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1. CANALS.

Wisbech Canal...

Witham Navigation....

2. REGISTRATION AUTHORITIES.

The Wisbech Urban Sanitary Authority.
The Boston Urban Sanitary Authority.
The Lincoln Urban Sanitary Authority.
Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The Birmingham Urban Sanitary Authority.

Yare River......

The Great Yarmouth Urban Sanitary Authority.
The Norwich Urban Sanitary Authority.

Given under the Seal of Office of the Local Government Board, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.

THOS. SALT, Secretary.

G. SOLATER-BOOTH, President.

Circular Letter of the Local Government Board with reference to the Canal Boats Act, 1877, and the Regulations made thereunder.

SIE,

Local Government Board,

Whitehall, S. W.,
22nd July, 1878.

IAM directed by the local government board to forward herewith a copy of their order of the 17th of May, 1878, prescribing the registration authorities for the purposes of the Canal Boats Act, 1877, and also a copy of their order of the 20th of March, 1878, comprising regulations under sect. 2 of that act.

The regulations comprised in the orders came into force on the 30th day of June, 1878; and, as a consequence of the provision in sect. 1 of the act, a canal boat may not, after the expiration of six months from that date, be used as a dwelling until it has been registered in accordance with the act.

The board trust that the following observations may aid the registration authority in their consideration of the details of the act and of the regulations.

Registration.

The boat owners have the choice of several authorities with whom to register, and the board consider that registration of each boat with some one authority will be a sufficient compliance with the requirements of the act, whether the boat for which registration is sought be accustomed or intended to ply on one or more canals. Where the boat passes from the canal on which the district of the authority with whom it has been registered abuts, its original registry will be recognized as operative on other canals whereon it may ply.

Places to which Boats should be registered as belonging.

It will be observed that sect. 3 of the act requires that every canal boat, when registered, shall be lettered, marked, and numbered in some conspicuous manner (as directed by the regulations made under the act), and that "such lettering, marking, which the boat is registered and numbering, shall include the word 'registered,' and the name of the place to As regards the name of the place to which is to be included in the lettering, markas belonging, and the registered number.'" ing, and numbering of the boat, the terms of the above-cited enactment have to be considered in connection with a provision in sect. 7. It is there enacted that, with the view of determining the place to which a canal boat belongs "for the purpose of the Elementary Education Acts, 1870, 1873, and 1876," the registration authority shall register any canal boat in respect of which an application is made for registration, "as belonging to some and is situate wholly place which is either a school district or is part of a school district, which it is registered." or partly within the jurisdiction of the registration authority with

In some cases it may happen that the designation of the school district or part of a school district is not identical with that of the registration authority.

0.S. VOL. II.

The omission from sect. 3 of the words "for the purpose of the Elementary Education Acts, 1870, 1873, and 1876," which are found in sect. 7, shows that the name of the place required by sect. 3 to be painted on the boat is that of the district of the registration authority and not that of the school district or part of a school district.

In every case, however, the place to which the boat is registered as belonging for the purposes specified in sects. 6 and 7 of the act should appear in the certificate of registration; and for this requirement it will be seen that the board have made provision in their Form (C.) of certificate in the schedule to the order of the 20th of March, 1878.

REGULATIONS OF THE 20TH MARCH, 1878.

(a) Application for Registry.

Part I. of the Order of the 20th March last comprises regulations for the registration of canal boats under the act, including certificates of registration, and the fees in connection with such registration.

The first step in the process of registration will be taken by the owner. He should have the opportunity, when making his application to the registration authority, of specifying the time and place for the examination of the boat. If the time or place so specified be inconvenient to the registration authority, they will, doubtless, inform the owner to that effect, and some other time or place will be fixed by mutual consent. Under Art. 1 the owner, besides informing the registration authority of a time and place at which the boat may be examined, is to furnish such other information as the authority may require in relation thereto.

The board have not included a form of application in their order, since they have assumed that the particulars will vary with local circumstances. But they think that delay in the preliminary arrangements, will frequently be obviated if the authority to whom an owner may apply for registration are in a position to furnish him with a printed statement of the points upon which they may desire information before proceeding with the examination of the boat.

