(7) Without prejudice to any liability which would A.D. 1927. have been incurred if this subsection had not been enacted, where the holder of a licence has accepted any sum which pursuant to any byelaw under this section 5 he ought not to have accepted, that sum or any part thereof shall, notwithstanding any stipulation, be recoverable summarily as a civil debt.

(8) If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any byelaw under this section he shall be liable 10 upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twentyfive pounds:

Provided that if the contravention or non-compliance is of or with a byelaw relating to the employment abroad of any female person the offender shall be liable upon 15 summary conviction to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both such imprisonment and such fine.

(9) Nothing in any byelaw under this section nor 20 any proceeding thereunder shall affect any liability to be proceeded against and punished for an indictable offence.

25

(10) In this section

(a) the expression
and

(b) the expression

costs" includes all fees and

other expenses of any kind whatsoever.

13.—(1) It shall be the duty of every local Enforceauthority to enforce throughout their area the provisions ment and 30 of this Act and all byelaws thereunder, and for the inspection. purposes of or incidental to such enforcement the local authority may appoint or employ such officers as they consider to be requisite therefor, and any officer so appointed or employed may at all reasonable times 35 enter and inspect any premises used, or which he has reason to believe are used, for the purpose of or in connection with any agency, and may also inspect all books, forms, cards or other documents or papers so far as the same relate or appear to relate to the 40 business carried on in or in connection with the agency, and may examine any person with respect to

A.D. 1927.

Penalty

for false statement or forgery of document, &c.

(2) If any person

(a) obstructs or impedes any such officer in the
exercise of any power under this section; or
(b) conceals, defaces, or fraudulently alters any
book, form, card or other document or paper 5
which is liable to inspection under this
section; or

(c) knowingly gives any false or misleading
information to any such officer; or

(d) wilfully refuses to give to any such officer 10 any information which the officer is entitled

to demand;

he shall be liable upon summary conviction to be
imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term
not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding 15
fifty pounds, and if the offender is the holder of the
agency licence the court may, in addition to imposing
any penalty under the foregoing provisions of this
subsection, revoke his licence.

14. (1) If in connection with any application 20
for or for the renewal of an agency licence, or with any
proposal for the revocation of an agency licence, any
person knowingly makes any false or misleading
statement, or forges any document, he shall be liable
upon summary conviction to be imprisoned, with or 25
without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three
months, or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds,
or to both such imprisonment and such fine, and if the
offender is the holder of the agency licence the court
may, in addition to imposing any other penalty or 30
penalties under the foregoing provisions of this section
revoke his licence.

(2) Nothing in this section shall affect any liability to be proceeded against on indictment which would have been incurred if this section had not been enacted, 35 so, however, that no person be twice punished for the same offence.

(3) For the purposes of this Act any wilful omission to state in connection with an application for or for the renewal of an agency licence any particular required to be 40 stated shall amount to the making of a false statement to the knowledge of the person making the same.

5

10

15. (1) The local authority for the purposes of this A.D. 1927. Act shall be

(a) as respects the City of London, the Common
Council;

(b) as respects the administrative county of London
(exclusive of the City), the London County
Council;

(c) as respects a county borough, the council of the
borough ;

(d) elsewhere the county council :

Provided that if immediately before the commencement of this Act the council of a borough not being a county borough have under any local or personal Act powers similar to those given by this Act to the council 15 of a county borough, the council of that non-county borough shall be the local authority for the purposes of this Act as though that non-county borough were a county borough, and the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall extend accordingly; and if any question 20 arises under this proviso between the council of a noncounty borough and the council of the county that question may be referred to and determined by the Secretary of State, whose decision shall be conclusive.

(2) Expenses incurred by a local authority under 25 this Act shall, so far as not otherwise met, be defrayed(a) in the case of the Common Council of the City of London, out of the general rate;

30

35

(b) in the case of the London County Council,
out of the county fund;

(c) in the case of a county borough, out of the fund
out of which the expenses of executing the
enactments relating to public health are for
the time being paid;

(d) in any other case, out of the county fund.

Local authorities and expenses.

16. In this Act a reference to any enactment which Construchas been amended or extended by any subsequent tion of enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as so amended or extended.

references.

17. This Act in its application to Scotland shall Application

40 be subject to the following modifications:

(a) the expression "county borough means а

to Scotland.

hundred and twenty-one a population of or
exceeding fifty thousand, and all other burghs
shall be deemed to be within the county;

(b) a reference to a borough not being a county
borough shall be construed as a reference to a 5
burgh having according to the census aforesaid
a population of less than fifty thousand;

(c) The expenses incurred by a town or county council
under this Act shall, so far as not otherwise
defrayed, be defrayed in the case of a town 10
council out of the burgh general or police assess-
ment, and in the case of a county council out
of the general purposes rate, provided that with
respect to every burgh which is for the purposes
of this Act deemed to be within the county 15
subsections (3) and (4) of section sixty and section
sixty-six of the Local Government (Scotland)
Act, 1889, shall so far as applicable have effect
as if such expenditure were expenditure therein
mentioned;

(d) A reference to a court of quarter sessions shall be
construed as a reference to the sheriff;

(e) A reference to the Public Health Act, 1875, shall not apply;

20

(f) Sections one hundred and eighty-three, one 25
hundred and eighty-five, one hundred and
eighty-six, and one hundred and eighty-seven,
of the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897, shall
apply to byelaws under this Act.

18. Section thirty-seven of the Interpretation Act, 30
1889, which relates to the exercise of statutory powers
between the passing and the commencement of an Act,
shall in its application to this Act have effect as though
the word "licences" and the words "to hear and deter-
mine applications" were therein inserted after the words 35
"letters patent" and the words "to prescribe forms"
respectively.

19. Any provision in any local or personal Act which is the same as or similar to any provision of this Act is hereby repealed, and any licence granted or 40 renewed under any provisions so repealed is hereby

determined.

5

A.D. 1927.

20. This Act shall not extend to Northern Restriction

Ireland.

on extent.

21. (1) This Act shall come into operation on the Commencefirst day of January nineteen hundred and twenty-eight. ment and (2) This Act may be cited as the Agencies and Registries Act, 1927.

short title.