1. This Act may be cited as the Municipal Voters Relief Act, 1885.

2. From and after the passing of this Act a man shall not be disqualified from being enrolled or voting as a burgess at any municipal election in a borough, in respect of the occupation of any house, by reason only that during a part of the qualifying period, not exceeding four months in the whole, he has, by letting or otherwise, permitted such house to be occupied as a furnished dwelling-house by some other person, and during such occupation by another person has not resided in or within seven miles of the borough.

3. In this Act

The expression "burgess" has, in England, the same meaning as in the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and in Scotland and Ireland means a person entitled to vote at a municipal election in Scotland and Ireland respectively,

The expression "municipal election" has, in England, the same meaning as in the Municipal Corporation Act, 1882, and in Scotland and Ireland, has the same meaning as that expression is defined to have with reference to Scotland and Ireland respectively by the Ballot Act, 1872.

4. Whereas in the municipal borough of Dublin the qualifying period of occupation is a period of two years and eight months, ending the last day of August, and it is expedient that such qualifying period should be reduced : Be it enacted, that from and after the passing of this Act the qualifying period of occupation in the said municipal borough shall be a period of twelve months preceding the first day of September, instead of such period of two years and eight months.

ELECTIONS (HOURS OF POLL) ACT, 1885.

[48 VICT., CH. 10.]

An Act to extend the Hours of Polling at Parliamentary and Municipal Elections.

[28th April, 1885.]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. At every parliamentary and every municipal election within the meaning of this Act, the poll (if any) shall commence at eight o'clock in the forenoon, and be kept open till eight o'clock in the afternoon of the same day and no longer.

2. In this Act

The expression "parliamentary election" means an election for a county, city, borough, place, or combination of counties, cities, boroughs, and places (not being any university or universities), which returns any knight of the shire or member to serve in Parliament, and where the same is divided for the purpose of such return includes an election for such division:

The expression "municipal election" means an election of a councillor, commissioner of police, or auditor, or (in Ireland) an alderman or any commissioner, in any municipal borough or in any ward thereof : The expression "municipal borough" means,

As regards England, a borough subject to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882; and

As regards Scotland, a burgh or town which has a town council or police commissioners; and

As regards Ireland, a borough subject to the Act of the session of the third and fourth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter one hundred and eight, intituled "An Act for the Regulation of Municipal "Corporations in freland," and the Acts amending the same, and includes a place subject to the Act of the ninth year of the reign of King George the Fourth, chapter eighty-two, or to the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854, or to any local Act providing for the election of commissioners in any town or place for purposes similar to the purposes of the above-mentioned Acts.

3. Upon this Act coming into operation the Parliamentary Elections (Metropolis) Act, 1878, and the Elections (Hours of Poll) Act, 1884, shall be repealed, without prejudice to anything previously done in pursuance thereof.

4. This Act may be cited as the Elections (Hours of Poll) Act, 1885.

5. This Act shall come into operation at the end of this present Parliament.

HONORARY FREEDOM OF BOROUGHS ACT, 1885.

[48 & 49 VICT., CH. 29.]

An Act to enable Municipal Corporations to confer the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs upon persons of distinction.

[22nd July, 1885.]

Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows, viz.:

1. Notwithstanding anything in the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or any other statute, to the contrary, the council of every borough may from time to time, by the authority of not less than two-thirds of their number present and voting at a meeting of the council specially called for the purpose with notice of the object, admit to be honorary freemen of the borough persons of distinction and any persons who have rendered eminent services to the borough, provided that the admission of such persons to be freemen shall not confer the right of voting for any such borough in parliamentary or other elections, or of sharing in the benefit of any hereditaments, common lands, or public stock of such borough or the council thereof, or of any property held in whole or in part for any charitable use or trust.

2. In this Act "borough" and "municipal corporation" shall respectively have the same meaning as in the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.

3. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act, 1885.

SCHOOL BOARDS ACT, 1885.

[48 & 49 VICT., CH. 38.]

An Act to amend the Law relating to School Boards so far as affected by the incorporation of a Municipal Borough and as respects the divisions of the Metropolis.

[31st July 1885.]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. Whereas by sub-section one of section two hundred and thirteen of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, it is enacted as follows:

"Where a petition for a charter is referred to the Committee of council, "and it is proposed by the charter to extend the Municipal Corporation Acts "to the municipal borough to be created by the charter, the Committee of "Council may settle a scheme for the adjustment of the powers, rights, "privileges, franchises, duties, property, and liabilities of any then existing "local authority whose district comprises the whole or part of the area of "that borough, either with or without any adjoining or other place, and also "of any officer of that authority: "

And whereas sub-section six of the same section two hundred and thirteen provides that a local authority for the purposes of the above enactment shall mean the authorities therein mentioned, "and any other authority not in this "section excepted and not being a school board, and having powers of local government and of rating for public purposes:

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And whereas difficulties have arisen respecting the effect of the creation by a charter of a municipal borough, where the whole or part of the area of such borough is comprised in the district of a school board, and it is expedient to authorise the removal of such difficulties by a scheme under the said Act: Be it therefore enacted as follows:

(1.) The words "and not being a school board' in sub-section six of section two hundred and thirteen of the Municipal Corporations Act are hereby repealed;

A scheme under that section if affecting a school board

(a) shall before being settled by the Committee of Council be referred to the consideration of the Education Department; and

(b) shall not place the new borough under more than one school board; and

(c) may provide for the continuance of any bye-laws in force at the date of the scheme.

(2.) Where within seven years before the passing of this Act a charter has extended the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or the Acts whereby consolidated to the municipal borough created by the charter, any scheme relating to a school board which might have been made under the said Acts if this Act had passed at the date of the said charter may be made after the passing of this Act, and Part Eleven of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, shall apply accordingly: Provided that

(a) such scheme may be made on the petition either of the council of the said borough or of the persons who composed the school board, or any of them; and

(b) the council of the borough may petition against such scheme in accordance with sub-section four of section two hundred and thirteen of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882; and

(c) any such scheme may validate any acts done by the Education Department or the school board or the council of the borough or any justice since the date of the charter.

(3.) This section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any powers in relation to school boards for the time being vested in the Committee of the Lords of the Privy Council on Education (who are in this section referred to as the Education Department).

2. Whereas by the Elementary Education Act, 1870, it was enacted that the School Board for London should consist of such number of members elected by the divisions of the metropolis specified in the Fifth Schedule to that Act as the Education Department might by order fix, and power was given to the Education Department from time to time to alter by way of increase or decrease the number of members of any of the said divisions, but no power was given to alter the said divisions, and it is expedient to divide the Lambeth division into two divisions;

Be it therefore enacted as follows:

(1.) The Lambeth division of the metropolis for the purpose of the Elementary Education Acts, 1870 and 1873, shall be divided into two divisions named East Lambeth and West Lambeth, and the Fifth Schedule to the Elementary Education Act, 1870, shall be construed as if for "Lambeth" there were substituted "East Lambeth" and "West Lambeth."

(2.) The Education Department shall, so soon as may be after the passing of this Act, by order determine the boundaries of the divisions of East Lambeth and West Lambeth for the purposes aforesaid and the number of members to be elected by each of such divisions, subject nevertheless to any subsequent alteration of the number of members in pursuance of the said Acts.

(3.) At the first election of the School Board for London which is held after the passing of this Act, members shall be elected for the two divisions constituted by this Act; but nothing in this Act shall affect the School Board for London until such members come into office.

3. This Act may be cited as the School Boards Act, 1885.

This Act, so far as relates to school boards on the incorporation of a municipal borough, shall be construed as one with the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and together with that Act may be cited as the Municipal Corporations Acts, 1882 and 1885.

This Act, so far as regards the divisions of the metropolis, shall be construed as one with the Elementary Education Acts, 1870 and 1873, and may be cited together with those Acts as the Elementary Education Acts, 1870, to 1885.

MEDICAL RELIEF DISQUALIFICATION REMOVAL ACT, 1885.

[48 & 49 VICT., CH. 46.]

An Act to prevent Medical Relief disqualifying a person from voting. [6th August, 1885.]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords. Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows; (that is to say,)

1. This Act may be cited as the Medical Relief Disqualification Removal Act, 1885.

2.-1. Where a person has in any part of the United Kingdom received for himself, or for any member of his family, any medical or surgical assistance, or any medicine at the expense of any poor rate, such person shall not by reason thereof be deprived of any right to be registered or to rote either

(a) as a parliamentary voter; or

b, as a voter at any municipal election; or

(e) as a burgess; or

d) as a voter at any election to an office under the provisions of any statute:

but nothing in this section shall apply to the election

(a) of any guardian of the poor: or

(b) of any member of any parochial board in Scotland; or

(e) of any other body acting in the distribution of relief to the poor from the poor rate.

(2.) Every person shall be qualified to be registered as a voter and to vote as aforesaid who would be so qualified if the provisions of this Act had come into force on the fifteenth day of July one thousand eight hundred and eightyfour.

3.—(1.) In the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, in England, where the overseers have entered "objected" against the names of any persons in the list of ownership voters or in the old lodgers list, or have omitted the names of any voters from any list of voters made by them, and such entry or omission has been made on the ground only of those persons having received such medical or surgical assistance or medicine as in this Act mentioned, and such names would not if this Act had previously passed have been so objected to or omitted, the overseers shall make a list of such persons and such list shall be published, revised, and dealt with in all respects as if it were part of the list of claimants in respect of the occupation of property with the qualifications following (namely) :—

The revising barrister shall, without the appearance of or any proof by any such person, retain his name in the list made by the overseers under this section, unless he is objected to, and the objector proves that such person is not entitled to be registered; and if such objection is made the revising barrister shall, not withstanding the absence of the said person, take the evidence of the overseers as to his right to be registered.

Any person whose name ought to have been inserted in the list made by the overseers under this section, and has been omitted therefrom, may claim to have his name inserted in the lists of voters by giving to the overseers, within six days after the publication of such lists, notice of such claim in the manner and form provided by law with respect to other claims, and the overseers shall produce all such claims to the revising barrister, and he shall revise and deal with the same in like manner as with ordinary claims.

(2.) The clerk of the peace or town clerk shall insert in their proper place in the register the names of the persons in the said list when revised."

(3.) Every clerk of the peace and town clerk acting under the Acts relating to the registration of parliamentary voters shall forthwith after the passing of this Act issue precepts to the overseers informing them of their duties under it; provided that this Act shall not be construed to create any disability where such disability does not now exist.

4. The term "medical or surgical assistance" in this Act shall include all medical and surgical attendance, and all matters and things supplied by or on the recommendation of the medical officer having authority to give such attendance and recommendation at the expense of any poor rate.