THE PAROCHIAL ELECTIONS.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE BPEOTATOR."] Sin,— Permit me to point out what I think is an error in the article on" Parochial Elections" in the Spectator of December 8th, where it is said, "The case of the District Councils is less simple. For upon the District Council will be thrown' the distribution of poor-relief." Sec. 20 of the Local Govern-1 meat Act (1894), the Act to which you are referring, still' provides for the election of Boards of Guardians, and in no' part does the Act take from them the administration of the Poor-1 law. Hitherto the Board of Guardians acted as the Sanitary Authority in rural districts, but Sec. 21(2) says," For every rural sanitary district there shall be a Rural District Council whose district shall be called a rural district ; " and Sec. 25 (1) says : "As from the appointed day there shall be transferred to the District Council of every rural district all the powers, duties; and liabilities of the Rural Sanitary Authority in the dis- trict," &c. Such powers and duties were not connected with the distribution of poor-relief. Probably a misconception may have arisen from a hasty reading of Sec. 24 (3), which! says that : "The District Councillors for any parish or others area in a rural district shall be the representatives of that parish or area on the Board of Guardians, and when acting' in that capacity, shall be deemed to be Guardians of the Poor,1 and Guardians as such shall not be elected for that parish or area." Thus it will be seen that the representatives of these; rural areas will act in two capacities—that is, as Guardians, and District Councillors—but on two different bodies, whose duties and powers will be different. District Councils as such: will not distribute poor-relief. That duty will rest with the Board of Guardians.—I am, Sir, &o., Lee. R. S. ASHTON.
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