§ Clause 20 (Actions by secretary of grand jury) agreed to.
§ Clause 21 (Amendment of Acts).
§
On the Motion of Mr. TREVELYAN, Amendments made, in page 12, line 13, at end of sub-section, by adding:—
Except in eases where such Railway shall have been actually constructed, or shall be in actual course of construction; or where the Railway Company, having such powers, shall satisfy the Lord Lieutenant in Council that it is their intention forthwith to proceed in good faith to construct such Railway;
in page 12, line 21, by adding, as a new sub-section:—
(3.) The times appointed by the Tramways (Ireland) Acts for the publishing of advertisements, the depositing of maps, plans, books of reference, memorials, and other documents, and
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the giving of notices may, so far as relates to proceedings under this Act, be varied from time to time by the Lord Lieutenant by Order in Council;
and in page 12, at end of line 38, by adding—
So long as a locomotive is being driven on a Tramway at a greater distance than thirty feet from the centre of any public road, the limits of speed prescribed by the Tramways (Ireland) Acts or this Act shall not apply.
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to, and ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Remaining clauses agreed to.
§ MR. TREVELYANsaid, he begged to move the new clause which stood in his name next on the Paper. In the opinion of the best authorities this new clause would be a great improvement in the Bill. He sincerely hoped the proposal would be considered a good one.
§ New Clause:—
§ (Power to Railway Companies to subscribe towards Tramways under this Act.)
§ "The Lord Lieutenant in Council may by Provisional Order empower any Railway Company to contribute towards the cost of the construction of any Tramway to be made under the powers of this Act, such sum of money by way of loan, subscription for shares, or otherwise, as may be agreed upon between the Railway Company and the Promoters of the Tramway.
§ "Such Order in Council shall only be made where the Railway Company establishes, to the satisfaction of the Lord Lieutenant in Council, that a copy of the Provisional Order as applied for by the Railway Company has been submitted to the proprietors of the Company at a meeting held specially for that purpose, as if such Order were a Bill promoted in Parliament by the Company, and that all matters and things have been done and have happened, which if such Order were a Bill so promoted as aforesaid should have been done and have happened in order to constitute compliance with the Standing Orders of Parliament applicable to Bills promoted by Railway Companies for the like purposes to those referred to in this section.
§ "Such Order in Council shall not take effect unless confirmed by Parliament, if a petition against it is presented to the Lord Lieutenant in Council,"—(Mr. Trevelyan,)
§ —brought up, and read the first time.
§ Motion made, and Question, "That the Clause be read a second time," put, and agreed to.
§ MR. WARTONsaid, he wished to move an Amendment to the new clause which the Attorney General for Ireland, as a good pleader, would at once see the necessity of. It was to cover, in addition 1099 to other matters, the times at which matters and things should have been done and should have happened. He proposed to insert, after the word "happened" in the new clause, the words "and all times have elapsed."
§ Amendment proposed to the proposed new Clause, in line 12, after the word "happened," to insert the words "and all times have elapsed."—(Mr. Warton.)
§ Question, "That those words be there inserted," put, and agreed to.
§ New Clause, as amended, agreed to, and added to the Bill.
§ SIR GEORGE CAMPBELLsaid, that in the absence of the hon. Member for Bolton (Mr. Thomasson) he begged to move the Amendment standing in that hon. Member's name.
THE CHAIRMANIf the hon. Member wishes to move this Amendment he must do so after the other Business on the Paper has been disposed of.
§ COLONEL NOLANsaid, he had given Notice to move the following new clause:—
§ (Rate of speed on level crossings.)
§ "Where any Tramway for the space of four hundred yards or more runs wholly off the public road or only crosses the public road by means of a bridge tunnel, or a level crossing provided with gates, then the rate of speed need not be limited by this Act or by anything contained in any former Act.
§ "The Board of Trade may from time to time make orders limiting the rate of speed on such portions of the line."
§ This Amendment, however, had been anticipated; and he, therefore, did not propose to move it.
§ COLONEL NOLANsaid, he had the following clause on the Paper:—
Any Tramway Company may avail themselves of the compulsory powers of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act to purchase land within three hundred yards of the road, on which the Tramways may partly run, provided a certificate has been given by the County Surveyor that such deviation is necessary for the economical construction of the line.He was told that this provision was already contained in the Bill. He was told that the Tramway Companies could obtain land in the centre of the road without much trouble. He thought they ought to be able to obtain land off the 1100 road cheaper, if it was desirable that they should have it.
§ COLONEL NOLANYes, Sir.
