for a merely temporary purpose for a period not exceeding twelve months; and the expression "local authority" includes any county council, municipal corporation, district council, dock trustees, harbour trustees, or other local body by whatever name called.

9.-(1.) 6d. shall be substituted for 1d. as the stamp duty chargeable under "The Stamp Act, 1891," on a letter of allotment, and letter of renunciation, or any other document having the effect of a letter of allotment, where the nominal amount which is allotted or to which the letter of renunciation relates is not less than 57.

(2.) A separate duty shall be chargeable in respect of letters of allotment and letters of renunciation, although they may be contained in the same document.

(3.) The stamp duty of 6d., chargeable by virtue of this section on a letter of renunciation, may be denoted by an adhesive stamp, which is to be cancelled by the person by whom the letter of renunciation is executed.

10.-(1.) The duty payable under "The Stamp Act, 1891," on bills of exchange drawn and expressed to be payable out of the United Kingdom, when actually paid or indorsed or in any manner negotiated in the United Kingdom, shall, where the amount of the money for which the bill is drawn exceeds 50l., be reduced so as to be

(a.) Where the amount exceeds 50l. and does not exceed 100l., 6d.; and

(b.) Where the amount exceeds 100l., 6d. for every 1007., and also for any fractional part of 1007. of that amount.

(2.) The stamp duty chargeable under "The Stamp Act, 1891," on bills of exchange expressed to be payable at a period not exceeding three days after date or sight shall be 1d., in lieu of the duty now chargeable thereon; and accordingly the first heading, Bill of Exchange, in the Schedule to that Act, shall be read as if the words "or within three days after date or sight" were contained therein, after the word "presentation."

11. The provisions contained in section 98 of "The Stamp Act, 1891," in reference to the expression "policy of insurance against accident," shall extend to and include policies of insurance or indemnity against liability incurred by employers in consequence of claims made upon them by workmen who have sustained personal injury when the annual premium on such policies does not exceed 17.

12.-(1.) Where au instrument other than a bill of exchange or promissory note is charged with an ad valorem duty in respect of any money in any foreign or Colonial currency, a rate of exchange for which is specified in the Schedule to this Act, the stamp duty on [1898-99. XCI.]

3 U

that instrument shall, instead of being calculated as provided by section 6 of "The Stamp Act, 1891," be calculated according to the rate of exchange so specified.

(2.) The Commissioners may substitute, as respects any foreign or Colonial currency mentioned in the Schedule to this Act, any rate of exchange for that specified in the Schedule, and may add to the Schedule a rate of exchange for any foreign or Colonial currency not mentioned therein; and this Act shall be construed as if any rate of exchange for the time being substituted or added were contained in the said Schedule; and in the case of the substitution of a rate of exchange, as if the rate for which the new rate is substituted were omitted from that Schedule.

(3.) Any substitution or addition so made by the Commissioners shall not take effect until it has been advertised in the "London Gazette" for two successive weeks.

13. Sub-section 1 of section 52 of "The Stamp Act, 1891," which relates to the definition of contract note, shall be construed as if, after the word "principal" where it secondly occurs in that sub-section, there were added the words "being a member of a stock exchange in the United Kingdom."

14. This part of this Act shall be construed together with "The Stamp Act, 1891."

PART III.-Income Tax.

15.-(1.) Income tax for the year beginning on the 6th day of April, 1899, shall be charged at the rate of 8d.

(2.) All such enactments relating to income tax as were in force on the 5th day of April, 1899, shall have full force and effect with respect to the duty of income tax hereby granted.

(3.) The annual value of any property which has been adopted for the purpose either of income tax under Schedules (A) and (B) in "The Income Tax Act, 1853," or of inhabited house duty, during the year ending on the 5th day of April, 1899, shall be taken as the annual value of such property for the same purpose during the next subsequent year: Provided that this section

(a.) So far as respects the duty on inhabited houses in Scotland, shall be construed with the substitution of the 24th day of May for the 5th day of April; and

(b.) Shall not apply to the metropolis as defined by "The Valuation (Metropolis) Act, 1869."

PART IV.-National Debt.

16. The amount of the permanent annual charge for the National Debt during the current and every subsequent financial year, shall

be the sum of 23,000,000l., and "23" shall be substituted for "25" in section 1 of "The Sinking Fund Act, 1875," as amended by subsequent Acts, and sub-section 1 of section 2 of "The National Debt and Local Loans Act, 1887," and section 1 of "The National Debt Act, 1889," shall be repealed.

