View report page

44
call a public meeting of this parish for the purpose of determining
whether or not the Public Libraries Act of 1855, and the Acts
amending the same, should be adopted by the parish of Fulham, and
the same was referred to the Law and Parliamentary Committee.
At the meeting of that committee held on the 12th day of July,
1886, the Clerk having stated that Mr. Cunynghame had made a
request to have the memorial returned, it was resolved that, on a
written request by Mr. Cunynghame, the memorial will be returned
to him, which was subsequently done. Then on the 24th November,
1886, it was resolved, on the motion of Dr. Cooney, seconded
by Mr. Mclllroy, to commemorate the approaching J ubilee of the
reign of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen by some permanent
work worthy of the parish; the Vestry of Fulham, as the public
representatives of the parish of Fulham, under sec. 1, of 84 and 35
Vic., c. 71, which empowers such Vestry to adopt and carry into
execution the "Public Libraries Act, 1885," do ascertain the
opinions of the majority of the ratepayers by the issue of a voting
paper to each ratepayer as to the adoption of such Act, i.e. whether
the parish of Fulham should have a free library or not, for the
benefit of all classes, such voting papers to be issued agreeably to
the "Public Libraries Amendment Act, 1877," and that the voting
papers be delivered on Friday, the 10th December, 1886, and collected
on Monday, the 13th December, 1886. The Clerk then
prepared and issued voting papers to all persons qualified to vote,
and on the 8th December, 1886, the Vestry appointed Messrs.
Dyer, Hutchinson, Spraggs, and Elkins as tellers for the counting
of the voting papers, and on the 22nd December, 1886, the Clerk
produced the following report, which was received, and the thanks
of the Vestry were tendered to him for the efficient manner in
which he conducted the voting.
[COPY.]
I beg to report that, in accordance with the instructions given
at the Vestry meeting on the 24th November last, I divided the
parish into 28 districts, and on Friday, the 10th instant, I issued
10,263 ballot papers; of these 312 were brought back on the same
day by the police on account of empty houses, persons gone, &c.
The papers were collected on Monday, the 13th inst., and
were counted on the following day with this result: