The Queen, on The Prosecution of The Maidstone Improvement Commissioners, Respondents, against The Justices of The County of Kent, Appellants
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 26 May 1860 |
| Date | 26 May 1860 |
| Court | High Court |
English Reports Citation: 121 E.R. 340
IN THE COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, AND THE COURT OF EXCHEQUER CHAMBER.
S. C. 29 L. J. M. C. 191; 6 Jur. N. S. 894.
the queen, on the prosecution of the maidstone improvement commissioners, Respondents, against the justices of the county of kent, Appellants. Saturday, May 26th, 1860. By local and personal public Acts of Parliament, Improvement Commissioners were appointed to Act in and for the town of M. in the county of K., and were authorized to levy annually within the town, for the purposes of the Acts, a certain rate upon, amongst other public buildings, all gaols situated within the town. A subsequent local and personal public Act, 54 G. 3, c. civ. sect. 18, after reciting that it was expedient that the county of K., "should be relieved and exonerated from any taxes in respect of any of the gaols " " of the said county," enacted that " no rate, tax or assessment whatsoever, parliamentary or parochial," should " be raised, assessed or levied on, or be payable by, the said county " " for or on account of the said gaols " " or any or either of them."-Held, that this section exempted a County gaol, situated in M., from assessment to the annual rate leviable by the M. Improvement Commissioners. [S. C. 29 L. J. M. C. 191; 6 Jur. N. S. 894.] Case stated by consent and by order of Wightman J., after notice of appeal by the appellants to the Kent [912] Quarter Sessions, against a rate made by the respondents, to which the county gaol of Kent, situate in Maidstone, was assessed. The appellants are the justices of the county of Kent, acting on behalf of the inhabitants of the said county, and the respondents are the Commissioners for the time being, acting in the execution of certain powers conferred on them by three several Acts of Parliament, namely, stats. 31 G. 3, c. Ixii.(a)2, 42 G. 3, c. xc.(i), and 59 G. 3, c. xvi.(c), all of which are public Acts. (a)1 Stat. 12 & 13 Viet. c. 101, s. 12, under which the County Court practice rules formerly in force were framed, expressly provided that the rules, when approved by the Judges of the superior Courts, should be laid before Parliament, and should, after six weeks therefrom, " be of the same force and effect as if the same had been enacted by authority of Parliament." But stat. 19 & 20 Viet. c. 108, s. 32, merely provides that the roles to be framed by the County Court Judges " shall be submitted to the Lord Chancellor, who may allow or disallow, or alter the same : and the " same " so allowed or altered shall, from a day to be named by the Lord Chancellor, be in force in every County Court." (a)2 Local and personal, public. "For widening, improving, regulating, paving, cleansing, and lighting the streets, lanes, and other public passages and places, within the King's town of Maidstone, in the county of Kent, for removing and preventing encroachments, obstructions, nuisances, and annoyances therein ; for better supplying the said town with water; and for repairing highways within the parish of Maidstone." (i) Local and personal, public. "For altering and amending" stat. 31 G. 3, c. Ixii., "and for raising a further sum of money for completing the purposes of" that " Act." (c) Local and personal, public. " To enlarge the powers of three Acts of His present 2 EL. & EL 913. THE QUEKN V. THE JUSTICES OF KENT 341 By stat. 31 G. 3, c. Ixii.(a)1 s. 8, it is enacted aa follows: " And for raising money towards answering and defraying the cbargea and expenses of obtaining and passing this Act, and carrying the same into execution, bo it further enacted, that the said Commissioners, or any five or more of them, shall and are hereby authorized and required once in every year to rate and assess any sum not exceeding the sum of one shilling and sixpence in the pound, and no more, upon the several tenants or occupiers of all houses, oasts, buildings, yards, gardens, lands, rents, revenues, tenements, and heredita-[913]-ments, within the said town of Maidstone, according to the annual value of the same respectively, such annual value to be from time to time settled according to the respective rents " the same " shall be respectively taxed at, for the relief of the poor of the said town and parish of Maidstone, previous to the making of such rate or assessment by the said Commissioners." By sect. 13 of the same Act it is enacted "That the said Commissioners, or any five or more of them, shall, and they are...
To continue reading
Request your trial