officers, or some of the inhabitants of the parish, present a request to the guardians in the form No. 1, given below, to apply to the poor-law commissioners for their consent to the sale. The board of guardians, if they approve of the application, make it in the form No. 2, and forward both forms to the commissioners. Upon the receipt of these forms, the commissioners investigate the title of the parish to the property, and to enable them to do so, require the title-deeds to be transmitted to them. They also send a series of questions relative to the property, to be answered by the parish officers; but where there are no deeds, and the title depends upon possession alone, a statutory declaration as to such possession must be made, according to a form which the commissioners will send. Upon the investigation being completed, the commissioners, if satisfied of the sufficiency of the title, issue an order to the churchwardens and overseers to convene a parochial meeting, that the parishioners may formally consent to the sale of the property; copies of the notice convening the vestry-meeting, and of the resolution made at it, must be sent to the commissioners, with a certificate verifying such copies, the forms of the notice, resolution, and certificate, are given below. The resolution having been received, and its regularity proved, the commissioners issue an order for the sale of the property. With their sale order, which they send to the board of guardians, they also send a letter of instructions, conditions of sale, and the draft of a form of conveyance, which they have had prepared, of which copies are given below.

The drafts of the conveyances having been prepared by the solicitor for the purchaser, are delivered by him to the clerk of the guardians, who will forward the same to the commissioners for their approval. The draft is either approved or altered according to their judgment, and sent back by them to the clerk of the guardians, who will return it to the solicitor, from whom he received it, for engross

ment. When the deed is engrossed, it is to be laid before the board of guardians for their execution; and the other parties having executed it, the purchaser must pay the purchase-money to the treasurer of the union, according to the directions contained in the sale order.

The deed being completely executed, is to be forwarded to the commissioners, to be registered and sealed by them. They require the deed to be perfect, and are accustomed to return the same, if there be any blanks which ought to have been filled up, or any parties have not executed it, who ought to have done so, or the attestations be not complete or sufficient. If they are satisfied, they have the deed copied on parchment, and such copy is registered by them, with other conveyances; all such copies, or office copies thereof, are made admissible in evidence, by the 5th and 6th William IV., c. 59, sec. 6.

The deed having been registered, the seal of the commissioners is affixed to it, and the conveyance is returned to the party who forwarded it.

Though the commissioners send a form of condition of sale prepared under their direction, which they expect generally to be adopted, they do not oject to modify them, if any necessity for a modi

fication is shown.

No. 1. Request to the Guardians to apply to the PoorLaw Commissioners to consent to Sale.

Parish of

County of

in the

Union,

We, the undersigned majority of the parish officers, and we, the undersigned inhabitants of the parish of Union, in the count of request you, the guardians of the poor of the said union, to apply to the poor-law commissioners

These references are the numbers by which the forms are marked by the commissioners.

for their consent to the sale of the undermentioned premises, belonging to the said parish, and for their directions as to such sale, and for the application of the produce thereof, to the permanent advantage of the said parish.

[Here describe the premises accurately, but concisely; stating whether the tenure is freehold, customary freehold, copyhold, or leasehold, and whether subject to the payment of any quit or other rent.

If any buildings are proposed to be sold, and it is considered desirable that the materials should be sold separately from the site, the circumstance should be stated.

State also when and how the parish became possessed of the property, and the trusts, if any exist, which affect the same.

If the property has been built upon waste land, state whether it was so built with the consent of the lord of the manor, and the date of such consent.]

The said premises cannot conveniently be used for the purposes of the said union, and we are of opinion that the sale thereof will be of permanent advantage to the said parish, for the following reasons:

[Here describe their condition, whether in a state of good repair, or dilapidated; also in whose occupation, whether in that of paupers, or not, or empty; and any other circumstances that may enable the guardians to judge of the desirableness of selling the property.]

The said premises are estimated to be of the value of and yield an annual rent of We are also of opinion, that it will be advisable to apply the proceeds of the sale, after deducting the expenses thereof, in the following manner, to the permanent advantage of the parish:

[Say whether as contribution to the Union Workhouse, or to what other purpose; if to pay a debt, say when it was contracted, by whom, for what purpose, and how such debt is secured; if to discharge a mortgage, state by whom and when created, the

name of the mortgagee, and to what objects the money was applied.] Dated this

184

day of [To be signed by the churchwardens, over

seers, and inhabitants.]

No. 2. Request to the Poor-Law Commissioners to consent to Sale.

Union,

The guardians of the poor of the being fully satisfied that the sale of the premises described in the annexed application will be of permanent advantage to the parish of do hereby request the poor-law commissioners to consent that the said guardians may sell the said premises, under the provisions of an act passed in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King William IV., intituled, "An act to facilitate the conveyance of workhouses and other property of parishes and of incorporations or unions of parishes in England and Wales ;" and that the said commissioners will issue such rules, orders, or regulations, touching such sale, and the conveyance of the said premises, and the application of the produce thereof, for the permanent advantage of the said parish, as they may see fit in that behalf. In testimony whereof, the said guardians have hereunto affixed their common seal, this day of 184

Witness, A. B., clerk to the board of guardians.

[This is to be altered according to the state of

facts to which the declarant can speak. It should be carefully read over by or to the declarant, who should not be an illiterate person, or a marksman.— Two or more persons may join in the declaration, each speaking to the facts within his knowledge.If there be any exception or qualification to any of the facts declared, it should be stated in the same paragraph as the fact which it affects.]

for

I, A. B., [Insert the Christian and surname, and place of abode, and quality of the declarant, at full length,] of, &c., do solemnly and sincerely declare, that I am years of age, and that I have resided at years last past. [If the declarant believe that he was born at that place, state the fact.] That I well know the property proposed to be sold by the guardians of the poor of the S. union, with the approbation of the poor-law commissioners, consisting of [Describe the property in the terms used in the former papers,] in the parish of A.

That for the whole period of s

years last past, during which I have known the same, the said premises have been in the possession of the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the said parish of A.

That the said buildings have been from time to time repaired out of the poor rates of the said parish of A. [If the declarant have held the office of overseer, and disbursed money in repairs, state the fact. In some cases, the annexation of extracts from the parish accounts and books may conduce to establish this and the following fact.]

That the churchwardens and overseers of the said parish have from time to time let the said premises, and placed therein such of the paupers of the said parish as they, or the parochial vestry, thought fit; and that [If rents were received by the overseers, state the fact.]

"The period of possession must not be less than twenty years last.