posed the application and the parish of St. Mary Magdalen. The value of property was £5,000; in Guestling, £3,470; in Fairlight, £2,250; and in Pett, £2,5?, whilst in St. Mary Magdalen it was £36,000, or nearly one third of the whole Union. The amount paid by St. Clement’s for the half year was now £7,500, and All Saints £475 less; while in the western parishes there had been an increase of £250 in St. Mary’s-in-the-Castle, £800 in Holy Trinity, £775 in St. Mary Magdalen, and £225 in St. Leonards. If the bill they were now considering should pass, the valuation of the whole Union would be placed in the hands of a committee, who, he believed would have full power to act without referring anything to the Board of Guardians. Hence they might run into any expense, and the parishes would have to bear it. He thought the Bill was a very sweeping one, and would be particularly prejudicial to this Union. – Mr. Beecham explained the object of the proposed bill to be chiefly to appoint a committee that might act independently of the overseers in many particulars, and that while it proided(sic) for a fair contribution of each parish towards the common charges, it took away all power from the rate-payers and gave it to the Guardians. In this explanation was seen an additional reason why the more populated and larger contributing parishes should be more equably represented on the Board of Guardians. It was proposed by Mr. How and seconded by Mr. Cope, that a petition against the proposed Act of Parliament should be prepared for signatures. The Bill was passed, however, and one of its provisions was that the guardians of every union should appoint an assessment committee to supervise the valuation lists of rateable property.
A Poor-rate at 6d. in the £ was passed at the meeting held at the British hotel on the 21st of August, and this was the only business. The vestry book was signed by ten parishioners as rate-payers.
An Assessment Committee, in accordance with the Union-Assessment-Committee Act of 1862, was appointed at the vestry-meeting held at the Horse and Groom inn on the 11th of December, such committee consisting S. Putland, sen., B. Bickle, T. B. Brett, W. E. Skinner, S. H. Willard, C. Hollebone, G. Cuthbert, J. Kenwood, A. Sellman and M. G. Church.
St. Leonards Mechanics Institution
At the first quarterly meeting of the year, the Committee’s report showed the number of life-members to be 35, and the subscribing members 116 – an increase of 13. The treasurer’s receipts (including a donation of £2 from Lord Harry Vane) to £23 13s., leaving a balance of 1/6 due to the treasurer. The outstanding liabilities had been reduced by £6 to £23. All the classes had been well-attended, the one for writing and arithmetic being superintended by Messrs. Wilson and Chandler, and the one for drawing by drawing-master Whittaker.
At the next quarterly meeting, on May 8th, the number of members -