(b) The Examining Officer and his Report.

Art. 2 provides for the appointment or employment, remuneration and duties of the person whom the registration authority may select to examine and report upon canal boats, the owners whereof have applied for registration.

The report of this officer is to be in the Form A. in the schedule to the order, and is to be submitted to the registration authority at their next ordinary meeting or at a special meeting to be called for the purpose.

Before adverting to the details of the form of report, the board have to draw attention to a provision in the act that renders the information which the report will supply of special importance. By sect. 2 it is enacted that the registration authority shall register every canal boat which conforms to the conditions of registration provided by the regulations of the board for the number of persons allowed by those regulations to dwell therein.

The statute thus recognizes the act of registration as a function of the authorities themselves, and one which they cannot delegate to their officers. It also imposes upon the authorities an obligation to register in every case where the boat conforms to the conditions of registration.

Hence it is obvious that the registration authority, when required to decide as to whether they will register or refuse to register a boat, must have before them complete information with regard to all the details which are comprised in the prescribed conditions of registration.

This information the examining officer's report (Form A.) is intended to supply. It will be noticed that the form of report requires the examining officer to state the name, or if there be no name, the number of the boat. This information is rendered necessary by the terms of sect. 3 of the act, in accordance with which the two certificates of registration should identify the owner and the boat; and, as the board learn that in some instances the boats bear numbers and are unnamed, the number, which will be that assigned by the owner, and will be distinct from the number assigned by the registration authority, will be a suitable mode of identification.

In describing the nature of the traffic in which the boat is accustomed or intended to be employed, the examining officer should be careful to ascertain whether the boat is intended to carry any foul or offensive cargo. For a boat so used, the special pre

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cautions mentioned in 10 (g) under the heading "description of the construction, furniture and fittings of the boat," &c., will be indispensable.

In stating whether the boat is a "wide" or "narrow" boat, the examining officer should bear in mind the definitions in Art. 14 of the Order; and he should also be careful to note whether the boat is to be used as a "fly" boat worked by shifts, for to such boats the second proviso to Art. 8 (a) will apply.

(c) The Register of Canal Boats.

When the report of the examining officer has been submitted to the registration authority they will have to determine from the information before them whether the boat conforms to the conditions of registration which are detailed in Art. 3 of the

order.

Where these conditions are complied with it will be incumbent upon the authority to cause the boat to be registered as a dwelling for the number of persons allowed by the regulations to dwell therein. The form of register will be found in the schedule to

the order.

With regard to this form it may here be sufficient to observe that Art. 4 provides that the owner of a registered boat shall, from time to time, on every new appointment of a master, notify in writing to the registration authority the christian name and surname of the master newly appointed; and that the information thus furnished should be duly recorded in the register, with a note of the date at which it was received by the authority.

(d) Fees in connection with Registration.

Art. 6 prescribes the sum of 5s. as a fee in connection with the registration of a boat; and this fee must be paid by the owner before the delivery of the certificates of registration. By sect. 11 of the act it is provided that all fees paid in respect of registration shall be carried to the fund out of which the expenses incurred in the execution of the act by the registration authority are declared to be payable. The fund which should be credited with the fees so paid will be determined by the provisions of sect. 8 of the act.

(e) Certificates of Registration.

On payment of the authorized fee the owner will be entitled under sect. 3 of the act to receive two certificates of registration. These certificates, by the terms of the statute, should identify the owner and the boat, should state the place to which the boat is registered as belonging, and the number, age, and sex of the persons allowed to dwell in the boat, and such other particulars as may be provided by the regulations of the board, or may seem fit to the registration authority.

BY Art. 5 of their Order, the board have provided that each of the two certificates shall, in addition to such other particulars as may seem fit to the registration authority, contain the particulars set forth in the Form C. in the schedule.

