An English rural sanitary district and authority are thus defined by the Public Health Act (sec. 9):—

“The area of any union which is not coincident in area with an urban district, nor wholly included in an urban district (in this

section called a rural union), with the exception of those portions (if any) of the area which are included in any urban district, shall be a rural district, and the guardians of the union shall form the rural authority of such district, provided that—

“1. An ex officio guardian resident in any parish or part of a parish belonging to such union, which parish or part of a parish forms or is situated in an urban district, shall not act or vote in any case in which guardians of such union act or vote as members of the rural authority, unless he is the owner or occupier of property situated in the rural district of a value sufficient to qualify him as an elective guardian for the union.

“2. An elective guardian of any parish belonging to such union, and forming or being included within an urban district, shall not act or vote in any case in which guardians of such union act or vote as members of the rural authority.

“3. Where part of a parish belonging to a rural union forms or is situated in an urban district, the Local Government Board may by order divide such parish into separate wards, and determine the number of guardians to be elected by such wards respectively, in such manner as to provide for the due representation of the part of the parish situated within the rural district; but until such order has been made, the guardian or guardians of such parish may act and vote as members of the rural authority in the same manner as if no part of such parish formed part of, or was situated in, the urban district.”

Where the number of elective guardians, who are not by this section disqualified from acting and voting as members of the rural authority, is less than five, the Local Government Board may from time to time by order nominate such number of persons as may be necessary to make up that number, from owners or occupiers of property situated in the rural district of a value sufficient to qualify them as elective guardians for the union; and the persons so nominated shall be entitled to act and vote as members of the rural authority, but not further or otherwise.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, all statutes, orders, and legal provisions applicable to any board of guardians shall apply to them in their capacity of rural authority under this Act for the purposes of this Act; and it is hereby declared that the rural authority are the same body as the guardians of the union or parish for or within which such authority act.

Sanitary districts in Ireland are:—The City of Dublin, other corporate towns above 6000, and towns or townships having commissioners under local Acts.

And urban authorities are:—