sions, and each division shall in all future parliaments be a sepa-
rate borough returning two members to serve in parliament.
536 English Constitutional Documents
The said divisions shall be known by the name of the borough
of Hackney and the borough of the Tower Hamlets, and, until
otherwise directed by parliament, shall comprise the places men-
tioned in connection with each such borough in schedule (C.)
hereto annexed.
22. Registers of voters shall be formed in and after the year
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, notwithstanding the
continuance of this present parliament, in respect of the said
boroughs of Hackney and of the Tower Hamlets constituted
under this act in like manner as if such divisions had previously
to the passing of this act been separate boroughs returning mem-
bers to serve in parliament.
23. From and after the end of the present parliament, each
county named in the first column of schedule (D.) [8 counties
divided into 3 divisions, 4 divisions of counties made in 1832
divided into 2 divisions, and the west riding of Yorkshire divided
into 3 divisions] to this act annexed shall be divided into the
divisions named in the second column of the said schedule, and,
until otherwise directed by parliament, each of such divisions
shall consist of the hundreds, lathes, wapentakes, and places
mentioned in the third column of the said schedule.
In all future parliaments there shall be two members to serve
for each of the divisions specified in the said second column,
and such members shall be chosen in the same manner,
and by the same description of voters, and in respect of the
same rights of voting, as if each such division were a separate
county.
All enactments relating to divisions of counties returning
members to serve in parliament shall be deemed to apply to the
divisions constituted as aforesaid.
Registers of voters shall be formed in and after the year one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, notwithstanding the
continuance of this present parliament, for or in respect of the
divisions of counties constituted by this act, in like manner as if
before the passing of this act they had respectively been counties
returning members to serve in parliament.
24. In all future parliaments the university of London shall
return one member to serve in parliament.
25. Every man whose name is for the time being on the regis-
ter of graduates constituting the convocation of the university of
London shall, if of full age, and not subject to any legal inca-
pacity, be entitled to vote in the election of a member to serve
in any future parliament for the said university.
Reform Act of 1867 537
PART III
SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISION
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
30. The following regulations shall in and after the year one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight be observed with respect
to the registration of voters :
i. The overseers of every parish or township shall make out
or cause to be made out a list of all persons on whom
a right to vote for a county in respect of the occupation
of premises is conferred by this act, in the same man-
ner, and subject to the same regulations, as nearly as
circumstances admit, in and subject to which the over-
seers of parishes and townships in boroughs are re-
quired by the registration acts to make out or cause to
be made out a list of all persons entitled to vote for a
member or members for a borough in respect of the
occupation of premises of a clear yearly value of not
less than ten pounds :
MISCELLANEOUS
51. Whereas great inconvenience may arise from the enact-
ments now in force limiting the duration of the parliament in
being at the demise of the crown: be it therefore enacted, that
the parliament in being at any future demise of the crown shall
not be determined or dissolved by such demise, but shall con-
tinue so long as it would have continued but for such demise,
unless it should be sooner prorogued or dissolved by the crown,
anything in the act passed in the sixth year of Her late Majesty
queen Anne, chapter seven, in any way notwithstanding.
52. Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to
offices of profit the acceptance of which from the crown vacates
the seats of members accepting the same, but does not render
them incapable of being reflected : be it enacted, that where a
person has been returned as a member to serve in parliament
since the acceptance by him from the crown of any office de-
scribed in schedule (H.) to this act annexed, the subsequent
acceptance by him from the crown of any other office or offices
described in such schedule in lieu of and in immediate succession
the one to the other shall not vacate his seat.
538 English Constitutional Documents
268. Disestablishment of the Irish Church
(1869, July 26. 32 & 33 Victoria, c. 42.)
WHEREAS it is expedient that the union created by act of
parliament between the churches of England and Ireland,
as by law established, should be dissolved, and that the Church
of Ireland, as so separated, should cease to be established by
law, and that after satisfying, so far as possible, upon principles
of equality as between the several religious denominations of Ire-
land, all just and equitable claims, the property of the said
Church of Ireland, or the proceeds thereof, should be applied in
such manner as parliament shall hereafter direct:
And whereas Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to sig-
nify that she has placed at the disposal of parliament her interests
in the several archbishoprics, bishoprics, benefices, cathedral pre-
ferments, and other ecclesiastical dignities and offices in Ireland :
Be it therefore 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. This act may be cited for all purposes as "The Irish
Church Act, 1869."
2. On and after the first day of January one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one the said union created by act of parlia-
ment between the Churches of England and Ireland shall be
dissolved, and the said Church of Ireland, herein-after referred
to as "the said church," shall cease to be established by law.
269. Education Act
(1870, August 9. 33 & 34 Victoria, c. 75.)
