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3. Explanation of 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 31, as to powers of colonial governors.] Whereas doubts have been expressed as to the extent of the powers conferred by section thirty-one of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, on certain colonial authorities, and it is expedient to remove those doubts: Be it therefore enacted that the powers conferred by that section on the governor, lieutenant-governor, or other person administering the government in a British possession shall include and be deemed to have always included the following powers, namely:

(a) Power to approve a port or place within the possession for the registry of ships; and (b.) Power to appoint surveyors within the limits of the possession to survey and measure ships for registry or re-registry as British ships in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1887. 4. Public Record Acts to apply to records in custody of Registrar-General of Seamen.] All documents which, under section two hundred and seventyseven of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, or any enactment amending the same, are required to be recorded and preserved by the Registrar-General of Seamen shall be deemed to be public records and documents within the meaning of the Public Record Office Acts, 1838 and 1877, and those Acts shall, where applicable, apply to such documents in all respects as if such documents had been specifically referred to in the sald Acts.

5. Explanation of meaning of lighthouses.] In the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, and the Acts amending the same, the expression "lighthouses" shall, in addition to the meaning assigned to it by the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, include sirens and all other descriptions of fog signals, and the expression "new lighthouse" shall include the addi. tion to any existing lighthouse of any improved light, or any siren, or any description of fog signal. 6. Repeal.] The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent appearing in the third column of that Schedule:

Provided that the repeal of any enactment by this Act shall not affect the validity of anything done, or any right acquired or liability incurred, before the commencement of this Act under the repealed enactment, and that proceedings for enforcing any such right or liability may be commenced, continued, and completed as if this Act had not passed.

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CAP. LXVI.

An Act to amend the Law relating to the discharge
of Bankrupts and the closure of Bankruptcy
proceedings.
[16th September 1887.

Be it enacted, &c. :

1. Short title and construction.] (1.) This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy (Discharge and Closure) Act, 1887.

(2.) Expressions used in this Act shall, unless a
contrary intention appears, have the same meaning
as in the Bankruptcy Act, 1883.

pealed Bankruptcy Acts.] (1.) A debtor who has
2. Proceedings for discharge of bankrupt under re
liquidated by arrangement under the Bankruptcy
been adjudged bankrupt, or whose affairs have been
Act, 1869 [32 & 33 Vict. c. 71], or any previous
Bankruptcy Act, and who has not obtained his dis-
charge, may apply to the court for an order of
discharge, and thereupon the court shall appoint a
day for hearing the application in open court.
the day for hearing the application for discharge
(2.) Notice of the appointment by the court of
shall twenty-one days at least before the day so
appointed be sent by the debtor to each creditor
who has proved in the bankruptcy or liquidation,
or to those of them whose addresses appear in the
debtor's statement of affairs or are known to the
debtor, and shall also, fourteen days at least before
the day so appointed, be published in the London
Gazette.

(3.) On the hearing of the application the court
may hear any creditor, and may put such questions
to the debtor and receive such evidence as the court
thinks fit, and, on being satisfied that the notice
required by this section has been duly sent and
published, may either grant or refuse the order of
discharge or suspend the operation of the order for
a specified time, or grant the order of discharge
subject to any conditions with respect to any earn-
ings or income which may afterwards become due
to the debtor, or with respect to his after-acquired
property: Provided that the court shall refuse the
discharge in all cases where the court is satisfied by
evidence that the debtor has committed any mis-
demeanor under Part Two of the Debtors Act,
1869 [32 & 33 Vict. c. 62], or any amendment
thereof.

(4.) The court may, as one of the conditions
referred to in this section, require the debtor to
consent to judgment being entered against him in
the court having jurisdiction in the bankruptcy or
liquidation by the official receiver of the court, or
the trustee or assignee in the bankruptcy or liqui-
dation, for any balance of the debts provable under
the bankruptcy or liquidation which is not satisfied
at the date of the discharge, or for such sum as the
court shall think fit, but in such case execution
shall not be issued on the judgment without the
leave of the court, which leave may be given on
proof that the debtor has since his discharge
acquired property or income available for payment
Section forty- of his debts.
eight.

Extent of Repeal.

Section four,

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(5.) A discharge granted under this section shall have the same effect as if it had been granted in pursuance of the Act under which the debtor was adjudged bankrupt or liquidated his affairs by arrangement,

Board with such information as the Board may the court before making an order under this section require as to the position of the bankruptcy, and shall consider any representation which may be made by or on behalf of the Board of Trade with respect thereto.

under Acts prior to 1869 in the London district, official 4. In bankruptcies, insolvencies, or arrangements assignee may be appointed to supersede creditors assignee.] (1) In each of the following cases, that is to say:

(a) Any insolvency under any Act for the relief of insolvent debtors;

(b.) Any commission, fiat, or adjudication in bankruptcy within the jurisdiction of the old London Bankruptcy Court, under any Act prior to the Bankruptcy Act, 1869; (c.) Any administration by way of arrangement pursuant to an Act of the session held in the seventh and eighth years of the reign of Her Majesty, chapter seventy, entitled" An Act for facilitating arrangements between Debtors and Creditors," or pursuant to the provisions of the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, 1849, or the hundred and ninety-second section of the Bankruptcy Act, 1861, within the jurisdiction of the old London Bankruptcy Court; in which the estate is now vested in a creditors assignee, or trustee, or inspector, either alone or jointly with the official assignee, the court may at any time after the passing of this Act, upon the application of any creditor, and upon being satis. fied that there is good ground for removing such creditors assignee, trustee, or inspector, or in any other case in which it shall appear to the court just or expedient, appoint the official assignee, or any person appointed under the one hundred and fiftythird section of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883 [46 & 47 Vict. c. 52], to perform the remaining duties of the office of official assignee, to be sole assignee, or trustee, or inspector of the estate in the place of such creditors assignee, trustee, or inspector, as the case may be.

