon the question of the legality or illegality of the allowance of refreshments, at the cost of public funds, to persons who undertake to discharge public duties voluntarily or gratuitously, the board believe that the more correct view of the law upon this subject is that such allowance cannot be supported unless under circumstances of some peculiar character, in which case the nature and extent of the allowance must be determined by the authority upon whom devolves the duty of allowing or disallowing expenditure in the accounts then under consideration. But where services are rendered for remuneration, it is of course open to the persons contracting to make |