SUPPLY OF SCHOOLS
5. THERE shall be provided for every school district a suffi-
cient amount of accommodation in public elementary schools (as
herein-after defined) available for all the children resident in
Education Act 539
such district for whose elementary education efficient and suitable
provision is not otherwise made, and where there is an insufficient
amount of such accommodation, in this act referred to as " public
school accommodation," the deficiency shall be supplied in
manner provided by this act.
6. Where the education department, in the manner provided
by this act, are satisfied and have given public notice that there
is an insufficient amount of such accommodation for any school
district, and the deficiency is not supplied as herein-after re-
quired, a school board shall be formed for such district and shall
supply such deficiency, and in case of default by the school board
the education department shall cause the duty of such board to
be performed in manner provided by this act.
MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOLS BY SCHOOL BOARD
14. Every school provided by a school board shall be con-
ducted under the control and management of such board in
accordance with the following regulations:
(1) The school shall be a public elementary school within
the meaning of this act :
(2) No religious catechism or religious formulary which is
distinctive of any particular denomination shall be
taught in the school.
17. Every child attending a school provided by any school
board shall pay such weekly fee as may be prescribed by the
school board, with the consent of the education department, but
the school board may from time to time, for a renewable period
not exceeding six months, remit the whole or any part of such
fee in the case of any child when they are of opinion that the
parent of such child is unable from poverty to pay the same, but
such remission shall not be deemed to be parochial relief given
to such parent.
CONSTITUTION OF SCHOOL BOARDS
29. The school board shall be elected in manner provided by
this act, in a borough by the persons whose names are on the
burgess roll of such borough for the time being in force, and in
a parish not situate in the metropolis by the ratepayers.
540 English Constitutional Documents
At every such election every voter shall be entitled to a nunv
her of votes equal to the number of the members of the school
board to be elected, and may give all such votes to one candi-
date, or may distribute them among the candidates, as he thinks
fit.
The school board in the metropolis shall be elected in manner
herein-after provided by this act.
30. With respect to the constitution of a school board the fol-
lowing provisions shall have effect :
(i) The school board shall be a body corporate, by the
name of the school board of the district to which
they belong, having a perpetual succession and a
common seal, with power to acquire and hold land
for the purposes of this act without any license in
mortmain :
40. Where the education department are of opinion that it
would be expedient to form a school district larger than a
borough or a parish or any school district formed under this act,
they may, except in the metropolis, by order made after such
inquiry and notice as herein-after mentioned, form a united
school district by uniting any two or more adjoining school dis-
tricts, and upon such union cause a school board to be formed
for such united school district.
270. The Ballot Act
(1872, July 1 8. 35 & 36 Victoria, c. 33.)
WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the law relating to pro-
cedure at parliamentary and municipal elections :
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 :
The Ballot Act 541
PART I
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
PROCEDURE AT ELECTIONS
1. A candidate for election to serve in parliament for a county
or borough shall be nominated in writing. The writing shall be
subscribed by two registered electors of such county or borough
as proposer and seconder, and by eight other registered electors
of the same county or borough as assenting to the nomination,
and shall be delivered during the time appointed for the election
to the returning officer by the candidate himself, or his proposer
or seconder.
If at the expiration of one hour after the time appointed for
the election no more candidates stand nominated than there are
vacancies to be filled up, the returning officer shall forthwith
declare the candidates who may stand nominated to be elected,
and return their names to the clerk of the crown in chancery; but
if at the expiration of such hour more candidates stand nomi-
nated than there are vacancies to be filled up, the returning officer
shall adjourn the election and shall take a poll in manner in this
act mentioned.
A candidate may, during the time appointed for the election,
but not afterwards, withdraw from his candidature by giving a
notice to that effect, signed by him, to the returning officer : pro-
vided that the proposer of a candidate nominated in his absence
out of the United Kingdom may withdraw such candidate by a
written notice signed by him and delivered to the returning
officer, together with a written declaration of such absence of the
candidate.
If after the adjournment of an election by the returning officer
for the purpose of taking a poll one of the candidates nominated
shall die before the poll has commenced, the returning officer
shall, upon being satisfied of the fact of such death, countermand
notice of the poll, and all the proceedings with reference to the
election shall be commenced afresh in all respects as if the writ
had been received by the returning officer on the day on which
proof was given to him of such death; provided that no fresh
nomination shall be necessary in the case of a candidate who
stood nominated at the time of the countermand of the poll.