(2.) Such appointment shall operate as a removal of the creditors assignee, trustee, or inspector of the estate, and shall vest the whole of the property of the bankrupt or debtor in the official assignee or person appointed by the Board of Trade as aforesaid alone; and all estate, rights, powers, and duties of such former creditors assignee, trustee, or inspector shall thereupon vest in and devolve upon the official assignee or person appointed by the Board of Trade as aforesaid alone.

5. Provision to release trusice.] An application by a trustee in a bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act, 1869, to the comptroller in bankruptcy for a report on his accounts with a view to his release shall not be entertained unless made within twelve months after the close of the bankruptcy.

bankruptcy or liquidation, or on the release of a 6. Effect of release.] (1) Where on the close of a assignee is or is acting as trustee, and where under trustee, a registrar or official receiver or official section one hundred and fifty-nine, section one hundred and sixty, or section one hundred and sixty-one of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, an official receiver is or is acting as trustee, no liability shall 3. Proceedings for closing bankruptcies under Bank-attach to him personally in respect of any act done ruptcy Act, 1869.] (1.) Every bankruptcy under or default made or liability incurred by any prior the Bankruptcy Act, 1869, which is pending on the trustee. thirty-first day of December one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven shall, by virtue of this Act, be closed on that day unless the court otherwise orders.

(2.) Subject to the provisions of this section, the court may, on the application of the trustee under any such bankruptcy, and on being satisfied that there are special circumstances rendering it expedient to postpone the close of the bankruptcy, make until such date as the court may from time to time an order postponing the close of the bankruptcy

determine.

(3) The order may be made either before or section shall not be entertained unless made before after the said day, but an application under this the said day.

(4.) The trustee shall, before making an application under this section, give notice to the Board of Trade of his intention to do so, and shall supply the

(2.) Section eighty-two of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883 (which section relates to the release of a trustee), shall, with the exception of sub-section four thereof, apply to an official receiver or official assignee when he is or is acting as trustee, and when an official receiver or official assignee has been released under that section he shall continue to act as trustee for any subsequent purposes of the administration of the debtor's estate, but no liability continuing in respect of any act done, default made, shall attach to him personally by reason of his so

or liability incurred before his release.

7. Disposal of old books and papers] All books official assignee, or of the Acting Comptroller in and papers in the custody of an official receiver or Bankruptcy, and relating to any bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act, 1869, may, on the expiration of one year after the close of the bankruptcy, be disposed of in accordance with rules made under

34

section one of the Public Records Office Act, 1877 [40 & 41 Vict. c. 55], and that section shall apply accordingly.

8. Power to make rules and prescribe fees.] (1.) General rules for carrying into effect the objects of this Act may from time to time be made, revoked, or altered by the same authority and subject to the same provisions as general rules for carrying into effect the objects of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883. (2.) There shall be paid in respect of proceedings under this Act such fees as the Lord Chancellor may, with the sanction of the Treasury, from time to time prescribe, and the Treasury may direct by whom and in what manner the same are to be collected and accounted for, and to what account they are to be paid.

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Be it therefore enacted, &c. :

1. Lord of Appeal may take his seat during prorogation.] Whereas it is expedient that any Lord of Appeal, as defined by the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, notwithstanding that he may not be a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary within the meaning of that Act, should be empowered to take his seat and the oaths at the sittings of the House of Lords for hearing and determining appeals during the prorogation of Parliament: Be it enacted that, not. withstanding anything in the eighth section of the sald Act contained, every Lord of Appeal shall be empowered to take his seat and the oaths at any such sitting of the House of Lords during proroga

tion.

2. Retired Lord of Appeal in Ordinary may sit in House of Lords.] The sixth section of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, shall be construed and take effect, as well in respect of any Lord of Appeal in Ordinary heretofore appointed under that Act, as of any such Lord hereafter appointed, so as to entitle any person so appointed to sit and vote as a member of the House of Lords during his life as fully as if the words "during the time that he continues in his office as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and no longer" had been omitted from

the said section,

3. Amendment of 3 & 4 Will. 4, 0. 41.] The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as formed under the provisions of the first section of the Act of the third and fourth William the Fourth, chapter forty-one, intituled "An Act for the better adminis; tration of Justice in His Majesty's Privy Council," shall include such members of Her Majesty's Privy Council as are for the time being holding or have held any of the offices in the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, and this Act, described as high judicial

offices.

4. Remuneration in Judicial Committee.] Any person who shall in virtue of the thirtieth section of the Act of the third and fourth William the Fourth, chapter forty-one, attend the sittings of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, shall be deemed to be included as a member of the said Committee for all purposes, and shall, if there be only one such person, be entitled to receive the whole amount of the sums by the said section provided, that is to say, eight hundred pounds for

STATUTES.

every year during which he shall so attend ; but if
there shall at any time be two such persons, they
shall severally be entitled to the sums provided in
the sald section.

5. Amendment of 39 & 40 Vict. c. 59, s. 25] The
expression "high judicial office" as defined in the
twenty-fifth section of the Appellate Jurisdiction
Act, 1876, shall be deemed to include the office of a
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and the office of a
member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council,

6. Short title.] This Act may be cited as the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1887.

CAP. LXXI.

An Act to consolidate the Law relating to
Coroners.
[16th September 1887.