By sect. 3 of the act it is enacted that the master shall have the care of one of the certificates of registration. It will be the duty of the master under sect. 5, if required by a person duly authorized by a registration or sanitary authority, or by a justice of the peace, to produce to such person the certificate of registry (if any) of the boat, and permit him to examine and copy the same. is to be deemed an obstruction of the person making the requisition, and for the offence A refusal to comply with such requisition of obstruction a fine not exceeding 40s. may be imposed.

Further, with regard to illegal detention by the master of the certificate of registry, reference may be made to the enactment in sect. 10.

(f) Lettering, Marking, and Numbering of Registered Boats.

Part II. of the Board's Order of the 20th March, 1878, contains regulations for the lettering, marking, and numbering of registered boats.

By sect. 3 of the act it is enacted that every canal boat when registered shall be lettered, marked and numbered in some conspicuous manner, as directed by the regulations, and that such lettering, marking and numbering, shall include the word **registered," and the name of the place to which the boat is registered as belonging, and the registered number.

It will be the duty of the owner of the boat, forthwith upon the receipt of the certificates of registration, to cause the boat to be lettered, marked and numbered in

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accordance with the regulations. And by sect. 3 of the act, it is enacted that any boat not lettered marked and numbered in conformity with that section, or having the letter, mark or number altered, defaced or obliterated, shall be deemed for the purposes of the act to be an unregistered boat.

(g) Number, Age and Sex of Persons who may be allowed to dwell in a Canal Boat. In Part III. of the Order are comprised regulations for fixing the number, age and sex of the persons who may be allowed to dwell in a canal boat, having regard to the cubic space, ventilation, provision for the separation of the sexes, general healthiness and convenience of accommodation of the boat.

The regulations prescribing the conditions of registration have been framed with especial reference to the requirements which by sect. 2 (3) of the act are recognized as the fundamental principles of the rules by which the number, age and sex of the persons who may be allowed to dwell in a canal boat are to be determined. The effect of the regulations in Art. 3 will be to ensure that in every registered canal boat the free air space of any cabin which may be intended to be used as a dwelling shall not be less than a certain specified minimum, and also that provision shall be made for ventilation, general healthiness and convenience of accommodation.

Dealing with boats which conform to these conditions, the regulations in Part III. prescribe rules whereby the number, age and sex of the persons who may be allowed to dwell in a boat may be fixed so as to secure a certain minimum of free air space for each person and to provide for the separation of the sexes.

Clause (a) of Art. 8 specifies the minimum proportion of free air space for each occupant of a cabin. For every person above the age of 12 years there must not be less than 60 cubic feet, and for each child under the age of 12 years not less than 40 cubic feet.

This general rule, in its practical application, will be subject to the conditions in clauses (b) and (c) with respect to the separation of sexes. Moreover, the two provisoes to clause (a) will operate in the one case to relax, and in the other to render more stringent the requirement as to the minimum allowance of free air space in certain classes of boats.

In the first proviso the general requirement of a minimum of 40 cubic feet for each child under the age of 12 years is modified in the case of boats built prior to the date when the regulations came into force. In the case of such boats a minimum of 30 cubic feet is to be deemed sufficient.

The second proviso to clause (a) has reference to the case of "fly" boats worked by shifts by four persons above the age of 12 years. In this case, in consequence of the conditions under which the crew work and sleep, a minimum free air space of 180 cubic feet in any cabin occupied at one and the same time as a sleeping place by any two of the four persons is required.

It has already been pointed out that the rule determining the number of occupants by reference to the air space of the cabin is to be applied subject to the conditions prescribed by the regulations with respect to the separation of the sexes.

The general rules under this head are comprised in the first paragraph of clause (b) and in clause (c).

The first paragraph of clause (b) applies to a cabin occupied as a sleeping-place by a husband and wife. With the exception hereafter to be noticed, a cabin occupied by a married couple can only receive as additional occupants children whose ages in the case of girls must not exceed 12, and, in the case of boys, 14 years.

Clause (c) will prohibit the simultaneous use of a cabin as a sleeping-place by a male above 14 years of age and an unmarried female above 12 years of age.

To the first of these rules there is an exception under the circumstances and conditions specified in the proviso to clause (b).

