[3] In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.

[4] In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done."

[4] The Board issued three reports, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform.

Recommendations made by the Commission were implemented by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict.

Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time.

[12] Section 5 of the act provided that for all acts passed after 1850, the word "parish" as respects England and Wales shall mean a "place for which a poor rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be appointed", unless the contrary intention appears.

5. c. 90), as to England and Wales, except as to the administrative county of London and Isles of Scilly (ss.

[13] This was designed to save words in the commencement section, but has little relevance to modern legislation in which repeals are synchronised with replacements.

[12] Section 13 provided judicial definitions of all past and future acts, unless the contrary intention appears.

Section 14 of the act provided that the expression "rules of the court" when used in relation to any court shall mean "rules made by the authority having for the time being power to make rules or orders regulating the practice and procedures of such court", and as regards Scotland include "acts of adjournal and acts of sederunt", unless the contrary intention appears.

5. c. 4) which provided that notwithstanding anything in the Interpretation Act 1889, the expression "Colony" did not, in any act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of the Statute of Westminster 1931, include a dominion or any province or state forming part of a dominion.

Sections 18(4) and (5) were omitted by the Government of India (Adaptation of Acts of Parliament) Order 1937 (SR&O 1937/230), p. 965.

So much of section 18A as provided that the expression "Governor-General", in relation to the period between the commencement of Part III of the Government of India Act 1935, and the establishment of the Federation of India, meant the governor-general in council, did not apply to section 6 of the Indian and Colonial Divorce Jurisdiction Act 1940.

[12] Section 20 of the act provided that for all past and future acts, expressions referring to writing shall be construed as including references to "printing, lithography, photography, and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form", unless the contrary intention appears.

[12] Section 22 of the act provided that for all past and future acts, the expression "financial year" shall mean as respects any matters related to the consolidated fund or money provided by Parliament or to the Exchequer, or to Imperial taxes or finance, the twelve months ending 31 March.

"give", "send" or other is used, service shall be "deemed to be effected by properly addressing, prepaying, and posting a letter containing the document, and unless the contrary is proved to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post", unless contrary intention appears.

[13] In common law, notices or documents given or served were required to be handed to the party concerned.

[13] Section 27 of the act provided that for all future acts, the expression "committed for trial" used in relation to any person shall, as respects England and Wales, mean "committed to prison with the view of being tried before a judge and jury, whether the person is committed in pursuance of section twenty-two or of section twenty-five of the Indicatable Offences Act, 1848 (11 & 12 Vict.

c. 42), or is committed by a court, judge, coroner, or other authority having power to commit a person to any prison with a view to his trial, and shall include a person who is admitted to bail upon a recognizance to appear and take his trial before a judge and jury".

[12] Section 27 was updated in the Interpretation Act 1978 to define "committed for trial" and to extend the definition to Northern Ireland.

[12] Section 32(1) of the act provided that where any future act confers a power or imposes a duty, that power may be exercised and the duty performed from time to time as occasion requires, unless the contrary intention appears.

[12] This sub-section was originally enacted to counteract the risk of restrictive interpretation, but are not little more than statements of the obvious.

[13] Section 32(2) of the act provided where any future act confers a power or imposes a duty on the holder of an office, that power may be exercised and the duty performed by the holder from time to time as occasion requires, unless the contrary intention appears.

"[12] Section 32 was updated in the Interpretation Act 1978 to extend the provisions to orders in council, orders and other types of subordinate legislation made by statutory instruments and to cover explicitly powers of amendment and revocation.

[12] This section eliminated the need for savings in acts that create new offences already occupied by other legislation or by the common law.

[12] Section 35(2) of the act provided that where any future act contains such a reference, the reference shall be read as referring, in the case of statutes included in any revised edition of the statutes purporting to be printed by authority, to that edition, and in the case of statutes not so included, and passed before the reign of King George the First, to the edition prepared under the direction of the Record Commission, and in other cases to the copies of the statutes purporting to be printed by the Queen's Printer or under the superintendence of or authority of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

[12] Section 36(2) of the act provided that where a future act, or any order in council, order, warrant, scheme, letters patent, rules, regulations or byelaws made, granted, or issued, under a power conferred by any such act, is expressed to come into operation on a particular day, the same shall be construed as coming into operation immediately on the expiration of the previous day.

[12] Section 36(2) was updated in the Interpretation Act 1978 to reflect the modern practice of commencing different provisions of the same by order or statutory instrument.

[12] This section was enacted to make it unnecessary to fend off challenges to commencement clauses of individual acts.

[13] Section 37 was amended in the Interpretation Act 1978 to reflect the modern practice of commencing different provisions of the same by order or statutory instrument.