Incorporation of Commissioners.

2. The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings for the time being, hereinafter referred to as "the Commissioners," shall be incorporated for the purposes of this Act by the name and style of "The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings," and by that name shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, to be by them from time to time altered as they think fit, with power to hold lands for the purposes and subject to the provisions of this Act.

Acquisition of Site.

3. The purposes of this Act are the acquisition of a convenient site for the accommodation of the Superior Courts of Law and Equity or some of them, the Probate and Divorce Courts, and the Courts of Admiralty, and the various offices connected with them, and of such other Courts for the administration of justice, and offices connected therewith, or used for any other purpose of legal administration, as may from time to time be prescribed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and the providing of convenient means of access to the said Courts and offices.

4. The Commissioners may, out of any monies placed at their disposal for that object, purchase, take, and use for the purposes of this Act all or any of the prescribed lands.

5. All lands purchased by the Commissioners in pursuance of this Act, which were at the time of such purchase subject to land-tax, to poor or other rates shall continue liable thereto, but they shall not be assessed to any tax or rate on a higher rateable value than that on which they were assessed on the 1st of January 1865.

6. The Commissioners, their surveyors, officers, and workmen, may at all reasonable times in the daytime, upon giving twenty-four hours' previous notice in writing, enter in and upon any of the prescribed lands for the purpose of surveying or valuing the same.

7. "The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," 8 & 9 Vict. c. 18, and the Act amending the same, 23 & 24 Vict. c. 106, shall be incorporated with this Act, with the exceptions and additions

and subject to the provisions hereinafter contained (that is to say,)

(1.) There shall not be incorporated with this Act the sections and provisions of "The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, section 16, whereby it is provided that the capital is to be subscribed before the compulsory powers are to be put in force; section 17, whereby it is provided that the certificate of the Justices shall be evidence that the capital has been subscribed; or the provisions relating to affording access to the special Act: (2.) In the construction of this Act and the said incorporated Acts this Act shall be deemed to be the "Special Act," and the Commissioners shall be deemed to be the "promoters of the undertaking":

(3.) The bond required by section 85. of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act shall be under the common seal of the Commissioners, and shall be sufficient without the addition of the sureties in the said section mentioned: (4.) The term "Sheriff" used in the provisions of the "Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," relating to the reference to a jury, shall, as regards any part of the prescribed lands within the city and liberty of Westminster, be deemed to apply to the High Bailiff of the city and liberty of Westminster or his deputy.

8. In every case in which any question of disputed compensation may be required to be determined by the verdict of a jury, in the city of London or the liberties thereof, the jury shall be required to appear before the Court of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the city of London to be holden in the outer chamber of the Guildhall of the said city according to the custom of the said city, at a time to be appointed by the said Court; and all the directions and provisions contained in the "Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," in respect to the settlement of questions of disputed compensation by juries appearing before the sheriff, coroner, or other person, shall extend and be applied with respect to the settlement of any such question of disputed compensation under this Act by juries appearing before the said Court of Mayor and Aldermen as aforesaid: and the said Court shall give judgment for the purchase-money or compensation assessed by such jury; and a verdict and judgment shall be signed by the registrar of the said Court of Mayor and Aldermen, and entered among the records of the said Court, and the said Registrar shall settle the costs of every such inquiry.

9. Upon the purchase by the Commissioners of the prescribed lands or any part thereof, all rights of way, rights of laying down or of continuing any pipes, sewers, or drains, on, through, or under such lands or part thereof, and all other rights or

easements in or relating to such land or part thereof, shall be extinguished, and all the soil of such ways, and the property in the pipes, sewers, or drains, shall vest in the Commissioners, subject to this provision, that all persons and bodies of persons, corporate and unincorporate may recover from the Commissioners such compensation, if any, as they may be entitled to under the provisions of "The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," for any rights or property of which they may be deprived in pursuance of this section, the amount of such compensation to be determined in manner provided by the said Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845.