2. In the case of a poll at an election the votes shall be given
by ballot. The ballot of each voter shall consist of a paper (in
this act called a ballot paper) showing the names and descrip-
542 English Constitutional Documents
tion of the candidates. Each ballot paper shall have a number
printed on the back, and shall have attached a counterfoil with the
same number printed on the face. At the time of voting, the
ballot paper shall be marked on both sides with an official mark,
and delivered to the voter within the polling station, and the
number of such voter on the register of voters shall be marked on
the counterfoil, and the voter having secretly marked his vote on
the paper, and folded it up so as to conceal his vote, shall place
it in a closed box in the presence of the officer presiding at the
polling station (in this act called " the presiding officer ") after
having shown to him the official mark at the back.
Any ballot paper which has not on its back the official mark,
or on which votes are given to more candidates than the voter is
entitled to vote for, or on which anything, except the said num-
ber on the back, is written or marked by which the voter can be
identified, shall be void and not counted.
After the close of the poll the ballot boxes shall be sealed up,
so as to prevent the introduction of additional ballot papers, and
shall be taken charge of by the returning officer, and that officer
shall, in the presence of such agents, if any, of the candidates as
may be in attendance, open the ballot boxes, and ascertain the
result of the poll by counting the votes given to each candidate,
and shall forthwith declare to be elected the candidates or candi-
date to whom the majority of votes have been given, and return
their names to the clerk of the crown in chancery. The decision
of the returning officer as to any question arising in respect of
any ballot paper shall be final, subject to reversal on petition
questioning the election or return.
Where an equality of votes is found to exist between any can-
didates at an election for a county or borough, and the addition
of a vote would entitle any of such candidates to be declared
elected, the returning officer, if a registered elector of such
county or borough, may give such additional vote, but shall not
in any other case be entitled to vote at an election for which he
is returning officer.
PART II
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
20. The poll at every contested municipal election shall, so
far as circumstances admit, be conducted in the manner in which
the poll is by this act directed to be conducted at a contested
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 543
parliamentary election, and, subject to the modifications ex-
pressed in the schedules annexed hereto, such provision of this
act and of the said schedules as relate to or are concerned with a
poll at a parliamentary election shall apply to a poll at a con-
tested municipal election : * * *
271. Supreme Court of Judicature Act
(1873, August 5. 36 & 37 Victoria, c. 66.)
WHEREAS it is expedient to constitute a supreme court, and
to make provision for the better administration of justice
in England :
And whereas it is also expedient to alter and amend the law re-
lating to the judicial committee of Her Majesty's privy council:
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 :
PRELIMINARY
1. This act may be cited for all purposes as the "Supreme
Court of Judicature Act, 1873."
2. This act, except any provision thereof which is declared to
take effect on the passing of this act, shall commence and come
into operation on the second day of November, 1874.
PART I
CONSTITUTION AND JUDGES OF SUPREME COURT
3. From and after the time appointed for the commencement
of this act, the several courts herein-after mentioned, (that is
to say,) the high court of chancery of England, the court of
queen's bench, the court of common pleas at Westminster, the
court of exchequer, the high court of admiralty, the court of
probate, the court for divorce and matrimonial causes, and the
London court of bankruptcy, shall be united and consolidated
544 English Constitutional Documents
together, and shall constitute, under and subject to the provi-
sions of this act, one supreme court of judicature in England.
4. The said supreme court shall consist of two permanent
divisions, one of which, under the name of "Her Majesty's High
Court of Justice," shall have and exercise original jurisdiction,
with such appellate jurisdiction from inferior courts as is herein-
after mentioned, and the other of which, under the name of
"Her Majesty's Court of Appeal," shall have and exercise appel-
late jurisdiction, with such original jurisdiction as herein-after
mentioned as may be incident to the determination of any
appeal.
5. Her Majesty's high court of justice shall be constituted as
follows: The first judges thereof shall be the lord chancellor,
the lord chief justice of England, the master of the rolls, the
lord chief justice of the common pleas, the lord chief baron of
the exchequer, the several vice-chancellors of the high court of
chancery, the judge of the court of probate and of the court for
divorce and matrimonial causes, the several puisne justices of the
courts of queen's bench and common pleas respectively, the sev-
eral junior barons of the court of exchequer, and the judge of the
high court of admiralty, except such, if any, of the aforesaid
judges as shall be appointed ordinary judges of the court of appeal.
Subject to the provisions herein-after contained, whenever the
office of a judge of the said high court shall become vacant, a
new judge may be appointed thereto by Her Majesty, by letters
patent. All persons to be hereafter appointed to fill the places
of the lord chief justice of England, the master of the rolls, the
lord chief justice of the common pleas, and the lord chief baron,
and their successors respectively, shall continue to be appointed
to the same respective offices, with the same precedence, and by
the same respective titles, and in the same manner, respectively,
as heretofore. Every judge who shall be appointed to fill the
place of any other judge of the said high court of justice shall be
styled in his appointment "Judge of Her Majesty's High Court
of Justice," and shall be appointed in the same manner in which
the puisne justices and junior barons of the superior courts of
common law have been heretofore appointed : provided always,
that if at the commencement of this act the number of puisne jus-
tices and junior barons who shall become judges of the said high
court shall exceed twelve in the whole, no new judge of the said
high court shall be appointed in the place of any such puisne
justice or junior baron who shall die or resign while such whole
number shall exceed twelve, it being intended that the perma-
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 545
nent number of judges of the said high court shall not exceed
twenty-one.