Be it enacted, &c. :

Preliminary.

Oct. 22, 1887.

such sessions, twelve of them fail to agree on a verdict, the jury may be discharged by such judge or commissioner without giving a verdict.

5. Proceedings upon inquisition charging person with murder or manslaughter.] (1.) Where a coroner's inquisition charges a person with the offence of murder or of manslaughter, or of being accessory before the fact to a murder (which latter offence is in this Act included in the expression "murder,") the coroner shall issue his warrant for arresting or detaining such person (if such warrant has not previously been issued) and shall bind by recognizance all such persons examined before him as know or declare anything material touching the said offence to appear at the next court of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery at which the trial is to be, then and there to prosecute or give evidence against the person so charged.

(2.) Where the offence is manslaughter, the coroner may, if he thinks fit, accept bail by recognizance with sufficient sureties for the appearance of the person charged at the next court of oyer

1. Short title.] This Act may be cited as the and terminer or gaol delivery at which the trial is Coroners Act, 1887.

2. Extent of Act.] This Act shall not apply tɔ Scotland or Ireland.

PART I.

LAW OF CORONERS. Inquest.

3. Summoning and swearing of jury by coroner.] (1.) Where a coroner is informed that the dead body of a person is lying within his jurisdiction, and there is reasonable cause to suspect that such person has died either a violent or an unnatural death, or has died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown, or that such person has died in prison, or in such place or under such circumstances as to require an inquest in pursuance of any Act, the coroner, whether the cause of death arose within his jurisdiction or not, shall, as soon as practicable, issue his warrant for summoning not less than twelve nor more than twenty-three good and lawful men to appear before him at a specified time and place, there to inquire as jurors touching the death of such person as aforesaid.

(2.) Where an inquest is held on the body of a prisoner who dies within a prison, an officer of the prison or a prisoner therein or a person engaged in any sort of trade or dealing with the prison shall not be a juror on such inquest.

(3.) When not less than twelve jurors are assembled they shall be sworn by or before the coroner diligently to inquire touching the death of the person on whose body the inquest is about to be held, and a true verdict to give according to the

evidence.

4. Proceedings at inquest-evidence and inquisition.] (1.) The coroner and jury shall, at the first sitting of the inquest, view the body, and the coroner shall examine on oath touching the death all persons who tender their evidence respecting the facts and all persons having knowledge of the facts whom he thinks it expedient to examine.

(2.) It shall be the duty of the coroner in a case of murder or manslaughter to put into writing the statement on oath of those who know the facts and circumstances of the case, or so much of such statement as is material, and any such deposition shall be signed by the witness and also by the

coroner.

(3.) After viewing the body and hearing the evidence the jury shall give their verdict, and certify it by an inquisition in writing, setting forth, so far as such particulars have been proved to them, who the deceased was, and how, when, and where the deceased came by his death, and if he came by his death by murder or manslaughter, the persons, if any, whom the jury find to have been guilty of such murder or manslaughter, or of being accessories before the fact to such murder.

(4.) They shall also inquire of and find the particulars for the time being required by the Registration Acts to be registered concerning the death.

(5.) In case twelve at least of the jury do not agree on a verdict, the coroner may adjourn the inquest to the next sessions of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery held for the county or place in which the inquest is held, and if after the jury have heard the charge of the judge or commissioner holding

to be, and thereupon such person if in the custody of an officer of the coroner's court or under a warrant of commitment issued by such coroner shall be discharged therefrom.

(3) The coroner shall deliver the inquisition, deposition, and recognizances, with a certificate under his hand that the same have been taken before him, to the proper officer of the court in which the trial is to be, before or at the opening of the court.

6. Ordering of coroner to hold inquest.] (1.) Where Her Majesty's High Court of Justice, upon application made by or under the authority of the Attorney General, is satisfied either

(a.) that a coroner refuses or neglects to hold an inquest which ought to be held; or (b) where an inquest has been held by a coroner

that by reason of fraud, rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings, insufficiency of inquiry, or otherwise, it is necessary or desirable, in the interests of justice, that another inquest should be held, the court may order an inquest to be held touching the said death, and may, if the court think it just, order the said coroner to pay such costs of and incidental to the application as to the court may seem just, and where an inquest has been already held may quash the inquisition on that inquest.

(2.) The court may order that such inquest shall be held either by the said coroner, or if the said coroner is a coroner for a county, by any other coroner for the county, or if he is a coroner of a borough or for a franchise then by a coroner for the county in which such borough or franchire is situate, or for a county to which it adjoins, and the coroner ordered to hold the inquest shall for that purpose have the same powers and jurisdiction as, and be deemed to be, the said coroner.

(3.) Upon any such inquest, if the case be one of death, it shall not be necessary, unless the court otherwise order, to view the body, but save as aforesaid the inquest shall be held in like manner in all respects as any other inquest under this Act.

(4.) Any power vested by this section in Her Majesty's High Court of Justice may, subject to any rules of court made in pursuance of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1875 [38 & 39 Vict. c. 77], and the Acts amending the same, be exercised by any judge of that court.

7. Local jurisdiction of coroner.] (1) The coroner only within whose jurisdiction the body of a person upon whose death an inquest ought to be holden is lying shall hold the inquest, and where a body is found dead in the sea, or any creek, river, or navigable canal within the flowing of the sea where there is no deputy coroner for the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England the inquest shall be held only by the coroner having jurisdiction in the place where the body is first brought to land.

