Description of owner or

rates, if his

unknown.

CI. And be it enacted, that whenever the name of any owner or occupier liable to be rated under this Act is not occupier in known to the local board of health, it shall be sufficient to name be assess and designate him in the rate as "the owner" or "the occupier" of the premises in respect of which the assessment is made, without further description (m).

CII. And be it enacted, that the local board of health Rates may be may from time to time amend any rate made in pursuance of amended. this Act, by inserting therein the name of any person claiming and entitled to have his name inserted, or by inserting the name of any person who ought to have been assessed, or by striking out the name of any person who ought not to have been assessed, or by raising or reducing the sum at which any person has been assessed, if it appear to the said local board that he has been underrated or overrated, or by making any other alteration which will make the rate conformable to the provisions of this Act;

And no such amendment shall be held to avoid the rate; Provided always, that any person who may feel himself aggrieved by any such amendment shall have the same right of appeal (n) therefrom as he would have had if the matter of amendment had appeared on the rate originally made, and with respect to him the amended rate shall be considered to bave been made at the time when he first received notice of the amendment.

ascertained

(m) Notwithstanding the facility which is thus given to the local board Names of the of health, it is, nevertheless, most desirable that the utmost pains should occupier and be taken to ascertain the respective names of the owner or occupier, owner to be Much practical difficulty attends all proceedings where the name of the if possible. party proceeded against is not stated. Moreover, if it can be shown that the name was known to the local board of health, it may perhaps be held that the use of the term owner or occupier is not justified. Again, it may be well questioned whether, although these words be used, the assessment will be available against an owner or occupier who may succeed to the premises.

(n) See sect. 135, post. Doubtless a ratepayer may appeal against the reduction of another person's rate if he find it out.

Rates made under this Act to be

published as poor rates, and collected

And in the case of any person the amount of whose rate is increased by the amendment, or whose name is thereby newly inserted as aforesaid, the rate shall not be payable by him until seven days after such notice shall have been given (e) to him.

CIII. And be it enacted, that all rates made or collected under the authority of this Act shall be published in the same manner as poor rates (f), and shall commence and be as the lect payable at such time or times, and shall be made in such manner and form, and be collected by such persons, and either together or separately, or with any other rate (g) or tax, as the local board of health shall from time to time appoint;

board shall

appoint.

Justices may

And if any person assessed to any such rate fail (h) to pay the same when due, and for the space of fourteen days after the same shall have been lawfully demanded (i) in recover by writing, any justice may (k) and he is hereby empowered to

snmmon persons for nonpayment, and in default may

distress.

Publication

of the rate.

Meaning of other rates.

(e) As to the service of notice, see sect. 150, post, and 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 61, as to its authentication; but it seems that the usual demand note would be sufficient notice within this section.

(ƒ) The 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 54, (2,) dispenses with publication in cases of private improvement rates. But the Court of Queen's Bench have decided that the rates made under the above section are not void if not published in the same manner as the poor rate, there being no words of avoidance in this Act as in 17 Geo. 2, c. 3. Lefeuvre v. Miller, 3 Jur. (N. S.) 1255; 26 L. J., M. C. 175; 8 E. & B. 321.

(g) This must mean some other rate or tax over which the local board of health has a control. It often proves inconvenient to have several rates and taxes collected together, and therefore the authority which levies a rate ought to have exclusive power of regulating its collection. It cannot be presumed that the legislature intended that such power should be interfered with by the local board. But reference must be made to the 25 & 26 Vict. c. 82, which provides for the consolidation of the proceedings for the recovery of several local rates and taxes due from the same person before the justices.

(h) The language used in the warrant set out in the schedule is hath refused.

(i) The 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, in s. 54, (5), and s. 75, post, provides for the notice of demand of the rate.

(4) This is not a discretionary power conferred upon the justice, but he must act ministerially; R. v. Newman, 29 L. J. M. C. 117; 6 Jur.

summon the defaulter to appear before him, or any other justice, at a time and place to be mentioned in the summons, to show cause why the rate in arrear should not be paid;

And in case the defaulter fail to appear according to the exigency of the summons, or no sufficient cause for nonpayment be shown, the justice may (k), by warrant under his hand and seal, cause the same (7) to be levied by distress of the goods and chattels of the defaulter:

Provided always, that if no distress sufficient to satistify the amount can be found within the jurisdiction of the justice by whom such warrant is granted, and it so appear upon oath before a justice of any other county or jurisdiction in which any goods or chattels of the defaulter may be, the last-mentioned justice shall endorse his signature upon the said warrant, and thereupon the amount to be levied, or so much thereof as may be unsatisfied, shall be levied off the last-mentioned goods and chattels, in the same manner as if the defaulter had been assessed in the last-mentioned county or jurisdiction (m);

And if any person quit or be about to quit any premises without payment of any rate then due from him in respect of such premises under this Act, and refuse to pay the same after lawful demand thereof in writing (n), any justice

(N. s.) 293; and the Court of Queen's Bench have decided that the justices cannot, when required to enforce payment of this rate, entertain any question as to the legal election of the members of the board who made the rate. Reg. v. Justices of Derbyshire, 20 J. P. 772; nor as to the purpose to which the rate is to be applied, Luton Board of Health v. Davis, 2 E. & E. 678; 2 L. T. 93; 29 L. J. M. C. 173.