17.-(1.) The Treasury may exchange the existing terminable annuities created in pursuance of section 4 of "The National Debt and Local Loans Act, 1887," for new terminable annuities of equivalent capital value and terminating in the year ending on the last day of March, 1912.

(2.) The Treasury may convert the sum of 15,000,000l. consolidated stock held by the National Debt Commissioners on account of Trustee and Post-office savings banks into a terminable annuity of equivalent capital value, and terminating in the year ending on the last day of March, 1923.

(3.) A terminable annuity, created under the foregoing provisions of this section, shall be periodically adjusted in manner provided by section 4 of "The National Debt Act, 1883," as amended by section 3 of "The Public Accounts and Charges Act, 1891," and for that purpose may be increased or reduced; and "The National Debt Act, 1883," as so amended, shall apply for the purpose of the adjustment and the calculation of the equivalent capital value of a terminable annuity created under the foregoing provisions of this section.

(4.) The Treasury may convert the charge for 13,000,0007. created by section 1 of "The National Debt (Conversion of Exchequer Bonds) Act, 1892," into a terminable annuity, terminating in the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1923, of such amount as will be sufficient to repay, within the period of its currency, the said sum of 13,000,0007., with interest at the rate of 27. 15s. per cent. per annum, and as from the date of the conversion the said Act shall be repealed.

(5.) A terminable annuity created under this section shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund or the growing produce thereof, and shall be payable as part of the permanent annual charge for the National Debt yearly, half-yearly, or quarterly, at such times in each year as may be fixed by the warrant creating the annuity.

(6.) This section shall have effect as from the beginning of the current financial year, and the Treasury shall adjust all accounts and all receipts and expenditure so as to give effect to this section as from that date, and for that purpose may cause sums to be paid into or out of the Exchequer, and charge any sum on and issue any sum out of the Consolidated Fund or the growing produce thereof, and may direct any other payments to be made by or to

the National Debt Commissioners or other bodies affected by this section.

PART V.-General.

18. This Act may be cited as "The Finance Act, 1899."

ACT of the British Parliament, to give Powers to the Executive Committee of the Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum to invest Trust Funds in certain Securities.

[62 & 63 Vict., c. 16.]

[August 1, 1899.]

WHEREAS by a deed poll bearing date the 11th day of July, 1899, the Right Honourable Horatio Herbert Baron Kitchener of Khartoum, G.C.B, K.C.M.G., Sirdar, or other the GovernorGeneral of the Soudan for the time being, the Governor of the Bank of England for the time being, the Right Honourable Evelyn Viscount Cromer, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.C.S.I., C.I.E., the Right Honourable Nathaniel Mayer Baron Rothschild, the Right Honourable John Baron Revelstoke, the Right Honourable Charles William Baron Hillingdon, Ernest Cassel, K.C.M.G, and Hugh Colin Smith, Esq., were appointed the Executive Committee of a college proposed to be formed at Khartoum in the Soudan, in memory of General Gordon, and to be known as the "Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum," and to be endowed by public subscription and otherwise for the purposes and with the objects, and as in the said deed more particularly defined, and trustees of the funds subscribed and to be subscribed for the purposes of the same were appolated:

Be it enacted therefore by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. The Executive Committee and Trustees named in the deed herein before recited, may invest the trust funds now or at any time in their hands or under their control for the purposes of the said college in the stocks, bonds, or obligations of the Egyptian Government, or in investments, the principal and interest of which is secured by the guarantee of the Egyptian Government, or entitling the holders thereof to payment of principal and interest out of moneys payable by the Egyptian Government on such stock, bonds, or obligations, deposited with trustees or otherwise, or in the purchase of any lands, buildings, hereditaments, and property in the Soudan or other parts of Egypt that may be required for the purposes of the said colleges, or in any other security in which trustees may lawfully invest, and may vary any such investments.

2. This Act may be cited as "The Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum Act, 1899."

ACT of the British Parliament, to authorize certain Public Loans to certain Colonies or Places.

[62 & 63 Vict., c. 36.]

[August 9, 1899.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1.-(1.) Subject to the provisions of this Act the Treasury may advance, by way of loan to the Governments of the Colonies, and places mentioned in the first column of the Schedule to this Act, for the purposes specified in the second column of that Schedule, any sums not exceeding in the whole as respects each purpose the amount set opposite thereto in the third column of that Schedule.

(2.) The advances authorized by this Act shall be local loans within the meaning of "The National Debt and Local Loans Act, 1887," and that Act shall apply accordingly.

(3.) Every such advance shall bear interest at such rate (not less than 2 per cent. per annum) as the Treasury and the Secretary of State may, having regard to the purposes thereof, fix as being sufficient to enable it to be made without loss to