By sect. 1 of the act it is enacted that a canal boat shall be used as a dwelling only for the number of persons of the age and sex for which it is registered, and that if a canal boat is used as a dwelling in contravention of the act, the master and also the owner, if he is in fault, shall each be liable to a fine not exceeding 20s. for each occasion on which the boat is so used.

(h) Cleanliness and Habitable Condition of Canal Boats.

Arts. 9, 10, and 11, in Part IV., of the Board's Order, comprise regulations for promoting cleanliness in, and providing for the habitable condition of, canal boats. Art. 9 requires the owner to renew thoroughly once at least in every three years the paint in the interior of every cabin which may be used as a dwelling. Art. 10 provides for the

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removal of bilge water by pumping at frequent intervals. Art. 11 renders it the duty of the master to cause every cabin which may be used as a dwelling to be kept at all times in a cleanly and habitable condition.

(i) Prevention of the spread of Infectious Diseases by Canal Boats.

Part V. of the Order contains regulations for preventing the spread of infectious disease by canal boats. Where a person on a canal boat is seriously ill, or is evidently suffering from an infectious disease, Art. 12 will require the master to inform the proper authority and

the owner.

If the boat is proceeding on a journey the master must as soon as practicable give information to the sanitary authority through whose district the boat is passing. When the boat arrives at its port or place of destination the master is further to inform the sanitary authority within whose district the port or place is situated, and also the owner. Where the case occurs at a time when the boat is at its port or place of destination, it will be the duty of the master forthwith to inform the sanitary authority within whose district the port or place is situate, and also the owner of the boat. The owner on receipt of information from the master is forthwith to give notice to the sanitary authority having jurisdiction in the place to which the boat may have been registered as belonging.

Possibly by arrangement with the owners, lessees, or undertakers of each canal the sanitary authorities may be enabled to furnish the several lock-keepers or other persons employed at fixed points along the canal with instructions for the guidance of masters who may have occasion to give the notices required by Art. 12 of the Board's Order. It will probably be found convenient to print these instructions, and to supply each lock-keeper from time to time with a sufficient number of copies for the use of masters of boats. To meet the cases in which the master may be able to communicate in writing the information required by Art. 12, printed forms of notice to be filled up by the master may be appended to the instructions. The name and address of the person to whom the notice is to be transmitted, whether by messenger or through the post, should be printed on the form.

While it may be expected that in the majority of instances the obligation imposed, by Art. 12 of the Board's Order, upon the masters and owners of boats will be fulfilled by the due notification of cases of infectious disease, it will be seen, on reference to sect. 4 of the act, that information from other sources will also be sufficient to justify the action of the sanitary authority under that enactment. In some instances this information will probably be obtained through the means indicated in sect. 5.

From whatever source the sanitary authority may obtain information of the occurrence of a case of infectious disease in a canal boat, it should be observed that where, under sect. 4, they exercise the power of detaining the boat, they should, in accordance with the requirements of Art. 13 of the Board's Order, before allowing the boat to proceed upon its journey, procure from their medical officer of health, or from some other legally qualified practitioner, a certificate to the effect that the boat has been duly cleansed and disinfected. This certificate is to be delivered to the master of the boat; and for it the sanitary authority may pay a reasonable remuneration.

(j) Interpretation of Terms.

With regard to Part VI. of the Board's Order, which comprises the interpretation clause (Art. 14), it may be sufficient to refer to the series of definitions in sect. 14 of the act, which are thereby rendered applicable to the terms used in the Order.

Supply of Copies of Regulations to Persons interested.

The second paragraph of sect. 9 of the act is as follows:-

"The Local Government Board shall take steps for enabling all persons interested in any regulations made by that board in pursuance of this act to obtain copies thereof at such places in the neighbourhood of canals as the Local Government Board may prescribe, on payment of such sum not exceeding sixpence as may be prescribed by that It appears to the board that the offices of the several sanitary authorities whom they have constituted registration authorities may properly be prescribed as the places at which copies of the regulations may be obtained; and the board will prescribe such

board."

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