The justice is not required to make any order for payment, and for the issue of the warrant, and if he do so this order is not removable into the Court of Queen's Bench. Reg. v. Tottenham Board of Health, 1 L. T. (N. 8.) 413.

(1) The 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 54, No. 3, post, extends this power to the costs of the levy.

(m) This is analogous to the provision in 54 Geo. 3, c. 170, s. 12, relating to the poor rate.

(n) See note on this section, ante. It is to be noticed that the words apply to refusal, which is active, and do not extend to neglect, but in many cases the neglect may be considered equivalent to refusal.

Form of distress warrant.

Penalty upon con

ing to levy.

having jurisdiction where such person resides or his goods are found may and he is hereby empowered to summon him to appear, at a time and place to be mentioned in the summons, to show cause why the rate so due should not be paid;

And in case the defaulter fail to appear, or no sufficient cause for nonpayment be shown, the justice may, by warrant under his hand and seal, cause the sum to be levied by distress of the goods and chattels of the defaulter (j).

CIV. And be it enacted, that warrants of distress for the recovery of any rate payable under the authority of this Act may be in the form contained in the schedule (D.) (k) annexed to this Act, or to the like effect;

And any constable authorized by any such warrant who stables refus- shall (1) neglect or refuse to make distress or sale (m), pursuant to the same, after being required so to do by a collector of the district in which the rate in arrear was made, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds (n).

Quota of

rates to be

CV. Provided always, and be it enacted (0), that nothing paid by the in this Act shall be deemed to alter or interfere with the Universities.

No imprisonment for default.

(j) If the poor rate cannot be obtained by distress warrant, the defaulter may be committed to prison for three months, under the 43 Eliz. c. 2, s. 11, and 13 & 14 Vict. c. 45, but no power of imprisonment is given for default of distress in the case of these rates, so that the only means of recovering them is by process against the personal property of the ratepayer.

(k) See 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 54, post, authorizing the warrant to provide for the costs, which, though mentioned in the Form, are omitted from sect. 103.

(1) It is not necessary to prove wilful neglect. King v. Barrell, 12 A. & E. 460; 9 L. J., Q. B. 357.

(m) The constable does not usually sell goods distrained; that is done by the collector or person levying the rate, through a sworn broker. However, in the schedule, it will be seen, that the warrant is directed to the collector and constable.

(n) See sect. 129, post, as to the recovery of this penalty.

(0) See 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 82, as to the local boards to be constituted

liability of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge respectively to contribute in the proportion of and manner specified in any local Act under which the Oxford and Cambridge commissioners respectively now act towards the expenses of paving and pitching, repairing, lighting and cleansing, under the powers of any such local Act, the several streets, lanes, ways, alleys, passages, and places within the jurisdiction of such commissioners respectively.

And in case any difference shall arise between either of the said Universities and the local board of health with respect to the proportions and manner in which the University shall contribute towards any expenses under this Act, and to which the University is not liable under any such local Act, the same shall be settled by the general board of health (p):

Provided also, that all rates, contributions, and sums of money which may become payable under this Act by the said Universities respectively, and their respective halls and colleges, may be recovered from such Universities, halls, and colleges, in the same manner in all respects as rates, contributions, and sums of money may now be recovered from them by virtue of any such local Act.

rates.

CVI. And be it enacted, that the production of the books Evidence of purporting to contain any rate or assessment made under this Act shall alone, and without any other evidence whatsoever, be received as primâ facie evidence of the making and validity of the rates mentioned therein (q).

at Oxford and Cambridge, wherein the authorities of the Universities and of the city and town respectively, are to be combined.

(p) This provision has failed.

excused.

(9) Sect. 137, post, provides that no rate shall be vacated for want of When form, but if the rate show on the face of it that it is defective in substance invalidity of (as, if there be no estimate, or if it appear to be made for illegal purposes), rate not it is presumed that objection may nevertheless be taken to it with success. Hence it is incumbent upon local boards to prepare their rates with proper attention and care. The text only makes the production primá facie evidence of its validity. A similar provision has been since made in respect of the poor rate by 32 & 33 Vict. c. 41, s. 18.