(2.) In a borough with a separate court of quarter sessions, no coroner, save as is otherwise provided by this Act, shall hold an inquest belonging to the office of coroner, except the coroner of the borough, or a coroner or deputy coroner for the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England.

(3.) In a borough which has not a separate court of quarter sessions no coroner, save as is otherwise provided by this Act, shall hold an inquest belong.

Oct. 22, 1887.

ing to the office of coroner except a coroner for the county, or a coroner or a deputy coroner for the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England.

Liabilities of Coroner.

8. Removal and punishment of coroner.] (1) The Lord Chancellor may, if he thinks fit, remove any coroner from his office for inability or misbehaviour in the discharge of his duty.

(2.) A coroner who is guilty of extortion or of corruption or of wilful neglect of his duty or of misbehaviour in the discharge of his duty shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition to any other punishment may, unless his office of coroner is annexed to any other office, be adjudged by the court before whom he is so convicted to be removed from his office, and to be disqualified for acting as coroner, and if he is a coroner for a county, a writ shall issue for an election of another coroner, and if he is a coroner of a borough, the council of the borough, and if he is a coroner for a franchise the lord or other person or persons entitled to the appointment of the coroner, shall forthwith proceed to appoint another coroner as in the case of any other vacancy.

9. Fine on coroner for neglect as to inquisition, depositions, and recognizances, &c.] If a coroner fails to comply with the provisions of this Act with respect to the delivery of the inquisition, or to the taking and delivery of the depositions and recogni. zances, in the case of murder or manslaughter, the court to whose officer the inquisition, depositions, and recognizances ought to have been delivered may, upon proof of the said non-compliance, in a summary manner impose such fine upon the coroner as to the court seems meet.

10. Coroner not to act as solicitor and as coroner in same case.] (1.) A coroner shall not by himself or his partner, directly or indirectly, act as solicitor, in the prosecution or defence of a person for an offence for which such person is charged by an inquisition taken before him as coroner, whether such person is tried on that inquisition or on any bill of indictment found by a grand jury.

(2.) If a coroner acts in contravention of this section, he shall be deemed guilty of misbehaviour in the discharge of his duty.

(3) Moreover, the court before whom such person is tried may impose on a coroner appearing to the court to act in contravention of this section such fine not exceeding fifty pounds as to the court seem fit.

Appointment an Payment of County Coroner and Deputy.

11. Election of county coroner.] (1.) A coroner for a county shall continue to be elected, until Parliament, otherwise directs, by the freeholders of that county, and in the case of a county divided into districts, by the persons residing within that district who are at the time of election qualified to vote at an election for coroners for the county.

(2) A writ de coronatore eligendo for the election of a coroner for a county shall be issued as heretofore directed to the sheriff of the county, and shall be in such form as the Lord Chancellor from time to time determines.

(3.) The sheriff shall, not less than seven nor more than fourteen days after the receipt of the writ, hold an election of a coroner in pursuance thereof and shall make a return to the writ, naming the person elected coroner.

12. Qualification of county coroner.] Every coroner for a county shall be a fit person having land in fee sufficient in the same county whereof he may answer to all manner of people.

13. Appointment of deputy coroner in county.] (1.) A coroner for a county shall from time to time appoint by writing under his hand a fit person approved by the Lord Chancellor to be his deputy, and may at any time revoke such appointment.

(2.) A deputy shall not act for a coroner except during the illness of such coroner or during his absence from any lawful or reasonable cause, or except on any inquest which he is disqualified, under this Act, for holding.

(3) A duplicate of every appointment of a deputy shall be sent to the clerk of the peace of the county and kept by him amongst the records thereof.

(4.) For the purpose of an inquest or other act

which a deputy coroner is authorised to hold or do the deputy coroner shall be deemed to be the coroner whose deputy he is, and have the same jurisdiction and powers, and be subject to the same obligations, liabilities, and disqualifications as that coroner, and he shall generally be subject to the provisions of this Act and to the law relating to coroners, in like manner as that coroner.

14. Proceedings for election of county coroner.] (1.) The sheriff, in accordance with the rules contained in the First Schedule to this Act, shall hold a court for the election of a coroner for a county, and in case of a poll being demanded, adjourn the court and take a poll, and for that purpose may appoint such officers and erect such booths as are authorised by the said rules, and the said rules shall be duly observed.

(2.) Any such poll shall be taken at the place at which the court for the election is held, and at such other places as are for the time being appointed by the local authority of the county.

(3.) All reasonable costs, charges, and expenses which the sheriff or his deputy expends or is liable to in and about the providing of poll-books, booths, and clerks (such clerks to be paid not more than one guinea each) for the purpose of taking the poll at any such election shall be paid by the several candidates at such election in equal proportions. (4.) Any person who wilfully and falsely takes any oath or affirmation appointed by the rules in the schedule to this Act to be taken shall be guilty of perjury.

15. Payment of coroners when they act for sheriffs.] Where any writ, process, or extent whatsoever is directed to and executed by a coroner for a county in the place of a sheriff, the coroner shall, in addition to any salary to which he is entitled, receive the same poundage fees or other compensation or reward for executing the writ, process, or extent, and have the same right to retain, and all other remedies for the recovery of the fees, compensation, or reward as the sheriff would have been entitled to and had in whose place such coroner was substituted; and if the fees or compensation payable to the sheriffs are at any time after the passing of this Act increased by Act of Parliament or otherwise, the coroner shall be entitled to such increased fees or compensation.

16. Fees on recognizances.] Where a coroner admits a person charged with manslaughter to bail, he shall be entitled to the like fee as a clerk to a jus. tice of the peace is entitled to on the admission to bail of a person so charged.

17. Prohibition on coroner taking fee.] Save as is authorised by this or any other Act, a coroner shall not take any fee or remuneration in respect of anything done by him in the execution of his office.

PART II. SUPPLEMENTAL.

Procedure.

18. Enactments with respect to procedure at inquests The following enactments shall be made with respect to procedure at coroner's inquests : (1.) The inquisition shall be under the hands, and in the case of murder or manslaughter also under the seals, of the jurors who concur in the verdict, and of the coroner : (2.) An inquisition need not, except in the case of murder or manslaughter, be on parchment, and may be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, and may be in the form contained in the Second Schedule to this Act, or to the like effect or in such other form as the Lord Chancellor from time to time prescribes, or to the like effect, and the statements therein may be made in con. cise and ordinary language.

(3.) The coroner after the termination of an inquest on any death shall send to the regis. trar of deaths whose duty it is by law to register the death such certificate of the fiading of the jury and within such time as is required by the Registration Acts. (4.) The coroner shall cause recognizances taken before him from a person charged by an inquisition with manslaughter to be taken, so far as circumstances admit, in one of the forms contained in the Second Schedule to

this Act or in such other forms as the Lord Chancellor from time to time prescribes, and shall give notice of the recognizance to every person bound thereby.

(5.) A person charged by an inquisition with murder or manslaughter shall be entitled to have from the person having for the time being the custody of the inquisition or of the depositions of the witnesses at the inquest, copies thereof on payment of a reasonable sum for the same, not exceeding the rate of three halfpence for every folio of ninety words.

(6) A coroner, upon holding an inquest upon any body, may, if he thinks fit after view of the body, by order under his hand, authorize the body to be buried before verdict and before registry of the death, and shall deliver such order to the relative or other person to whom the same is required by the Registration Acts to be delivered; but, except upon holding an inquest, no order, warrant, or other document for the burial of a body shall be given by the coroner. 19. Attendance of witnesses and jurors.] (1.) Where a person duly summoned as a juror at an inquest does not, after being openly called three times, appear to such summons, or appearing, refuses without reasonable excuse to serve as a juror, the coroner may impose on such person a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(2.) Where a person duly summoned to give evidence at an inquest does not, after being openly called three times, appear to such summons, or appearing, refuses without lawful excuse to answer a question put to him, the coroner may impose on such person a fine not exceeding forty shillings.

(3.) Any power by this Act vested in a coroner of imposing a fine on a juror or witness, shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in derogation of any power the coroner may possess independently of this Act, for compelling any person to appear and give evidence before him on any inquest or other proceeding, or for punishing any person for contempt of court in not so appearing and giving evidence with this qualification, that a person shall not be fined by the coroner under this Act, and also be punished under the power of a coroner independently of this Act.

(4.) Where a coroner imposes a fine upon a person, he shall sign a certificate describing such person and stating the amount of the fine imposed and the cause of the fine, and shall send such certificate to the clerk of the peace for the county or place in which such person resides on or before the first day of the quarter sessions then next ensuing, and shall, twenty-four hours at the least before that day, cause a copy of such certificate to be served upon the person fined by leaving it at his residence, and the clerk of the peace shall copy every fine so certified on the roll on which fines and forfeitures imposed at the said quarter sessions are copied, and the same shall be estreated, levied, and applied in like manner and penalties in all respects as if such fine had been subject to the like powers, provisions, and part of the fines imposed at the said quarter sessions.

(5.) Where a recognizance is forfeited at an inquest held before a coroner, the coroner shall proceed in like manner under this section as if he had imposed a fine under this section upon the person forfeiting that recognizance, and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

20. Inquisition to be amended and not quashed for defects.] (1.) If in the opinion of the court having cognizance of the case an inquisition finds suffici. ently the matters required to be found thereby, and where it charges a person with murder or manslaughter sufficiently designates that person and the offence charged, the inquisition shall not be quashed for any defects, and the court_may order the proper officer of the court to amend any defect in the inquisition, and any variance occurring between the inquisition and the evidence offered in proof thereof, if the court are of opinion that such defect or variance is not material to the merits of the case, and that the defendant or person traversing the inquisition cannot be prejudiced by the amendment in his defence or traverse on the merits, and the court may order the amendment on such terms as to postponing the trial to

be had before the same or another jury as to the court may seem reasonable, and after the amendment the trial shall proceed in like manner, and the inquisition, verdict, and judgment, shall be of the same effect, and the record shall be drawn up in the same form, in all respects, as if the inquisition had originally been in the form in which it stands when so amended.

thereof, whether the same be supported by endowments or by voluntary subscriptions, the medical officer, whose duty it may have been to attend the deceased person as a medical officer of such institution as aforesaid, shall not be entitled to such fee or remuneration.

23. Penalty on medical practitioner for neglecting to attend.] Where a medical practitioner fails to obey a summons of a coroner issued in pursuance of this Act, he shall, unless he shows a good and sufficient cause for not having obeyed the same, be

Oct. 22, 1887.

of any of the Queen's palaces or within the limits of any other house where Her Majesty is then demurrant and abiding in her own royal person, notwithstanding the subsequent removal of Her Majesty from such palace or house.

(3.) The jurors on an inquest held by the coroner of the Queen's household shall consist of officers of the Queen's household, to be returned by such officer of the Queen's household as may be directed to summon the same by the warrant of the said (4.) The limits of the said palace or house shall

coroner.

