Municipalities Act of 1867 Amendment Act of 1874 No 10a (NSW)

No. XV.

An Act to amend the " Municipali t ies Act of

1867." [2nd June, 1874.]

WH E R E A S vision for causing any inqui ry to be held in cases where t he	same persons appear to have signed bo th t he pet i t ion and counter -
pet i t ion referred to in t h e t e n t h section of t h e said Ac t no r for t he election of a mayor in any Munic ipa l i ty after t he first election there ­ under in cases where the re shall be an equal i ty of votes recorded for any two or more a ldermen nor for t h e election of a ldermen in cases where by reason of t he occurrence of ex t raord inary or o ther vacancies t h e members of t h e Counci l of a Munic ipa l i ty shall have been reduced below the q u o r u m prescr ibed by law Be i t therefore enacted by t h e Queen ' s Most Exce l l en t Majesty by and wi th t he advice and consent of t he Legislat ive Council and Legislat ive Assembly of N e w South Wales in Pa r l i amen t assembled and by the au thor i ty of t h e same as follows :—
1. This A c t may be cited as t h e " Municipal i t ies Ac t of 1867 A m e n d m e n t A c t of 1 8 7 4 " and shall be read wi th and as forming pa r t
of t he "Munic ipa l i t i e s Ac t of 1 8 6 7 " hereinafter t e rmed the " P r i n c i p a l
A c t , "
2. I t shall be lawful for t he Minis ter in any case where a pet i t ion and counter-pet i t ion under and for the purposes of t he t en th section of t he Pr inc ipa l A c t shall have been or shall hereafter be received by t h e Governor and i t shall be credibly represented to such Minis te r t h a t cer ta in persons have signed both t h e pet i t ion and the counter-pet i t ion to cause such inqui ry to be made as to t he t r u t h of such representa t ion as he may th ink necessary for t h e purposes and subject to t h e provisions conta ined in t he twelfth t h i r t e e n t h and four teenth sections of the said Act .

the " Munic ipa l i t ies Ac t of 1867 " conta ins no pro­

3. No twi ths t and ing the provisions of t he Pr inc ipa l A c t every

person now or hereafter to be elected mayor of a Borough or M u n i ­ cipal Dis t r ic t shall (a l though his t e r m of office as a lde rman shall have expired) con t inue to hold office as mayor un t i l t he election of his successor and shall preside at all meet ings of t h e Council holden in pur suance of t he said Act for t he election of such successor and shall have power to adjourn any meet ing in t h e absence of a q u o r u m A n d for the purposes of such election t he mayor shall (if he shall have ceased to be an a lderman) have a cas t ing vote only b u t if his t e r m of office as a lderman shall no t have expired such mayor shall have and exercise an original b u t not a cas t ing vote A n d in case t h e mayor of any Munic ipa l i ty shall die or become subject to any of t he disqualifications ment ioned in the th i r ty -seventh section of the Pr inc ipa l A c t and his office as mayor be thereby vacated i t shall be lawful for t h e Governor (if he shall t h ink it expedient so to do) to appoin t any one of t he a ldermen of such Munic ipa l i ty or such other person as he may t h i n k fit to preside as cha i rman a t any m e e t i n g of t h e Council for the election of a mayor called in pur suance of t he provisions of t he Pr inc ipa l Act A n d such cha i rman (if he shall not be an a lderman) shall have and exercise a cas t ing vote only b u t if he shall hold office as a lderman he shall be ent i t led to an original b u t not to a cas t ing vote and shall have power in ei ther case to adjourn any

any meeting at which a quorum shall not he present Provided that where an equal number of votes shall before the passing of this Act have been or be hereafter given for any two or more candidates it shall be determined by lot which of such candidates shall be declared to have been elected as mayor.

4. Where by reason of the occurrence (whether before or after the passing of this Act) of extraordinary or ordinary vacancies or both in the offices of aldermen in any Municipality the number of aldermen for such Municipality has been or shall be reduced below the number prescribed by the Principal Act as a quorum or where in any such case there shall be no council clerk for such Municipality it shall be lawful for the Governor to appoint any one of the remaining aldermen or such other person as in his discretion he may think fit to perform the duties of returning officer for the purposes of holding an election of aldermen and of mayor for such Municipality and such returning officer shall in such election for mayor have and exercise a casting but not an original vote And it shall also be lawful for the Governor in any case where the aldermen of a Municipality are reduced below the required quorum as aforesaid and there is no council clerk to appoint a council clerk for such Municipality And no Municipality shall by reason of the occurrence of any or all of the events mentioned in this section be deemed at law or in Equity to have become dissolved or to have lapsed thereby And any person so appointed by the Governor shall until the completion of such elections but no longer hold office as council clerk to all intents and purposes as fully and effectually as if he had been appointed or entitled under the said Principal Act and shall be remunerated by such fee payable from the funds of the Municipality as the Governor may appoint And all other expenses incident to such elections shall be payable from the said funds in like manner as the expenses of subsequent elections.