COUNTY RATE. County rates are taxes levied for the purposes of defray ing the expenses to which counties are liable. They are levied either under the authority of acts of parliament, or on the principle that as duties are imposed upon a county, there must be a power to raise the money for the costs incurred in the performance of such duties.
The ancient purposes of the county rate "mere to provide for the maintenance of the county courts, for the expenses incidental to the county police, and the civil and military government of the county ; for the payment of common judi cial fines ; for the maintenance of places of defence (sometimes, however, provided by a separate tax common to counties and to other districts, called burgbote), prisons, gaols, bridges (when these were not pro vided for by a separate tax common to counties and to other districts, called bruk bole), and occasionally high roads, rivers, and watercourses, and for the payment of the wages of the knights of the shire. Ad ditions to these purposes, some occasional and some permanent, were made from time to time by statutes. The King's aids, taxes, and subsidies, were usually first imposed on the county, and collected as if they had been county taxes. But the first statute defining any of its pre sent purposes (though now repealed as to the mode it prescribes for imposing the tax) was passed in the 22nd Hen. VIII. From that time up to the present, new purposes have constantly been added, and new and distinct rates were constantly created for purposes of comparatively little importance, and to raise sums of money quite insignificant in amount."— (Report on Local Taxation, by the Poor Law Commissioners.) The assessment and collection of sepa.
rate county rates was not only very incon venient and troublesome, but so expensive that the charge of collection and assess ment frequently exceeded the sum rated. For rem:dying this evil the 12 Geo. I 1. c. 29, was passed, whereby justices of the peace at general or quarter-sessions were enabled to make a general rate to answer the purpose of the distinct rates pre viously leviable under various acts of parliament for the purposes of bridges, gaols, prisons, and houses of correction, such rate to be assessed upon every town, parish, and place within the county, to be collected by the church wardens and overseers along with the poor rates of every parish and paid over to the high constables of hundreds, by them to treasurers appointed by the justices, and again by them to whomsoever the justices should direct. The county rate for lunatic asylums is, however, by sta tute, a special rate, and so is likewise the county rate for shire-halls, assize courts, session-houses, judges' lodgings, &c. ; but
the provisions of the statutes under which these rates are levied are disregarded, and the justices pay the expenses out of the general county rate. This is the ease also with the rate for the county and dis trict police force, where such force is es tablished, though it is directed to be a special rate. There are some other spe cial rates which are required to be sepa rate rates, one of which is the rate for reimbursing to overseers the costs incurred in the burial of dead human bodies found on the shore of the sea. The contribu tions of a whole parish to this rate would perhaps not amount to a farthing, and the expense is of course defrayed out of the general county rate.
In places where there is no poor's rate the county rate was directed by 12 Geo. II. c. 29, to be levied by the petty constable or other peace officer of the place in the same manner as poor rates are levied, and paid over by him to the high constable of the hundred. The counties of York, Derby, Durham, Lancaster, Chester, Westmore land, Cumberland, and Northumberland, were excepted from the compulsory direc tion that the county rate should be levied along with the poor's rate, and it was left discretionary with the justices of those counties at quarter-sessions to direct the county rate to be levied either by the churchwardens and overseers along with the poor rate or by the petty constable, by an assessment after the manner of the poor-rate. The rates so levied are ap plicable to the repair of bridges, gaols, prisons, or houses of correction, on pre sentment made by the grand jury at the assizes or quarter-sessions of their wanting reparation. The act gave to the churchwardens and overseers a right of appeal against the rate on any par ticular parish to the justices at the next sessions. It also contained pro visions enabling the justices to con tract for repairs, to oblige collectors to account, &c. It was not the object of this act to impose any new rates, nor to vary the obligation to pay, but merely to facilitate the collection of the amounts previously leviable : it therefore con tained an exception of places not thereto fore liable to the payment of all or any of the county rates referred in the act, and also a provision that the rate should be assessed in every parish or place in such proportions as any of the rates by the former acts therein referred to had been usually assessed. But this last pro vision is now to be interpreted with re ference to the next-mentioned act as applying only to the fair and equal proportionable rates.