Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

7 articles on this Page

-------------.-.--.-THE MUNICIPAL…

News
Cite
Share

THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS IT -1 COMMISSION- (Continued lroill rmr last.) HOLT (DENBIGHSHIRE). There was no report on this borough in 1835. The corporation acts under a charter of 5th Elizabeth, confirming a grant of Thomas Earl of Arundel in the 11th Henry the 4th. By the char- ter the burgesses may elect a mayor and coroner, and two sub-bailiffs, English burgesses, every year, who may hold their court from three weeks to three weeks, and have full power to hear and determine all manner of trespasses, debts, coven- ants, felonies, pleas of lands and tenements, and all and singular other pleas and contracts whatso- ever. The courts are not now held every three weeks, but only occasionally when required. The manor for which they are held is a royal minor, and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart., is steward by a grant from the Crown. The mayor is elected by the burgesses out of their own body at one of these courts. He formerly acted as a magistrate, but since the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act he has been advised that it is doubtful whether he can legally do so, and he has not exer- cised civil or criminal jurisdiction within the last twenty-five or twenty-six years. All the criminal business is taken to Wrexham. The county magistrates grant the licenses for the public-houses within the borough; the mayor never interferes. There are three public-houses in the borough. The bailiffs, called the Queen's bailiff, and the mayor's bailiff, are elected every year from the body of the resident burgesses. They never act as magistrates their duty is to serve summonses, execute warrants, and to act generally as ordinary bailiffs of a court of record. One of the bailiffs is a blacksmith, the other is a cooper. The coroner is appointed by the burgesses at the court leet held for the borough of Holt, in and for the hundred of Bromfield. The present coroner is also mayor. Whenever he holds an inquest he is attended by the town clerk, who advises him. The coroner used to be paid by fees, but since the Coroner's Act he has had a small salary in lieu of fees. By arrangement, the coroner is paid by the county, but his jurisdiction is confined to the borough. The present town clerk receives no salary, but as recorder he is entitled to 15s on the enrolment of every burgess. There are 58 burgesses; who are elected at the will and pleasure of their brother burgesses. Eafch burgess on election has to pay a Government stamp of C3, a small fee to the re- corder, and a small fee called the bailiff's fee. Thomas Earl of Arundel in the reign of Henry the 4th granted a right of common in a piece of land called Common Wood to all his burgesses, being English, their heirs and assigns, and their tenants, in severalty. In the year 1816 a portion of this common, called Little Common, was enclosed under a special Act of Parliament for the purpose of improving the remainder of the land. After the enclosure the little common was sold. By the Inclosure Act a commissioner was appointed to set out and sell so much of the common as should be necessary for paying the expenses of obtaining the Act, for clearing, draining, laying down, and fencing the common. If any surplus of the moneys arising from the sale should remain, it was to be laid out in the public funds in the names of the mayor, re- corder, and L,two burgesses, and the interest thereof applied in the same manner as the rents of the common then were applied. By one of the corporation books, which was produced to us, it appeared that part of the common had been sold amounting to the value 11145 at one sale. The amount of land sold, however, we could not ac- curately determine, although 120 to 130 acres must have gone from the burgesses between 1816 and 1820. There appears to be no record of how the money was disposed of, but i* was suggested that it was expended in obtaining the Act of Parliament, and the subsequent enclosure. No advantage appears to have been derived by the borough from this sale. There is, however, a tra- dition that a part of the money was employed in improving the portion of common which remained unsold. The remainder of the common con- tinued open common until the year 1846, when there was a provisional order under the seal of the Inclosure Commissioners for England and Wales, and the necessary consents having been given to the order, a Mr Chaloner, a land surveyor, set out the common, and divided it into sixty-five allotments. By Mr Chaloner's award one allotment of 2a. Ir. 6p. was to be held by trustees of the Common Wood named in the award, and let by them for the purpose of paying incidental expenses and the remaining sixty- four allotments were to be :held by the trustees upon trnst to allot one of such allotments to each resi- dent burgess who should signify to the trustees his desire of having occupation of an allotment, and to allow him to enjoy the allotment, so long as he should be a resident burgess, as tenant to the trustees. The extent of the common is now about 130 aeres. The average of each inclosure is from 2 to 2 acres. The allotments are arable land, and are each "worth from £ 1 to 50s a year. The practice is for the mayor and burgesses to allot one of these inclosures as they think proper to a resident burgess who makes a claim. There are sixty-four allotments, fifty-eight of which are now in occupation by resident burgesses, the other six are in the hands of other burgesses who have become Eonjjresidents and two widows of deceased burgesses. By a recent byelaw, a resident bur- gess, if he wishes to leave the borough and sell his allotment, may nominate a person wishing to be- come a resident burgess, who is generally accep- ted, and enrolled by the recorder at the next court. By another byelaw (which is not in ac- cordance with the charter) after the death of a resident burgess holding any allotment, the mayor and burgesses, on the application of his widow, grant her one of these allotments as an act of grace while she remains widow. The widow has no right to the allotment. The allotment reserved to the trustees for the payment of incidental ex- penses as the trustees might think proper, has been let since 1848, it now brings in about four pounds a year. There is no record of how the money received for rents has been expended be- fore 1877. It appears that the Rev Mr Powell, who kept the accounts, died within the last few months, and no accounts of his are to be found. It is, however, stated that there is no doubt that the moneys received were spent in payment of in- cidental expenses connected with the common, as there was an audit of the accounts every year soon after the 25th March, in e,ich year. These accounts were signed and passed by the mayor and tlwee burgesses every year. There is at present a balance in the bank of £ 30; no incidental expenses having being incurred during the last eight years. We are informed that the enclosure award was supposed to be bad on the ground that the land had been enclosed as a stinted common instead of an open common, and that in 1851 the defect was remedied by a provision in the General Inclosure Act of that year. There were formerly freemen who voted for members to serve in Parliament, but there are only six left; who claim no rights to the allotments as freemen. The population of Holt is about 1,050. There formerly was a seal, but it is lost. There are two maces, the Queen's mace and the mayor's mace, in the possession of the corporation.

THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF…

BUZZINGS PROM THE CLWYD YALE.

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST AN…

ACTION FOR SEDUCTION AGAINST…

FATAL QUARRY ACCIDENT AT TALYSARN-

[No title]