10. The Commissioners shall pay an annual sum to each of the persons hereinafter mentioned; that is to say,

The Rector of St. Clement Danes in the city of
Westminster;

The Perpetual Curate of St. Thomas, Liberty of
the Rolls, in the county of Middlesex;
The Rector of the parish of St. Dunstan in the
West in the city of London,

by way of compensation for the loss of all such Faster dues, oblations, surplice fees, or other customary payments that may be taken away in consequence of carrying into effect the purposes of this Act. Such payments shall be made halfyearly on the 1st of January and the 1st of July in each year. The amount payable to each such person shall be calculated on an average of the amount received by him in respect of the said customary payments on an average of the three years immediately preceding the passing of this Act, and in the event of difference shall be definitively settled by an arbitrator appointed by Her Majesty's Attorney General for the time being.

The first of the above-mentioned half-yearly payments shall be made on the 1st of July 1867.

11. Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice the right of any rector or other ecclesiastical person to any tithe, or rent-charge in lieu thereof, charged upon or payable out of any lands purchased by the Commissioners in pursuance of this Act; and the said Commissioners shall from time to time pay the said tithe or rent-charge, when the same shall become due, out of any monies that may be in their hands applicable thereto.

12. All claims for compensation made upon the Commissioners under the provisions of this Act or any Act incorporated herewith shall, if the person claiming to be entitled to compensation has no greater interest than as tenant for a year or from year to year in the lands in respect of which the compensation is claimed, be determined in manner provided by the 121st section of "The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845."

13. The limit for the compulsory purchase of lands under this Act shall be five years.

14. The Commissioners may, for the purpose of improving the approaches, or of providing convenient roads, bridges over, or tunnels under streets, or other modes of access to the proposed Courts of Justice and the offices connected therewith, acquire by purchase or otherwise any lands or interest in lands or easements, and for the purposes of such acquisition the said Lands Clauses Consolidation Act shall be deemed to apply, with the exception of so much thereof as relates to the purchase of lands otherwise than by agreement.

15. The Commissioners may pull down and remove any buildings on the prescribed lands, and may construct thereon such buildings and works, and do all such other things as may in their opinion be necessary or expedient in order to carry into effect the purposes of this Act or any of them.

16. Where any works to be done under or by virtue of this Act shall or may pass over, under, or by the side of or so as to interfere with any main sewer under the jurisdiction or control of the Metropolitan Board of Works, the Commissioners shall not commence such work until they shall have given to the said Metropolitan Board fourteen days' previous notice in writing of their intention to commence the same, by leaving such notice at the principal office of such board, with a plan and section shewing the course and inclination thereof, and other necessary particulars relating thereto, and until such Board shall have signified their approval of the same, unless such Board do not signify their approval, disapproval, or other directions within fourteen days after service of the said plans, sections, and particulars aforesaid; and the Commissioners shall comply with and conform to all orders, directions, and regulations of the said Metropolitan Board in the execution of the said works, and shall provide, by new, altered, or substituted works, in such manner as such Board may deem necessary, for the proper protection of and for preventing injury or impediment to the main sewers herein before referred to, by or by reason of the said intended works or any part thereof, and shall save harmless the said Metropolitan Board against any expense to be occasioned thereby; and all such last-mentioned works shall be done by or under the direction, superintendence and control of the engineer or other officer or officers of the said Metropolitan Board, at the expense in all respects of the Commissioners; and all expenses which the said Metropolitan Board may be put to by reason of the works of the Commissioners, whether in the execution of works, the preparation or examination of plans or designs, superintendence, or otherwise, shall be paid to such Board by the Commissioners; and when any new, altered, or substituted works as aforesaid, or any works connected therewith, shall be completed, by or at the expense of the Commissioners, under the provisions of this Act, the same shall thereafter be as fully and com

