Municipal corporation. A body of persons in a town having the powers of acting as one person, of holding and transmitting property, and of regulating the government of the town. Such corporations existed in the chief towns of England (as of other countries) from very early times, deriving their authority from 'incorporating' charters granted by the Crown.
The Municipal Corporations Act,1835 (5 & 6 Wm. 4, c. 76), passed after local inquiries by Royal Commissioners, completely reorganized the constitution of these corporations, and abrogated all charters so far, but so far only, as inconsistent with it. This Act applied to 178 corporations named in the schedules thereto, and to 68 other corporations subsequently receiving a charter, a town to which it applied being styled a 'borough.'
The (English) Act of 1835 was amended by a series of statutes passed from time to time, and consolidated by the (English) Municipal Corporations Act,1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 50), which, in turn (except for London), has been largely repealed and replaced with amendments by the (English) Local Government Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 51), s. 307.
In general, the places to which the Acts apply are to a great extent under the control of a municipal corporation, consisting of the 'mayor, aldermen, and burgesses,' and acting through a; council' elected by the burgesses, i.e., persons entitled to vote under the (English) Representation of the People Acts, 1918 to 1929.
The voters are all resident householders who have occupied and paid rates for twelve months prior to any July, and have also been enrolled as burgesses.
The councillors are elected by the burgesses on every 1st of November. Their term of office is three years, and one-third of their number goes out of office every year. If the election be contested the poll is taken by ballot, under the Ballot Act,1872. The aldermen, in number one-third of the number of councillors (and not necessarily burgesses), are elected by the council. They remain in office six years, one-half of their number going out of office every third year. The mayor is elected for one year by the council from among the aldermen or councillors, or persons qualified to be such. He may, and in some towns does, receive a moderate salary. The aldermen and councillors serve gratuitously.
The council thus constituted manages the corporate property, having as officers a 'town clerk,' a 'treasurer,' and such other offices as the council think necessary. It has the control of the borough police, and as a local authority for the purposes of rating [(English) Rating and Valuation Act, 1925]; good rule and government [(English) Local Government Act, 1933] [(English) Public Health Acts, 1875-1936] [(English) Housing Act, 1936], and functions conferred by other public and local Acts with powers to make bye-laws in pursuance of statutory duties, authorities an discreations, and by virtue of the charter (if any) of its constitution, including powers for raising, borrowing or advancing money as provided by statute for any of these purposes.
In most of the larger boroughs there is a separate commission of the peace, excluding the jurisdiction of the county justices, and a separate Court of Quarter Sessions, presided over by a 'recorder,' having the same jurisdiction in the borough has the justices in County Quarter Sessions have for the county. A separate commission and a separate Court of Quarter Sessions may also be granted by the Crown on petition of the Council to such boroughs as do not possess them. Where there is a separate Court of Quarter Sessions there is also a borough coroner, appointed by the council.
A considerable number of small 'unreformed corporations,' in which there were a mayor and other corporation officers, were either abolished or brought under the provisions of the (English) Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, by the (English) Municipal Corporations Act, 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 18), and the (English) Local Government Act, 1888. See COUNTY COUNCIL.
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