§
New Clause:—
Any Tramway Company may avail themselves of the compulsory powers of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act to purchase land within three hundred yards of the road, on which the Tramway may partly run, provided that a certificate has been given by the County Surveyor that such deviation is necessary for the economical construction of the line."—[Colonel Nolan,)
§ —brought up, and read the first time.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause be read a second time."
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER)said, that the hon. and gallant Member would see that in Clause 21, Sub-section 4, the Bill carried out the object the hon. and gallant Member had in view. The subsection said—
Every Order in Council which sanctions a baronial guarantee under this Act may also provide that the forty-second section of the Tramways (Ireland) Act, 1860, shall not apply to the tramway in favour of which such guarantee is sanctioned.The 42nd section of the Tramways (Ireland) Act, 1860, was the only section which prevented land being taken in these cases. There would be no limit in the matter of the compulsory powers which would apply in every case.
§ COLONEL NOLANsaid, that under the circumstances he would withdraw the new clause.
§ New Clause, by leave, withdrawn.
§ (Town councils may apply for powers to construct branch lines.)
§ "In the case of any town within twelve miles of any existing Railway or Tramway, the inhabitants of which desire the construction of a Tramway from their town to such Railway or Tramway, the town council or town commissioners of such town may apply to the Lord Lieutenant in Council direct for powers to construct, or to enter into a contract for the construction of such Tramway, and the Lord Lieutenant, after due inquiry, may grant such powers, and may order that such town shall be chargeable with the entire guarantee and liability imposed by clause two of this Act,
1101§ "And the town councils or town commissioners of such towns are hereby authorised to levy such rate as may be necessary from time to time under clause four of this Act."
§ This clause would apply to towns not far from existing railways or tramways desiring to make connections with those existing lines, and who would be unwilling to undertake the responsibilities and guarantees connected therewith, thereby avoiding the necessity of going to the Grand Juries, which might in some cases be hostile.
§ New Clause (Town councils may apply for powers to construct branch lines,)—(Mr. Mayne,)—brought up, and read the first time.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause be read a second time."
§ MR. CHAMBERLAINsaid, he had considerable sympathy with the object of the clause; but it would be impossible to accept it in its present form—if, indeed, it could be worked out in any form to be acceptable. The hon. Member proposed something quite different from the order and system proposed under the Bill. He suggested that Corporations and Commissioners should construct railways themselves, and should then be entitled to levy the rate which might be necessary under Clause 4 of the Act. But that clause provided for the levying of a rate for the payment of a dividend, and there would be none when a Town Council constructed a tramway out of the rates. That seemed to be a serious objection to the proposal. They would have to create a new series of clauses to provide for this new method of procedure if they adopted this Amendment, and the clause, as it stood, was not applicable. There was another objection—namely, that the Town Councils or Commissioners would have to construct tramways in roads which did not belong to them. That would be a very doubtful principle to accept, and if they accepted it they would have to propose clauses to carry it into effect. At that late period of the Session they could not introduce a new system into the Bill, as they would not have time to consider all the provisions necessary to give due effect to it.
§ Clause, by leave, withdrawn.
1102§ SIR GEORGE CAMPBELLsaid, he had proposed to move the Amendment of the hon. Member for Bolton (Mr. Thomasson), to the effect that tramways were not to increase judicial rents; but if hon. Members opposite did not agree with his proposal he would not go on with it.
§ MR. TOTTENHAMsaid, he begged to move the clause standing in the name of the hon. and gallant Member for the County of Dublin (Colonel King-Harman), unless it had already been proposed earlier in the evening, whilst he (Mr. Tottenham) was not present. The clause was as follows:—
No County Surveyor or Assistant County Surveyor shall be allowed to take any part in the promotion of any Tramways or Railways constructed or to be constructed under this Act, or shall receive any compensation or payment with regard to such Tramways or Railways other than payment for his services as arbitrator, or shall be employed as engineer by any Company seeking powers under this Act, and no person shall be appointed as arbitrator under this Act who may have any share or beneficial interest in any Tramway or Railway constructed under this Act.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER)said, an Amendment had been moved by the right hon. and learned Member for the University of Dublin to the same effect.
§ MR. TOTTENHAMDid it include Assistant County Surveyors?
§ MR. TOTTENHAMsaid, that if it did not, then it would be necessary to accept this. These officers should be included, as they would be the first to be consulted by local promoters.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER)We will make a note of it, and deal with the question later on.
§ Bill reported; as amended, to be considered To-morrow.