ted
by the parish meeting, it is still necessary to elect the burial
board, and that board will be elected by the parish meeting. The
distinction between a burial ground under the Burial Acts and a
cemetery provided under the Public Health Acts has already been
noticed. A burial ground, properly so called, has to be divided into
consecrated and unconsecrated portions, and the former really takes
the place of the parish churchyard; and the incumbent of the parish
church, the clerk, and the sexton continue to receive the same fees
upon burials in the consecrated portion as they would have done in the
parish churchyard. It has been mentioned that a portion of the burial
ground must be left unconsecrated. But this is subject to one
important exception, that the parish meeting may unanimously resolve
that the whole of the burial ground shall be consecrated. In that
case, however, the parish council may, within ten years thereafter,
determine that a separate unconsecrated burial ground shall also be
provided for the parish. The expenses of the execution of the Burial
Acts are provided by the overseers out of the poor rate upon the
certificate of the body entrusted with the execution of them. In the
event of the acts being adopted for a portion only of a rural parish,
the burial board, or the parish meeting, may by resolution transfer
all the powers of the board to the parish council.

Public Improvement Act.

The Public Improvement Act, when adopted, enables a parish council to
purchase or lease, or accept gifts of land for the purpose of forming
public walks, exercise or play grounds, and to provide for the expense
by means of a parish improvement rate. Before any such rate is
imposed, however, a sum in amount not less than at least half of the
estimated cost of the proposed improvement must have been raised by
private subscription or donation, and the rate must not exceed
sixpence in the L.

Public Libraries Acts.

The Public Libraries Acts enable the authority adopting them to
provide public libraries, museums, schools for science, art galleries
and schools for art. The expenses in a rural parish are defrayed by
means of a rate raised with, and as part of, the poor rate, with a
qualification to the effect that agricultural land, market gardens and
nursery grounds are to be assessed to the rate at one-third only of
their rateable value.