All the judges of the said court shall have in all respects, save
as in this act is otherwise expressly provided, equal power,
authority, and jurisdiction; and shall be addressed in the man-
ner which is now customary in addressing the judges of the
superior courts of common law.
The lord chief justice of England for the time being shall be
president of the said high court of justice in the absence of the
lord chancellor.
6. Her Majesty's court of appeal shall be constituted as
follows: There shall be five ex-officio judges thereof, and also
so many ordinary judges (not exceeding nine at any one time)
as Her Majesty shall from time to time appoint. The ex-officio
judges shall be the lord chancellor, the lord chief justice of Eng-
land, the master of the rolls, the lord chief justice of the common
pleas, and the lord chief baron of the exchequer. The first ordi-
nary judges of the said court shall be the existing lords justices
of appeal in chancery, the existing salaried judges of the judicial
committee of Her Majesty's privy council, appointed under the
"Judicial Committee Act, 1871, "and such three other persons
as Her Majesty may be pleased to appoint by letters patent; such
appointment may be made either within one month before or at
any time after the day appointed for the commencement of this
act, but if made before shall take effect at the commencment of
this act.
Besides the said ex-officio judges and ordinary judges, it shall
be lawful for Her Majesty (if she shall think fit), from time to
time to appoint under her royal sign manual, as additional judges
of the court of appeal, any persons who, having held in England
the office of a judge of the superior courts of Westminster hereby
united and consolidated, or of Her Majesty's supreme court
hereby constituted, or in Scotland the office of lord justice gen-
eral or lord justice clerk, or in Ireland the office of lord chancel-
lor or lord justice of appeal, or in India the office of chief justice
of the high court of judicature at Fort William in Bengal, or
Madras, or Bombay, shall respectively signify in writing their
willingness to serve as such additional judges in the court of
appeal. No such additional judge shall be deemed to have
undertaken the duty of sitting in the court of appeal when pre-
vented from so doing by attendance in the house of lords, or on
the discharge of any other public duty, or by any other reason-
able impediment.
546 English Constitutional Documents
The ordinary and additional judges of the court of appeal shall
be styled lords justices of appeal. All the judges of the said
court shall have, in all respects, save as in this act is otherwise
expressly mentioned, equal power, authority, and jurisdiction.
Whenever the office of an ordinary judge of the court of appeal
becomes vacant, a new judge may be appointed thereto by Her
Majesty by letters patent.
The lord chancellor for the time being shall be president of
the court of appeal.
9. All judges of the high court of justice, and of the court of
appeal respectively, shall hold their offices for life, subject to a
power of removal by Her Majesty, on an address presented to
Her Majesty by both houses of parliament. No judge of either
of the said courts shall be capable of being elected to or of sitting
in the house of commons. Every judge of either of the said
courts (other than the lord chancellor) when he enters on the exe-
cution of his office, shall take, in the presence of the lord chan-
cellor, the oath of allegiance, and judicial oath as defined by the
Promissory Oaths Act, 1868. The oaths to be taken by the lord
chancellor shall be the same as heretofore.
PART II
JURISDICTION AND LAW
1 6. The high court of justice shall be a superior court of
record, and, subject as in this act mentioned, there shall be
transferred to and vested in the said high court of justice the
jurisdiction which, at the commencement of this act, was vested
in, or capable of being exercised by, all or any of the courts fol-
lowing; (that is to say,)
(1) The high court of chancery, as a common law court as
well as a court of equity, including the jurisdiction
of the master of the rolls, as a judge or master of the
court of chancery, and any jurisdiction exercised by
him in relation to the court of chancery as a common
law court;
(2) The court of queen's bench;
(3) The court of common pleas at Westminster;
(4) The court of exchequer, as a court of revenue, as well
as a common law court;
(5) The high court of admiralty;
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 547
(6) The court of probate;
(7) The court for divorce and matrimonial causes;
(8) The London court of bankruptcy;
(9) The court of common pleas at Lancaster;
(10) The court of pleas at Durham;
(n) The courts created by commissions of assize, of oyer
and terminer, and of jail delivery, or any of such
commissions :
The jurisdiction by this act transferred to the high court of justice
shall include, (subject to the exceptions herein-after contained,)