District Councils Act 1854 (SA)

No. 16.

An Act to amend '' An Act to appoint District Councils and to

dejne the Powers thereof."

[Assented to, December 15, 1854.1

'HEREAS it is expedient to amend an Act passed in the Preamble.

&K/. --..- A. /k

~ix-ear of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled - - F

AGt to appoint District Councils and to define the Powers

thereof "-Be it therefore Enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governor of

South Australia, with the advice and consent of the Legislative

Council thereof, as follows:

l. Every District Council heretofore appointed or elected under District Councils to remdn in office till

the said Act shall remain in office until the first Monday in March	first of March next.
next, and every District Council to be hereafter appointed or elected shall remain in office until the first Monday in March next succeeding the day of its appointment or election, and thereafter until the election of their successors, as in the said Act provided;
and the meeting for the election of District Councils shall be held
on the first Monday in Ma,rch in every year.

2. Any person who, having been appointed or elected a member NO member of U District Council

of a District Council, shall have duly taken upon himself such office, liable fins fur

and have acted in that capacity, shall not, at an time within three refusing to sews

years from and after his going out of office, be P iable to any fine by within three yeare.

reason of his refusal to take upon himself the said office, within

the District for which he shall have been so elected or appointed, if

again elected thereto before the expiration of such period.

3. No person shall be disqualified to vote at any meeting of the N o ~ o t e r d i ~ a l i f l e d

inhabitants of a District by reason of the non-payment of any rate, papeYt ofr&e.fa by reason of non-

until the expiration of fourteen' clear days from the day of publica- ;Ym", ;+!~;~ '

F 2 tion

tion of the notice of the adoption of such rate by the said Act

- directed.

~ ~ m b e r l of District 4. At any meeting for the election of members to serve in any not, at such meeting, have been proposed as such member, and seconded by persons entitled to vote thereat, and if within the space of one hour from the hour appointedf for holding the same meeting, no more persons shall be propdsed than are required to be elected by such mecting, the chairman of the meeting shall declare such persons duly elected.

Conncile may be dc- District Council, UO votes shall be taken for any person who shall

\larod to be

without poll.

neclsration of names

of members elected. 5. In all elections of members to serve in any District Council, a declaration of the names of the persons so elected, by the chair- man of the meeting, after their nomination if no poll sh& be had, or at the close of the poll, or on soch hour of the day following! as he may at the close of the poll appoint, shall be a sufficient pubhcation of the list of' the names of the persons so elected.

6. Thc non-attendance of snv nerson. d u h elected to be a mem-

NO^-attendance for	d I
t hrec successive

meetings evidence of	ber of any District Council, at three conse&tive nleetings of such
refusal to act.	Council, unless on account of illness, or otlier uiittvoidable cause, or by leave of such Council, slid1 be evidence of the refusal or neglect of such member to take upon hituself the said
Proviso.	office and to act in that capacity: Provided, that any person above the age of sixty years shall not be liable to any penalty for such neglcct or refusal if he shall give notice of his claim to be exempted from serving such office to the District Couucil of which he shall have been dected a member, within fourteen days after such elec- I - blon: And provided also, that any member of a District Co~~ilcil

g sent as such member, without incurring any penalty by reason	ceasing to reside in the District, shall be authorized to resign his
thereof.

Annual meetingto be

held second week in 7. The annual meeting of every District Corlncil shall be held in

March.	the second week io March in every year, instcad of the second week in January as by the said Act is directed, and all subsequent
meetings (not being less in number than in the said Act is directed) shall be held on such days as any District Councils may, from time
to time, appoint.

B Y - ~ W S to be laid 8. It shall not be necessary to the validity of any by-law, made under the authority of the said Act, that the sanrc shall be hid before the Legislative Council, but only before the Governor, who, with the advice of His Executive Council, may disallow the same or any part thereof, or enlarge the time for the same coming into operation, as in the said Act is provided.

before Go'er"or.

District Councilsmay 9. After the first day of' March next, it shall be lawful for any

impose rates.	District CounciJ, during its year of office, to make one rate upon
all property included in any assessment for the District; and there-

Up04

upon to give notice of the making of such rate in the form in the Schedule to this Act annexed, by publishing the same in the South Australian Gorernnaent Gazette, the prod~~ction of the Gazette con- taining sucli notice shall be evidence, to all intents and purposes, that st~ch rate was dnly made; and any rate referred to in any such notice, shall have the same effect, and shall be recoverable in the same manner, trs'tho~~gli the same had been ndoptcd at a meeting of ratepayers, as in the snid Act provided: Provided that no such rate shall exceed Onc Shilling in the pound upon any assessment, and that uo rate shall be made by the ratepayers of any District, which togetlicr with the said rate so duly authorized to be made, shall exceed the anlouat of Two Shillings in the Pound, by the said Act authorized to be imposed.

