Council Meeting – 16th April 1896
Thursday, April 16th, 1896
Eighteenth meeting of the Parish Council held in the School Room, Great Longstone, on Thursday, April 16th, 1896.
Present: Messrs H.A. Spanton, James Orr, C.H. Buzzard, S. Johnson, J. Johnson, A.W. S. Eyre and T. Shimwell, Clerk.
The Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office as Parish Councillor was signed by each member.
Mr Spanton was appointed as Provisional Chairman.
Chairman of the Council
Mr S. Johnson proposed and Mr C.H. Buzzard seconded that Mr James Orr be the Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.
Mr Orr then proposed that Mr Arthur Bates be the Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year. There was no seconder.
Mr James Orr was therefore declared Chairman of the Parish Council for the ensuing year.
The minutes of the meeting held on the 26th March were then read and confirmed.
Vice Chairman
On the motion of Mr J. Johnson, seconded by Mr A.W.S. Eyre, it was unanimously resolved that Mr H.A. Spanton be the Vice Chairman for the ensuing year.
Captain Henry Wright Charity (112) 98
The following letter, which Mr Spanton had received from the Charity Commissioners, was read.
Charity Commission
30 March 1896
C.62220
Captain H. Wright
Sir,
Adverting to your letter of the 21st instant, I am to state that the appointment made by the Parish Council of Trustees of this Charity, in pursuance of the order of the Board dated the 21st February 1896, has been duly noted in this Office.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
J. Holford
H.A. Spanton, Esq.
Appointment of Overseers
On the motion of Mr Spanton, seconded by Mr Eyre, it was unanimously resolved that Messrs Joseph Johnson and Isaac Bennett be reappointed as Overseers of the Poor for the ensuing year.
The necessary notices of these appointments were forthwith filled up and signed.
Standing Orders (15)
Mr Spanton moved and Mr Eyre seconded that Par. 6 Clause C of the Standing Orders be altered as follows:
“All notices of motion received up to 12 o’clock (noon) of the 6th day (inclusive) preceding the day of the meeting.”
Mr Spanton proposed that “7th day inclusive” be substituted for “6th day.” This was agreed to and carried.
Mr Eyre then moved and Mr Buzzard seconded that with this above alteration, the Standing Orders adopted at the meeting of the Council held on the 17th January 1895 be adopted to regulate the business of the Council.
The above resolution was carried unanimously.
Precept on the Overseers
On the motion of Mr Spanton, seconded by Mr Buzzard, it was unanimously resolved that a Precept for £20 be issued on the Overseers to be paid to the Treasurer on the 1st of June next.
Charities (36)
On the motion of Mr Eyre, seconded by Mr J. Johnson, it was unanimously resolved that Mr Orr and Mr Spanton be reappointed to carry out a resolution passed by the Council on the 28th February 1895 (No. 36). They were accordingly reappointed as a Committee to act in the matter of Charities.
Highways
The Clerk laid before the meeting a petition which had been sent to the Council for signature in favour of a Bill to be introduced into Parliament to give Parishes the control of the Highways within their Parish.
As the Council did not know the feeling of the Parishioners on the subject, it was decided to call a Public Meeting for Thursday, the 23rd inst. at 7 o’clock, in order to give the Parishioners an opportunity to express their opinion on the subject.
Henry Arthur Spanton
Chairman
May 28th, 1896
In the Wider World – A Time of Civic Reform
The formal adoption of Standing Orders and the election of new councillors mirror a broader shift in public administration in late Victorian Britain. Efficiency, procedure, and proper record-keeping were becoming hallmarks of modern local government.
At the same time, the appointment of Overseers of the Poor — an office dating back to the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 — shows how deeply rooted some aspects of parish administration remained. Although most welfare had been reorganised under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the overseers still played an important part in maintaining rate books and collecting local taxes at the parish level.
