most part the acts do not impose upon
district councils themselves any special powers or duties, although,
as a matter of fact, prosecutions for offences are usually undertaken
by the district councils, and the expenses of the execution of the
acts are paid out of their funds. In quarter sessions boroughs,
however, where the council have the duty of appointing a public
analyst, they are under an obligation to put the acts in force from
time to time, as occasion may arise. The acts themselves must be
consulted for the procedure, beginning with the taking of samples and
ending with the conviction of an offender.

Rivers pollution.

The powers and duties of a district council under the Rivers Pollution
Prevention Act 1876 have been incidentally noticed when dealing with
county councils, whose powers under the acts are precisely the same.

Electric lighting.

Under the Electric Lighting Acts the Board of Trade may license any
district council to supply electricity, or may grant to them a
provisional order for the same purpose. A similar licence or order may
be granted to a private person or company to supply electricity within
the district of a district council, but in that case the consent of
the district council must be given, unless the Board of Trade, for
special reasons, dispense with such consent. These licences are now
rarely applied for or granted, and the provisions which were formerly
contained in the provisional orders have now been consolidated by the
Electric Lighting Clauses Act 1899, the effect of which will be to
make provisional orders uniform for the future. It is now almost the
exception, at least in urban districts, to find a district council
which has not obtained a provisional order under these acts, and for
the most part the undertakings of local authorities in the way of
supplying electricity have been very prosperous.

Allotments.

Under the Allotment Acts district councils were empowered to provide
allotments for the labouring population of their district, if they
were satisfied that there was a demand for allotments, that these
could not be obtained at a reasonable rent by voluntary arrangement,
and that the land could be let at such a price as would not involve a
loss to the council. The district council might acquire land, let it
and regulate it, and they might provide common pasture. These powers
wer