(2) For the purpose of any such amendment, the court may respite any of the recognizances taken before the coroner, and the persons bound by such recognizances shall be bound without entering into any fresh recognizances to appear liable on summary conviction on the prosecution of be deemed to extend to any courts, gardens, or

and prosecute, give evidence, or be tried at the ime and place to which the trial is postponed, as if they were originally bound by their recognizances to appear and prosecute, give evidence, or be ried at that time and place.

Medical Witnesses and Post-mortem Examinations. 21. Power of coroner to summon medical witnesses and to direct performance of post-mortem examination.] 1.) Where it appears to the coroner that the deeased was attended at his death or during his last illness by any legally qualified medical practitioner, the coroner may summon such practitioner as a witness; but if it appears to the coroner that the deceased person was not attended at his death or during his last illness by any legally qualified medical practitioner, the coroner may summon any legally qualified medical practitioner who is at the time in actual practice in or near the place where the death happened, and any such medical witness as is summoned in pursuance of this section may be asked to give evidence as to how, in his opinion, the deceased came to his death.

(2.) The coroner may, either in his summons for the attendance of such medical witness or at any time between the issuing of that summons and the end of the inquest, direct such medical witness to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased, with or without an analysis of the contents of the stomach or intestines.

Provided that where a person states upon oath before the coroner that in his belief the death of the deceased was caused partly or entirely by the improper or negligent treatment of a medical practitioner or other person, such medical practitioner or other person shall not be allowed to perform or assist at the post-mortem examination of the deceased.

(3.) If a majority of the jury sitting at an inquest are of opinion that the cause of death has not been satisfactorily explained by the evidence of the medical practitioner or other witnesses brought before them, they may require the coroner in writing to summon as a witness some other legally qualified medical practitioner named by them, and further to direct a post mortem examination of the deceased, with or without an analysis of the contents of the stomach or intestines, to be made by such last-mentioned practitioner, and that whether such examination has been previously made or not, and the coroner shall comply with such requisition, and in default shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

22. Fees to medical witnesses.] A legally qualified medical practitioner who has attended at a coroner's inquest in obedience to a summons of the coroner under this Act shall be entitled to re

ceive such remuneration as follows; that is to say, (a.) For attending to give evidence at any inquest whereat no post-mortem examination has been made by such practitioner, one guinea; and (b.) For making a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased, with or without an analysis of the contents of the stomach or intestines, and for attending to give evidence thereon, two guineas: Provided that(1.) Any fee or remuneration shall not be paid to a medical practitioner for the performance of a post-morten examination instituted without the previous direction of the

coroner:

(2.) Where an inquest is held on the body of a person who has died in a county or other lunatic asylum, or in a public hospital, infirmary, or other medical institution, or in a building or place belonging thereto, or used for the reception of the patients

the coroner or of any two of the jury, to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

24. Removal of body for post-mortem examination.] Where a place has been provided by a sanitary authority or nuisance authority for the reception of dead bodies during the time required to conduct a post-mortem examination, the coroner may order the removal of a dead body to and from such place for carrying out such examination, and the cost of such removal shall be deemed to be part of the expenses incurred in and about the holding of an inquest.

Expenses and Returns of Inquests.

on the

25. Schedule of fees and disbursements payable on holding inquest.] The local authority for a county or borough from time to time may make, and when made may alter and vary a schedule of fees, allowances, and disbursements which holding of an inquest may lawfully be paid and made by the coroner holding such inquest (other than the fees payable to medical witnesses in pursuance of this Act), and the local authority shall cause a copy of every such schedule to be deposited with the clerk of the peace of the county or with the town clerk of the borough, and one other copy thereof to be delivered to every coroner concerned.

26. Payment of expenses by corcner.] A coroner holding an inquest shall immediately after the termination of the proceedings pay the fees of every medical witness not exceeding the fees fixed by this Act, and all expenses reasonably incurred in and about the holding thereof, not exceeding the sums set forth in the schedule of fees for the time being in force under this Act, and the sums so paid shall be repaid to the coroner in manner provided by this Act.

27. Coroners to lay their accounts before the local authority. (1) Every coroner shall, within four months after holding an inquest, cause a full and true account of all sums paid by him under this Act to be laid before the local authority of the county or borough by whom the sums are to be reimbursed to him.

(2.) Every account shall be accompanied by such local authority seem reasonable, and the local vouchers as under the circumstances may to the authority may, if they think fit, examine the said satisfied of the correctness thereof, the local coroner on oath as to the account, and on being authority shall order their treasurer to pay to the coroner the sum due to him on such account, with the addition, in the case of a coroner of a borough, of six shillings and eight pence for each inquest; and the treasurer shall pay the same out of the local rate, without any abatement or deduction whatever, and shall be allowed the same on passing

his accounts.

28. Coroners to make yearly returns to Secretary of State.] Every coroner of a borough shall on or before the first day of February in every year make and transmit to a Secretary of State a return in writing, in such form and containing such particulars as the Secretary of State from time to time directs, of all cases in which an inquest has been held by him, or by some person in lieu of him, during the year ending on the thirty-first day of December immediately preceding.

Coroner of the Queen's Household.

29. Appointment and jurisdiction of the coroner of the Queen's Household.] (1.) The coroner of Her Majesty the Queen's household shall continue to be appointed by the Lord Steward for the time being of the Queen's household.

(2.) The coroner of the Queen's household shall have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of inquests on persons whose bodies are lying within the limits

other places within the curtilage of such palace or house but not further, and where a body is lying of the Queen's household shall not have jurisdicdead in any place beyond those limits, the coroner tion to hold an inquest on such body, and the coroner of the county or borough shall have jurisdiction to hold that inquest in the same manner as if that place were not within the verge.