Executive Council, upon the petition of any number of ratepayers divided into ward#. 10. Jt shall be lawful for the Governor, with the advice of his Districts may be

not less than twenty, to divide any District i ~ t o two or more wards, and to fix the number of Councillors to be elected by the ratepayers of each such wards respectively, and such wards from time to time to alter, and to increase or diminish the number thereof: Provided, that, in every such division or alteration, the number of Councillors to be elected'by such ward shall bc, an nearly as may be,.proportioned to the population thereof; and provided that no such division or alteration shall he made until after notice of the intention to make the same shall have been given, for three successive weeks, in the South Australian Government Gazette, within which time it sliall be lawful for any pcrson interested to show cause against any such intended divifijon or a1 teration.

l l. I t shall be lawful for any District Council to adopt the last Assessment years may be of adopted. former

previous ,zssessment made for the District of such District Council, either in whole or with such alterations as may appcar needful; and such assessment, when so adopted, &all be deemed to have been causcd to be mace according to the provisions of the said Act.

12. Wlicnever any assessment shall have been caused to be made ~~I1,;~;;;$m;~n

under authority of {he snid Act, the District Council shall cause to to inspection.

with the Clerk, and t'he other two sllall be deposited in some suita- be mndc t h e e copies thereof at the least, one whereof shall remain ble custody and in convenient places, not being licensed public houses, within the said District, of which public notice shall be given, and all such copies shall be open to inspection by all persons interested in sucli assessment, without payrueilt of any fee.

13, It shall be lawful for any District Council. from time to time. District Conncila may '" -

to correct any error of name "or description, which may be proved 'Orre'' assessment, but not to

to their satisfaction to exist in any such assessment, providing that alter ~ l u c.

such correction shall not affect the amount of the rate payable in

respect of auy property included withiu such assessment.

property, at any meeting of ratepayers, upon any question as to the adoption or alteration of any rate, unless the same property shall be assessed at a greater annual value than Seventy4ive Pounds, and

- one other person for every additional Seventy-five Pounds of such

, annual value.

In c m of death.

af Auditor, District 15. In the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office

council mar

of any auditor it shall be lawful for the District Council to appoint

~~uccewor.

some other fit and competent person to be an auditor in his stead

for the remainder of the period for which he was elected.

N ~ s p s c i a l ~ a & t r a ~ 16. No Special Magistrate, or Stipendiary Magistrate, or person

or Publicsn to be

District conncil~om. licensed to sell fermented or spirituous liquors, shall be capable of

being or continuing a member of any District Council.

Governor map sepa- 17. It shall be l a d u l for the Governor, in manner in the said Act

rate though PS*' not in Diuncts accur- prescribed, to separate any part of any District from the residue

danco,with proviaiofis thereof, and to constitute such part a District, although the same

of rec~ted Act. shall not contain the number of square miles in the said Act pre-

scribed, and although the same may not be of a compact form, or

may divide one part of a District from the residue thereof'.

Auditors may refuse

to allow presence of 18. I t shall he lawful for the auditors, at their discretion, to refuse

ratepayera

to allow any person to be present and object on the occasion of

their auditing the accounts of any District Council.

Car$ &a,ofwaterro- nerve8 to be vested in 19, The care, management, and control of all water, or other re-

Djstr~tCouncl~s. mrve for public convenience, shall, until the same may be lawfully granted, or otherwise appropriated or disposed of, be vested in the District Council of the District, within which the same is situate.

4th Vict., NO. 5.	20. And whereas, by an Ordinance, 4th Victoria, No. 5, intituled
Unbrandad cattle	An Act to regulate the Slaughtering and prevent the Stealing of

in District CouncPe. large* vested Cattle," certain cattle therein referred to are declared to be the pro-

~ e r t v of the Colonial Government. and certain venalties and rewards i r e imposed and given in respect bf such cattle:& it Enacted, That all such cattle shall be the property of the District Council within whose District the same shall be found at large; and all penalties

recoverable and paid by such District Council. and rewards by the said Ordinance imposcd and given, shall be

Advertisements to be

inserted In Govern- 21. All publications by this Act, or by the said Act, required to

ment Carelte, free of	to be made in the South dustrulian Government Gazette, shall be so
charge.	inserted free of charge.

Present Act md	22.	This Act and the said Act to appoint District Councils and to
aistrict Council Act

to be read define the powers thereof shall be read and construed as one Act.

, SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE REFERRED TO.

Dist~ici of

Notice is hereby given, that, at a meeting of the District Councillors of the aald District, duly held, it was resolved to make a rate of in the Pound, upon the assessment of the said District; and all persons whose names appear in such assessment are hereby required, within fourteen daya from the publication hereof, to pay the amount of such rate, according to the sum at which they appear to be asaesaed in such assessment, to the Clerk (or Collector, or other Officer), at his residence at

Dated

(Signed)

Chairman.

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Adelaide: Printed by authority by W, C. Cox, Government Printer, Victoriagquare.

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