of the said Act shall be adopted and carried into execution, and such populous place declared to be a burgh.

The expression "householders" shall have the same meaning as in the said Act, and it shall be the duty of the county assessor or assessors under the Valuation Acts, within fourteen days of an application or applications to that effect, to furnish to the sheriff or sheriffs for the purposes of this Act, a certified copy or list of the names and designations of all householders within the area on payment of a fee of not more than one shilling for each hundred names; and such copy or list shall be sufficient proof of the qualification of the householders named therein.

(2.) The meeting shall be held not less than twenty-one days nor more than thirty days after the day on which the sheriff receives the requisition in question, and such meeting and the purpose thereof shall be duly advertised in some newspaper circulating in such populous place, and by posting handbills in the form of Schedule (A.) hereunto annexed, at least three days before such meeting. The meeting shall be held in such convenient place as the sheriff or sheriffs shall assign, and one of them shall attend and preside at such meeting, and shall appoint a clerk thereat, who shall take a minute of the proceedings. (3.) The meeting may determine whether the said Act shall be adopted and carried into execution, or shall appoint a committee of their own number, not exceeding nine, to inquire and report to a future meeting to be held on such day as shall be appointed, and such future meeting shall, upon a report of such committee, proceed in all respects in the manner herein directed for such first meeting. The sheriff shall ascertain the determination of such meeting by a show of hands, or in such other manner as shall appear to him expedient and in the case of an equality of votes, shall have a casting vote. Such determination shall be final unless a poll of householders shall be then demanded in writing by any seven persons present and qualified to vote at such meeting.

(4.) In the event of a poll being demanded, the sheriff shall direct it to proceed at such polling place or places, and on such day as he shall fix, not more than seven days from the date of such demand, between the hours of eight in the morning and eight in the afternoon. The sheriff shall act as returning officer, and shall appoint the necessary number of presiding officers and poll clerks, and shall have poll or ballot books prepared in the form of Schedule (B.) hereunto annexed. The voting shall be by ballot, subject to such regulations as may be issued by the Secretary for Scotland, and no one shall be entitled to vote whose name is not upon the copy or list of householders furnished by the assessor as aforesaid.

(5.) As soon after the close of the poll as may be, the presiding officer or officers shall seal up the ballot boxes and transmit them to the sheriff, who shall publicly declare the result of the poll to the adjourned meeting; and such declaration shall be final, unless any householder then present shall then and there demand a scrutiny, and on such householder finding caution or security to the satisfaction of the sheriff for the reimbursement of the expenses attending the same, such scrutiny shall be made by such sheriff in such way and manner as he may deem proper, and shall be reported to another adjourned meeting to be held within three days, and the result of such scrutiny shall be final, and the person demanding such scrutiny shall be liable in the expenses thereof.

(6.) Any resolution to adopt the provisions of the said Act shall be effectual if it be carried by a majority of the persons qualified and voting as aforesaid, and the sheriff shall thereupon find and declare, as the case may be, either that the said Act has or has not been adopted, and in the event of the said Act being adopted he shall further find and declare that such populous place is a burgh, and shall forthwith cause such finding and declaration to be recorded in the sheriff court books of the county. Such finding and declaration shall be forthwith reported to the Secretary for Scotland.

(7.) The provisions of the forty-seventh section of the said Act shall apply to all proceedings under this Act.

3. EXPENSES ATtending MeetiNG.-In case of the adoption of the said Act all the expenses incurred in connection therewith shall, subject to such audit as the sheriff shall prescribe, be defrayed out of the burgh general assessment; but in case the provisions of the said Act shall not be adopted, then the whole expenses shall be defrayed by the persons signing the application in that behalf and the party who shall have disbursed such expenses is hereby authorised to recover these in a summary way before the sheriff, whose determination shall be final.

4. EXTENSION OF ACT.-Where a poll is directed to be taken under the three hundred and sixth section of the said Act the above enactments and procedure shall, so far as applicable, extend and apply to such poll.

SCHEDULES.
SCHEDULE (A.)

Notice is hereby given, that in virtue of the powers contained in an Act passed in the year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, intituled “An "Act [specify this Act]," the householders within the boundaries following, viz. [repeat them as in the recorded deliverance of the sheriff] are hereby required to meet

the

day of

next at

upon of the clock, within for the purpose of considering whether the provisions of the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892, shall be adopted and carried into execution, and the populous place declared to be a burgh.

THE PRISON (OFFICERS' SUPERANNUATION) ACT, 1893. (Sect. 2.)

AN ACT to explain and amend certain Provisions of the Prison Act, 1877, with respect to the Superannuation of Prison Officers. [27th July 1893.]