(5.) Where the inquisition charges a person with murder or manslaughter, the coroner of the Queen's household shall deliver the inquisition, depositions, and recognizances to the Lord Steward of the Queen's household, or in his absence, to the treasurer and comptroller of the Queen's household, and the recognizances shall be them before the said Lord Steward, or in his taken for the appearance of the persons bound by absence before the said treasurer and comptroller. (6.) All other inquisitions, depositions, and recognizances, shall be delivered to the Lord Steward of the Queen's household to be filed among the records of his office.

make his declaration of office before the Lord (7.) The coroner of the Queen's household shall Steward of the Queen's household, and shall reside in one of the Queen's palaces, or in such other allowed by the Lord Steward of the Queen's houseconvenient place as may from time to time be

hold.

(8) Save as is in this section specially provided, the coroner of the Queen's household shall within the said limits have the same jurisdiction and powers, be subject to the same obligations, liabilities, and disqualifications, and generally to the provisions of this Act and to the law relating to coroners in like manner as any other franchise

coroner.

(9.) The Lord Steward of the Queen's household or the treasurer and comptroller of the Queen's household shall not have any jurisdiction to inquire of, try, hear, or determine, any offence committed beyond the limits aforesaid, or to array, try, or give judgment upon any person charged by any inquisition found before a coroner for any place beyond the limits aforesaid, and every such offence shall be inquired of, tried, heard, and determined, and every such person shall be arraigned, nary course of law. tried, and have judgment according to the ordi

Franchise Coroners.

30. Saving for remuneration of franchise coroners.] (1) Where a franchise coroner is, at the passing of this Act, paid a salary out of the local rate, the provisions of this Act with respect to the expenses of inquests, shall apply as if such coroner were a coroner for a county.

(2.) Nothing in this Act shall affect the remuneration to which a franchise coroner who is not at the passing of this Act paid a salary out of the local rate is entitled at the passing of this Act, and every such coroner shall continue to be entitled to receive the same fees, allowances, and remuneration as he would have been entitled to if this Act had not passed.

(3.) Nothing in this Act shall affect the mode in which a franchise coroner is appointed, or is, otherwise than is provided by this Act, removed.

(4.) Subject as aforesaid, the provisions of this Act shall apply to a franchise coroner, except those provisions in which a coroner for a county or a coroner of a borough is expressly named.

31. Provisions as to expenses of inquests to extend to city of London.] The provisions of this Act with respect to the expenses of inquests shall apply to the city of London and the borough of Southwark.

32. Payment of travelling expenses of coroner in Cinque Ports where inquisition is not taken.] Where a coroner appointed and acting for the jurisdiction

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33. Saving as to borough coroners.] Nothing in this Act shall affect the application to coroners of a borough of the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882 [45 & 46 Vict. c. 50], with respect to the appointment, qualification, tenure of office, and payment of a coroner of a borough, and the appointment of a deputy by such coroner.

34. Saving clause as to official coroners.] Nothing in this Act shall prejudice the jurisdiction of a judge exercising the jurisdiction of a coroner by virtue of his office, and such judge may, notwithstanding the passing of this Act, exercise any jurisdiction, statutable or otherwise, previously exerciseable by him, in the same manner as if this Act had not passed.

35. Saving of jurisdiction as to removal of coroner, or otherwise in relation to a coroner.] Nothing in this Act shall prejudice the jurisdiction of the Lord Chancellor or the High Court of Justice in relation to removing a coroner otherwise than in manner provided by this Act, or in any manner prejudice or affect the jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice or of any judge thereof in relation to or over a coroner or his duties.

36. Inquest on treasure trove.] A coroner shall continue as heretofore to have jurisdiction to inquire of treasure that is found, who were the finders, and who is suspected thereof, and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, apply to every such inquest.

37. Effect of Schedules.] The Schedules to this Act shall be construed and have effect as part of this Act, and the forms given in any of those schedules, or such other forms as the Lord Chancellor from time to time directs, may be used in all matters to which they apply, and when so used shall be sufficient in law.

Definitions.

38. Construction of Act with respect to counties.] In this Act the expression "county," unless there is something inconsistent in the context, does not include a county of a city or a county of a town, but includes any division or liberty of a county which has a separate court of quarter sessions for which a separate coroner has customarily been elected, but the whole of Yorkshire and the whole of Lincolnshire shall respectively be a county for the purposes of this Act.

The counties in Wales, and the counties of Durham and Chester, and the liberty of the Isle of Ely shall, save as is otherwise expressly provided by this Act, be, for the purposes of this Act and any other Act relating to coroners, subject to the same provisions as the other counties of England, and the coroners thereof shall have the same jurisdiction as other coroners in England; and for the purpose of the provisions of any Act with respect to coroners districts, a ward in the county of Durham shall be deemed to be a coroner's district in that county.

39. Provision for application of Act to county of Lancaster.] This Act and any other Act relating to coroners shall apply to the county of Lancaster in like manner as it applies to the other counties of England, subject as follows:

(1.) The provisions of this Act with respect to

the Lord Chancellor shall be construed in the case of the said county to mean the Chancellor of the Duchy and county palatine of Lancaster, and all writs relating to coroners issued by that Chancellor, shall be issued by such persons and in such manner as the Chancellor and the council of the Duchy of Lancaster from time to time direct:

(2.) An Order in Council with respect to coroners districts in the county of Lancaster shall be made on the recommendation of the

Chancellor and council of the Duchy of
Lancaster.

