No. 55
4th April 1867
My Lord,
I have the honor to forward an Authenticated and two plain Copies of an Ordinance passed at the recent session of the Legislature of this Colony, entitled;No. 2.Manuscript image No. 2 An Ordinance in aid of the Municipal Taxation in Victoria.
2. I forward the report of the Attorney General which is sufficiently explanatory.
I have the honor to be,
My Lord,
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Frederick Seymour
Minutes by CO staff
Manuscript image
CC 29 May
Manuscript image
Ordinance in aid of the Municipal Taxation of Victoria.
The Corporatn of Victoria can, under Sec 24 of their Act of Incorporation (1862), make by-laws for raising funds—An Ordce to comprise those by-laws is not required, but this Ordce has been passedManuscript image (as I understand) for the purpose of enabling the Corporation to give full effect to the By-Law, by testing the returns, examining Witnesses &c, which the Act of Corporation does not enable them to do. From the wording of sec. 1 I think it quite possible that there has been some irregularity in making the By-law. But we have no means of proving whether the provisions of sec 24 have been fully complied with. It seems a little doubtful whether the 7th paragraph of the By-Law is not in the nature of a Tax upon personal Estate, which is forbidden by that section. But this is a matter for the Colonists. The Act is only for a year, & the A.G. states that a proper Incorporatn Bill is to be prepared. Sanction it.
HTH 30/5
FR 30/5
CBA 31/5
B&C 14/6
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
Manuscript image
H.P.P. Crease, Attorney General, to Seymour, 31 March 1867, reporting on the ordinance as per despatch.
Other documents included in the file
Manuscript image
Draft reply, Buckingham to Seymour, No. 39, 20 June 1867 conveying “Her Majesty’s … confirmation and allowance" of the ordinance relating to municipal taxation in Victoria.