1. EXPLANATION OF "EXISTING OFFICER," AND "PRISON SERVICE" IN 40 & 41 VICT. c. 21. For the purposes of superannuation allowance the expression "existing officer "of a prison" in the Prison Act, 1877, shall include and be deemed to have included any person who immediately before the commencement of that Act was an officer attached to a prison, and was appointed to hold, in immediate succession to his office, any of the offices mentioned in sections six and seven of that Act, and a superannuation

allowance may be granted to any existing officer of a prison on the like conditions as if he had remained an officer of a local prison; and the expression "prison service" shall include and be deemed to have included, as respects the period after the commencement of that Act, service in any one or more of the offices mentioned in sections six and seven of that Act: Provided that nothing in this Act shall exempt any such person from the operation of any Order in Council as to compulsory retirement of permanent civil servants.

2. SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited as the Prison (Officers' Superannuation) Act, 1893, and shall be read with the Prison Acts, 1865 to 1886.

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE RAILWAY REGULATION ACT, 1893. (Sect. 3.)

AN ACT to amend the Law with respect to the Hours of Labour of Railway Servants. [27th July 1893.]

1. SCHEDULE OF HOURS OF LABOUR OF RAILWAY SERVANTS.-(1.) If it is represented to the Board of Trade, by or on behalf of the servants, or any class of the servants, of a railway company, that the hours of labour of those servants, or of that class, or, in any special case, of any particular servants engaged in working the traffic, on any part of the lines of the company, are excessive, or do not provide sufficient intervals of uninterrupted rest between the periods of duty, or sufficient relief in respect of Sunday duty, the Board of Trade shall inquire into the representation.

(2.) If it appears to the Board of Trade, either on such representation or otherwise, that there is, in the case of any railway company, reasonable ground of complaint with respect to any of the matters aforesaid, the Board of Trade shall order the company to submit to them within a period specified by the Board such a schedule of time for the duty of the servants, or of any class of the servants, of the company, as will in the opinion of the Board bring the actual hours of work within reasonable limits, regard being had to all the circumstances of the traffic and to the nature of the work.

(3.) If a railway company fail to comply with any such order, or to enforce the provisions of any schedule submitted to the Board in pursuance of any such order and approved by the Board, the Board may refer the matter to the Railway and Canal Commission, and thereupon the Railway and Canal Commission shall have jurisdiction in the matter, and the Board may appear in support of the reference and the Commissioners may make an order requiring the railway company to submit to the Commission, within a period specified by the Commission, such a schedule as will, in the opinion of the Commission, bring the actual hours of work within reasonable limits.

(4.) If a railway company fail to comply with any order made by the Railway and Canal Commission in pursuance of this section, or to enforce the provisions of any schedule submitted to the Railway and Canal Commission in pursuance of any such order, and approved by that Commission, the company shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds for every day during which the default continues.

(5.) The Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1888, shall apply in the case of any jurisdiction exercised or order made by the Railway and Canal Commission under this Act as if it were exercised or made under or for the purposes of that Act: Provided that notwithstanding anything in section five of that Act the jurisdiction of the Commission for the purposes of this Act may be exercised by the two appointed Commissioners.

(6.) The Board of Trade and the Railway and Canal Commission respectively may from time to time rescind or vary any order made by them under this section, and make such supplemental orders as the circumstances of the case may appear to require.

(7.) This Act shall not apply to any servant of a railway company who is in the opinion of the Board of Trade wholly employed either in clerical work or in the company's workshops.

2. ANNUAL REPORT TO PARLIAMENT.-A report of all proceedings under this Act shall be made annually to Parliament by the Board of Trade.

3. SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited as the Railway Regulation Act, 1893, and shall be read with the Railway Regulation Acts, 1840 to 1889.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE RIVERS POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT, 1893. (Short Titles Act.) AN ACT to explain the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876.

[27th July 1893.]

1. EXPLANATION OF 39 & 40 VICT. c. 75, s. 3, AS TO DRAINAGE INTO STREAMS.Where any sewage matter falls or flows or is carried into any stream after passing through or along a channel which is vested in a sanitary authority, the sanitary authority shall, for the purposes of section three of the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876 be deemed to knowingly permit the sewage matter so to fall, flow, or be carried.

2. CONSTRUCTION AND SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be construed as one with the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876; and the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876, and this Act may be cited for all purposes as the Rivers Pollution Prevention Acts, 1876 and 1893.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE BARBED WIRE ACT, 1893. (Sect. 1.)

AN ACT to prevent the use of Barbed Wire for Fences in Roads, Streets, Lanes and other Thoroughfares. [27th July 1893.]

1. SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Barbed Wire Act, 1893.

2. INTERPRETATION.-In this Act

The expression "barbed wire" means any wire with spikes or jagged projections; and the expression "nuisance to a highway," as applied to barbed wire, means barbed wire which may probably be injurious to persons or animals lawfully using such highway:

In England and Wales the expression "local authority" means any county council, any urban sanitary authority, any sanitary authority in London, any highway board, and any other local authorities existing, or that may be hereafter created by Parliament, having control over highways:

In Scotland the expression "local authority" means the burgh local authority. within the meaning of the Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act, 1878, the county. council, or a district committee thereof; and the expression "court of summary jurisdiction," means the sheriff or sheriff substitute:

66

In Ireland the expression "local authority" means the county surveyor, or the city engineer, or the borough surveyor, as the case may be, or some person duly appointed to act for any such surveyor or engineer.

3. REMOVAL OF BARBED WIRE WHERE NUISANCE TO HIGHWAY-41 & 42 VICT. c. 52. (1.) Where there is on any land adjoining a highway within the county or district of a local authority a fence made with barbed wire, or in or on which barbed wire has been placed, and such barbed wire is a nuisance to such highway, it shall be lawful for such local authority to serve notice in writing upon the occupier of such land requiring him within a time therein stated (not to be less than one month nor more than six months after the date of the notice) to abate such nuisance.

(2.) If on the expiration of the time stated in the notice the occupier shall have failed to comply therewith, it shall be lawful for the local authority to apply to a court of summary jurisdiction, and such court, if satisfied that the said barbed wire is a nuisance to such highway, may by summary order direct the occupier to abate such nuisance; and on his failure to comply with such order within a reasonable time the local authority may do whatever may be necessary in execution of the order, and recover in a summary manner the expenses incurred in connexion therewith.

(3.) In Ireland, sections one hundred and twelve, one hundred and fourteen, one hundred and fifteen, and two hundred and sixty-nine of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, where an order is made by a

court of summary jurisdiction under this section, in like manner as if that order were an order under the said section one hundred and twelve.

4. PROCEEDINGS WHERE LOCAL AUTHORITY IS OCCUPIER OF THE LAND.-Where the local authority are the occupiers of the land, proceedings under this Act may be taken by any ratepayer within the district of the local authority, and a notice to the local authority to abate the nuisance shall be deemed to be properly served if it is served upon the clerk of the local authority, and any ratepayer taking proceedings may do all acts and things which a local authority is empowered to do.

5. EXPENSES OF LOCAL AUTHORITY.-Any expenses incurred by a local authority in the execution of this Act shall be defrayed in like manner as the expenses of the local authority incurred in respect of any highways.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE CONVEYANCE OF MAILS ACT, 1893. (Sect. 6.)

AN ACT to make further provision for the Conveyance of Her Majesty's Mails. [24th August 1893.]

1. DIFFERENCES AS TO REMUNERATION FOR CONVEYANCE OF MAILS.-Where under any Act relating to the conveyance of mails or under the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882, it is provided that any matter of difference relating to any remuneration or compensation to be paid by the Postmaster-General to any railway company shall be referred to arbitration, that matter of difference shall at the instance of any party thereto be referred to the Railway and Canal Commission instead of to arbitration, and that Commission shall determine the same, and this provision shall apply to any matter of difference referred to in section eight of the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882, where such railway companies as therein mentioned, or any company or person owning a steam vessel, are or is one party to the arbitration in like manner as it applies to a difference where a single railway company is a party to the arbitration.

2. CARRIAGE OF MAILS ON TRAMWAYS.-(1.) Every tramway company, that is to say, every company, body, or person owning or working any tramway authorised by any Act passed after the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, shall if required by the Postmaster-General, perform with respect to any tramway owned or worked by the company all such reasonable services in regard to the conveyance of mails as the Postmaster-General from time to time requires : Provided as follows:

(a.) Nothing in this section shall authorise the Postmaster-General to require mails in excess of the following weights to be carried in or upon any carriage, that

:

is to say:

(i.) If the carriage is conveying or intended to convey passengers, and not goods or parcels, then in excess of the maximum weight for the time being fixed for the luggage of ordinary passengers; and

(ii.) If the carriage is conveying or intended to convey parcels only, then in excess of such maximum weight as is for the time being fixed for ordinary parcels, or if that maximum appears to the PostmasterGeneral to be so low as to exclude him from availing himself of the use of any such carriage, then as is for the time being fixed by agreement, or in default of agreement by the Railway and Canal Commission;

(iii.) If the carriage is conveying or intended to convey both parcels and passengers but not goods, then in excess of the maximum weight for the time being fixed for ordinary parcels, or for the luggage of ordinary passengers, whichever is the greater.

(b.) Mails when carried in or upon a carriage conveying passengers shall be so carried as not to inconvenience the passengers, but so nevertheless that the custody of the mails by any officer of the Post Office in charge thereof shall not be interfered with.