40. Provisions as to detached parts of counties.] (1.) For the purpose of holding coroners inquests every detached part of a county shall be deemed to be within the county by which it is wholly surrounded, or where it is partly surrounded by two or more counties within the county with which it has the longest common boundary. (2.) The treasurer of every county shall keep an account of all expenses occasioned to such county by an inquest in or in respect to any such detached part of any other county, and shall twice in every year, send a copy of such account to the treasurer of the other county to which such detached part belongs, and the last-mentioned treasurer shall, out of the moneys in his hand as such treasurer, pay to the treasurer sending the account the sum appearing thereby to be due, together with all reasonable charges for making and sending the account.

(3.) Any difference which may arise concerning the said account, if not adjusted by agreement, shall be determined by an arbitrator, who shall be a barrister-at-law nominated on the application of either party by one of the justices of assize of the last preceding circuit or of the next succeeding circuit. Such arbitrator may adjourn the hearing from time to time, and require all such information from either party as appears to him necessary, and his award shall be final. He shall also assess the costs of the arbitration and direct by whom and out of what fund the same shall be paid.

41. Definition of "local authority" and "local rate.] For the purposes of this Act(a.) The local authority of a county shall be the court of quarter sessions of the county; and

(5.) The local authority of a borough shall be

the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough acting by the council; and

(c.) The local rate shall be, in the case of a county, the county rate, or rate in the nature of a county rate, and, in the case of a borough, the borough fund or borough rate; and

(d.) In Lincolnshire and Yorkshire respectively the justices in gaol sessions shall be the local authority, and the clerk to such justices shall act as clerk of the peace, and the rate in the nature of a county rate levied by those sessions shall be the local rate.

with the context, the following terms and ex42. Definitions.] In this Act, if not inconsistent pressions have the meanings herein-after respectively assigned to them:

The expression "quarter sessions" includes general sessions.

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The expression "borough" means any place for the time being subject to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882 [45 & 46 Vict. c. 50], and the Acts amending the same. The expression "franchise coroner means any of the following coroners, that is to say, the coroner of the Queen's household, a coroner or deputy coroner for the jurisdiction of the Admiralty, a coroner appointed by Her Majesty the Queen in right of Her Duchy of Lancaster, and a coroner appointed for a town corporate, liberty, lordship, manor, university, or other place, the coroner for which has heretofore been appointed by any lord, or otherwise than by election of the freeholders of a county, or of any part of a county, or by the council of a borough, and the expression "franchise" means the area within which the franchise coroner exercises jurisdiction. The expression "Secretary of State" means one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.

The expression "murder" includes the offence of being an accessory before the fact to a murder.

The expression "parish" means a parish, township, or place for which a separate poor rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be appointed.

The expression "the Lord Chancellor" means the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. The expression "Registration Acts means the Acts for the time being in force relating to

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the registration of deaths, inclusive of any enactment amending the same.

Temporary Provisions and Repeal. 43. Saving as to coroners' salaries and districts.] Nothing in this Act shall affect the law respecting the salaries of coroners for counties, or the division of a county into coroners' districts, or the rights and duties of coroners as respects such districts.

44. Abolition of certain jurisdictions of the coroners.] A coroner shall not take pleas of the Crown nor hold inquests of royal fish nor of wreck nor of felonies except felonies on inquisitions of death; and he shall not inquire of the goods of such as by the inquest are found guilty of murder or manslaughter, nor cause them to be valued and delivered to the township.

in the Third Schedule to this Act are hereby re45. Repeal of Acts in schedule.] The Acts specified pealed, from and after the passing of this Act, to schedule. the extent specified in the third column of that

Provided that

(1.) A coroner elected before the passing of this Act, shall continue to hold office in like manner as if he had been elected under this Act, and

(2.) Any schedules of fees, allowances, and disbursements made by a local authority for a county or borough before the passing of this Act shall, until a schedule is made in pursuance of this Act, be of the same effect as if the schedule had been made in pursuance of this Act, and

(3.) This repeal shall not affect(a.) The past operation of any enactment hereby repealed, nor anything duly done or suffered under any enactment hereby repealed; or

or

(b.) Any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred under any enactment hereby repealed; (c.) Any penalty, forfeiture, or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against any enactment hereby repealed; or

(d.) Any inquest on any death which occurred before the commencement of this Act or an inquisition found thereon, or any investigation, legal proceeding, or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment as aforesaid; and any such inquest, investigation, legal proceeding, and remedy, and the trial of any such inquisition may be carried on as if this Act had not passed. (4.) This repeal shall not revive any jurisdiction, office, duty, fee, franchise liberty, custom, right, title, privilege, restriction, exemption, usage, practice, procedure, or other matter or thing not in force or existing at the passing of this Act.

(5.) Save in so far as is inconsistent with this Act,

any principle or rule of law, or established jurisdiction, practice, or procedure, or existing usage, franchise, liberty, or custom, shall, notwithstanding the repeal of any enactment by this Act, remain in full force.

SCHEDULES.

FIRST SCHEDULE [SECTIONS 14, 37.]
RULES FOR ELECTION OF CORONER.

(1.) The sheriff shall hold a court for the election at some convenient place appointed by him within the county, or, in a county divided into districts, within the district for which the election is to take place, on such day not less than seven nor more than fourteen days after the receipt of the writ as he appoints.

(2.) If a poll is demanded the sheriff shall adjourn the court to eight o'clock in the morning of the next day but one, unless such next day but one is Saturday or Sunday, and then of the Monday following.

(3.) The sheriff with such others as are deputed by him shall then and there proceed to take a poll in some public place or places, which shall be the place appointed for holding the court for the election, or such other places within the same

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