Corn Returns Act 1882
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1882 c. 37 |
Corn Returns Act, 1882
(45 & 46 Vict.) CHAPTER 37.
An Act to amend the Law respecting the obtaining of Corn Returns.
[10th August 1882]
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 Short title.
1. This Act may be cited as theCorn Returns Act, 1882.
2 Extent of Act.
2. This Act shall not extend to Scotland or Ireland.
3 Commencement of Act.
3. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, which day is in this Act referred to as the commencement of this Act.
4 Return from towns of purchases of British corn, and publication of average price.
4. Weekly returns of the purchases of British corn shall be made, under the direction of the Board of Trade, in manner provided by this Act from such towns, not less than one hundred and fifty and not more than two hundred in number, as may be from time to time fixed by Her Majesty in Council, and the average price of British corn shall be from time to time ascertained from those returns, and published by the Board of Trade in manner provided by this Act.
5 Weekly returns of purchases of British corn.
5. Every such buyer of corn as is herein-after mentioned in any town from which corn returns are for the time being required by this Act to be made, shall, weekly, on the last market day in the week in that town, or on such other day as may be from time to time fixed by Her Majesty in Council, make to the inspector of corn returns for that town, at the place fixed, as in this Act mentioned, a return in writing signed by him, specifying, with respect to the seven days ending on and including the day on which the return is made, the amount of every parcel of each sort of British corn bought by him in the town, whether from the producer or otherwise, and the price thereof, and the weight or measure by which the same was bought, the name of the seller, and if the same was sold or bought on account of any other person the name of that person, and if an inspector of corn returns delivers to a buyer of corn required under this Act to make returns a notice in writing requiring him to declare where and by whom and in what manner any British corn was delivered to him, such buyer shall make a return of the particulars so required in a separate statement in writing signed by him.
6 Buyers of corn bound to make returns of purchases of corn.
6. The following persons shall make the returns required by this Act, and are in this Act referred to as buyers of corn in a town; that is to say,
(1) (1.) Every person who deals in British corn in such town; also
(2) (2.) Every person who in any such town engages in or carries on the trade of a cornfactor, miller, maltster, brewer, or distiller; also
(3) (3.) Every person who is the owner or part owner of any carriages carrying goods or passengers for hire to and from or within any such town; also
(4) (4.) Every person who as a merchant, clerk, agent, or otherwise purchases in any such town any British corn for sale, or for the sale of meal, flour, malt, or broad made or to be made thereof.
7 Weekly summary of quantities and prices by inspectors to the Board of Trade.
7. Every inspector of corn returns shall record in the prescribed manner the returns made to him under this Act in any town, and in every week shall ascertain from those returns the total quantity with the total and average price of each sort of British corn returned to him in that town during that week, and shall on the next Monday, or such other day as may be prescribed, send to the Board of Trade in the prescribed manner and form a summary of such total quantities and total and average prices for the said week.
A copy of the weekly summary from any town shall, together with the prescribed details (exclusive of the names of persons), be made public there in the prescribed manner.
8 Computing of corn according to the bushel. 41 & 42 Vict. c. 49.
8. In the weekly summary of quantities and prices each sort of British corn shall be computed with reference to the imperial bushel. An inspector of corn returns shall convert into such imperial bushel all returns made to him in any other measure or by weight or by a weighed measure, and in the case of weight or weighed measure shall convert the same at the rate of sixty imperial pounds for every bushel of wheat, fifty imperial pounds for every bushel of barley, and thirty-nine imperial pounds for every bushel of oats.
9 Computation and publication of averages by Board of Trade.
9. The Board of Trade shall cause the average prices of each sort of British corn to be computed from the summaries sent by the inspectors of corn returns in pursuance of this Act, as follows:
(1) (1.) In each week the average price during the next preceding week of each sort of British corn for the whole of the towns and for each town from which a summary is obtained, shall be computed, and shall be published in the London Gazette:
(2) (2.) After each of the quarter days, the twenty-fifth day of March, the twenty-fourth day of June, the twenty-ninth day of September, and the twenty-fifth day of December, the average price of each sort of British corn during the quarter ending on that quarter day shall be forthwith computed and published in the London Gazette:
(3) (3.) After the twenty-fifth day of December in every year the average price of each sort of British corn shall be computed for the year, and the seven years ending on that day, and shall be published in the London Gazette in the month of January next following:
(4) (4.) The average price of any sort of British corn for any week shall be ascertained by adding together the total quantities of that sort of British corn appearing from the summaries of the inspectors of corn returns to have been bought during such week, and the total prices for those quantities as appearing from the said summaries, and by dividing the total prices by the total quantities as so ascertained. The quarterly or yearly average prices shall be ascertained by adding together the weekly averages of the weeks included in such quarter or year, and dividing the total by the number of weeks in such quarter or year respectively:
(5) (5.) The septennial average price shall be ascertained by adding together the average annual prices for the seven years, and dividing the total by seven:
(6) (6.) The annual and septennial average shall state the average for the imperial bushel.
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