Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1839

POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) ACT 1839

CHAPTER I.

An Act to amend an Act of the First and Second Year of Her present Majesty for the more effectual Relief of the destitute Poor in Ireland.[1] [15th March 1839.]

[Preamble recites 1 & 2 Vict. c. 56, conferring certain powers on the poor law commissioners as respects townlands.]

Recited Act to extend to every place in Ireland.

[1.] All provisions of the said Act in any way relating to townlands, shall be construed to extend and apply to every place in Ireland, whether known as a townland or not.

Cities, towns. &c. with a population exceeding 10,000 according to accounts taken under 55 Geo. 3. c. 120., &c. may be constituted electoral divisions;

and may be divided into wards for election of guardians.

2. Where in the abstract of the accounts of the population taken by authority of Parliament under an Act made in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of King George the Third, and the several Acts amending the same, the population of any city, borough, or town, and the suburbs thereof, shall be stated to exceed ten thousand, or where the population of any other place shall be so stated to exceed ten thousand, and the area of such place shall not exceed three miles for every ten thousand persons, it shall be lawful for the said commissioners to constitute such city, borough, or town, and the suburbs thereof, or such other place, or any part or parts thereof respectively, an electoral division for the purposes of the said Act, and, for the purpose of conducting the election of guardians, from time to time to divide such electoral division into such and so many wards, and to alter the same, as they may see fit, and to determine and alter the number of guardians to be elected by the rate-payers in every such ward.

Places may be declared to be townlands for purposes of recited Acts.

3. It shall be lawful for the commissioners, by order under their seal, to declare any place not known to the said commissioners as a townland or townlands, to be, for the purposes of the said Act, a townland.

Boundaries of townlands, &c. may be declared for purposes of recited Act.

4. In every case in which the boundaries of any townland, or of any place declared by the commissioners to be a townland, shall not be determined and made known to the commissioners, it shall be lawful for the said commissioners, by order under their seal, to declare, for the purposes of the said Act, the boundaries of such townland or place; and the boundaries so declared shall accordingly be deemed and taken to be the boundaries of such townland or place, until the true boundaries thereof shall be lawfully ascertained and made known to the commissioners, and until they shall have revoked such order.

Rate-payers to vote at elections of guardians according to scale in recited Act.

5. In the election of guardians under the provisions of the said Act every rate-payer who, under the last rate made in any union, shall have paid or contributed or be liable to pay or contribute rate in respect of property in any electoral division, shall have a vote or votes in the election of guardians in such electoral division, according to the scale of votes provided by the said Act.

A sum not exceeding 200l. may be borrowed to defray expenses previous to the levying of a rate.

6. [Recital.] For the purpose of defraying any expences to be incurred in carrying the provisions of the said Act into execution previous to the levying of a rate in any union, it shall be lawful to borrow and charge upon the first rate to be made and levied in such union under the provisions of the said Act a sum not exceeding two hundred pounds, with interest thereon.

[Ss. 7, 8 rep. 55 & 56 Vict. c. 19. (S.L.R.).]

Where two or more sessions have jurisdiction, the county sessions shall be preferred.

9. [Recital of 1 & 2 Vict. c. 56. s. 106 as to appeals from convictions in penalties exceeding five pounds or from rates made under that Act.] Every such appeal may be made and heard, and the matter thereof determined by any general or quarter sessions of the peace held for the county, county of a city, or county of a town, in which the cause of complaint may have arisen, in the same manner in all respects as is provided by the said Act, although such sessions be not held in the presence of an assistant barrister; and [rep. 55 & 56 Vict. c. 19 (S.L.R.).] in the case of an appeal against a rate when the rateable hereditament in respect of which the rate is made and the cause of complaint arises is situate within the limits of the jurisdiction of two or more such sessions, then to the sessions of the peace of a county in preference to that of a county of a city or town; and when the jurisdictions are of the same nature, then to the sessions which the appellant shall choose to appeal to.

[Ss. 10, 11 rep. 37 & 38 Vict. c. 96. (S.L.R.). Sched. rep. 55 & 56 Vict. c. 19. (S.L.R.).]

[1 Short title. “The Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1839.” See 55 & 56 Vict. c. 10.]