pletely under the direction, jurisdiction, and control of the said Metropolitan Board as any sewers or works now are or hereafter may be; and nothing in this Act shall extend to prejudice, diminish, alter, or take away any of the rights, powers, or authorities of the said Metropolitan Board, but all such rights, powers, and authorities shall be as valid and effectual as if this Act had not been passed; provided that no renewal or alteration, other than a change of site of existing works, shall be deemed new works under this Act; and if the Commissioners shall complain of any withholding of consent on the part of the said Board, or of any orders and directions and regulations, or of any charges sought to be imposed by such Board upon the Commissioners, in the execution of any such works, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Home Department for the time being to determine every such difference, and by order under his hand to authorize the works, and the manner of executing the same, as he shall think fit; and after the date of the application by the Commissioners to the said Secretary of State no penalty shall be incurred by any default of the Commissioners in respect of or in relation to such works, or the matters in difference between the parties.

17. Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice, diminish, alter, or take away any of the rights, powers, or authorities vested in the Commissioners of Sewers of the city of London, with respect to Bell Yard, Fleet Street, in the city of London.

19. No notice shall be given of the intention to take any property under this Act, nor shall any contract be entered into for the purchase of any property, until a certificate in writing shall have been received by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, signed by the major part in number of the persons appointed by Her Majesty under "The Courts of Justice Building Act, 1865," to advise and concur with the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury with reference to the plan and arrangements of the buildings to be erected upon the lands hereby authorized to be taken, stating that they are satisfied that the lands to be acquired under this Act, of which a plan has been laid before Parliament, are sufficient for all the purposes of the intended new courts and buildings connected therewith, and that the probable cost of the said lands and buildings will not exceed the amount of the funds provided under "The Courts of Justice Building Act, 1865," for those purposes.

Miscellaneous.

20. No purchase shall be made by the Commis

sioners for the purposes of the Act without the consent in writing of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, but it shall not be necessary for any vendor or any purchaser from the said Commissioners to ascertain that such assent has been given, nor shall the Commissioners be bound to produce to any such vendor or purchaser any evidence of such assent; and any such assent may be given either generally, or for any particular purchase or purchases, as to the said Commissioners of the Treasury may seem meet.

21. Every notice, summons, writ, or other document required to be given, issued, or signed by or on behalf of the Commissioners may be given, issued, or signed by the solicitor or secretary for the time being of the Commissioners, and need not be under the common seal of the Commissioners, and may be in writing or in print, or partly in writing and partly in print.

22. All orders which under this Act the Court of Chancery is empowered to make on motion or petition, in relation to any money paid into the Bank of England with the privity of the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery under this Act, or the securities in or upon which the same may be invested, or the dividends or interest on such money and securities, may be made by any Judge of the said Court upon application to him, while sitting at chambers, upon summons, in like manner as in other cases in which proceedings may be so had, subject nevertheless to any General Orders which may hereafter be made concerning the practice, proceedings, or business of the said Court, on any such applications.

23. If any person wilfully obstruct any person acting under the authority of the Commissioners in the lawful exercise of the powers vested in them under this Act, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding 5l. for every such offence, to be recovered in a summary manner.

24. No deed, bond, or other instrument made by, to, or with the Commissioners for any of the purposes of this Act shall be subject to any stamp duty imposed by any Act now in force, nor to any stamp duty to be imposed by any future Act, unless such instruments are specially charged therewith in such future Act.

25. Every conveyance, assignment, or other deed or instrument whereby any land by this Act authorized to be purchased is conveyed or assigned to the Commissioners for the purposes of this Act, shall be enrolled amongst the records of Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, and entered in the books of the said Commissioners; and every such conveyance, assignment, or other deed or instrument, when so enrolled, shall, without any other enrolment or acknowledgment thereof, and without any registry thereof, be good and

PART I.

5. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue shall provide all necessary dies for denoting, either by impressed or adhesive stamps, the amount or value of licences according to the scale fixed in Schedule A. to this Act annexed; and the Registrar shall, under the direction and supervision of the chief or under secretary, cause a sufficient supply of the Forms in the Schedule (B.) to this Act annexed to be printed; and the said Commissioners shall cause any of such Forms to be stamped according to this Act with proper stamps denoting the licence duty thereon: and the Registrar shall cause the same, when so stamped, and also any adhesive stamps that may be necessary for the purposes of this Act, to be from time to time furnished to the several petty sessions clerks in Ireland; and for the purposes aforesaid the said Commissioners shall supply the Registrar with such stamped forms and adhesive stamps for denoting the amount or value of any of such licences, under such rules and regulations as the chief or under secretary shall from time to time make or direct.

6. Any person, after the commencement of this Act, having in his possession or custody any dog or dogs, shall, on or before the 31st of March in each year, take out a licence for such dog or dogs in the petty sessions district in which he shall reside; and the petty sessions clerk, upon payment by such person of the proper licence duty, shall deliver such licence to such person, which shall entitle such person to keep such dog or dogs for one year from and after the date of such licence: Provided always, that where the owner of a dog or dogs has given the custody of such dog or dogs to another person who shall not reside in the same petty sessions district as the owner, the licence for such dog or dogs shall be taken out by the person having the custody of such dog or dogs, and not by the owner.

7. The occupier of any house or premises where any dog or dogs are kept or permitted to live or remain shall be liable to pay the licence duty for such dog or dogs, and in default of such payment shall be liable to the penalties incurred by persons keeping unlicensed dogs, unless the said occupier can prove to the satisfaction of the Justice or Justices that he is not the owner or has not the custody of such dog or dogs, and that such dog or dogs were kept or permitted to live or remain in the said house or premises without his sanction or knowledge: Provided always, that where there are more occupiers than one in any house or premises let in separate apartments or lodgings, or otherwise, the occupier of that particular part of the premises in which such dog or dogs shall have been kept or permitted to live and remain shall be liable to pay the licence duty for such dog or dogs.

8. Every petty sessions clerk shall keep a book to be provided by the Registrar, and to be called "the Registry of Dogs Licence Book," in which he shall register the issue of such licence, the date thereof, and the name and residence of the person to whom issued, as also the description of the dog or dogs as contained in the licence, which book shall be open to the inspection of the Registrar and his clerks, and of every Justice of the Peace, county inspector, sub-inspector, head or other constable of constabulary, and of every superintendent, head or other constable of the Dublin metropolitan or other local police force; and the petty sessions clerk shall certify at the foot or on the back of every such licence that the same has been duly registered, and shall affix to every such certificate of registry a sixpenny petty sessions stamp, to be paid for by the person taking out the licence.

9. Where any dog shall be transferred by sale or gift by its owner to any other person, it shall not be necessary for such person to take out a new licence for such dog if such dog shall have been licensed within the year, but such person shall obtain from the petty sessions clerk of the district where the licence was issued a certificate in the Form in the Schedule (D.) to this Act annexed, to` which certificate a sixpenny petty sessions stamp shall be affixed, to be paid by the person requiring the same, and such person shall, within fifteen days after such transfer, cause such certificate to be registered in the "Registry of Dogs Licence Book" for the petty sessions district in which the person to whom such transfer shall have been made resides, and the petty sessions clerk of such district shall, on application, register such certificate, and shall certify such registry at the foot or at the back of the certificate, and no fee or stamp duty shall be payable on such registry; and in default of causing such registry to be made such person shall be liable to the penalties incurred by persons keeping unlicensed dogs.

10. In case the person who shall be liable, under the provisions of this Act, to pay such fee of 6d. upon every such certificate of the registry of such licence, shall fail to make such payment, it shall be lawful for the Justice or Justices at petty sessions to make a summary order, on the complaint of the clerk of such petty sessions, to require the payment of such fee; and such order shall be enforced in like manner as any order of a Justice or Justices may now be enforced under the provisions of "The Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851," and any Act amending the same: Provided always, that every petty sessions clerk shall when required so to do, and as a part of his duty, and without charge, properly fill up all licences purchased of him under the provisions of this Act.

11. Every petty sessions clerk shall, on or before the 15th of April in each year after the commencement of this Act, cause a sufficient