MIDLAND RAILWAY BRANCHES BILL. (Hansard, 9 April 1845)

§ Mr. Speaker
wished to call the attention of the House, before the conclusion of Private Business, to the Bill to empower the Midland Railway Company to make certain Branch Railways from the main line of their Railway, and for other purposes, in which the following Clause was inserted:— And be it Enacted, That in case the proprietors of any manor or estate containing any mines of coal, ironstone, limestone, or other minerals, lying within a distance of five miles from the main line of the said Midland Railways, or any branches thereof, or the renters, lessees, or occupiers of the same, shall find it expedient or necessary to make any Railways or Roads to convey their coals, ironstone, limestone, marble, or other stones or minerals to the said Railway, over the lands or grounds of any person or persons, then and in every such case it shall be lawful for him, her, or them, to make any such Railways or Roads, he, she, or they first paying or tendering satisfaction for the damage to be thereby occasioned to such lands or grounds in manner herein directed with respect to land to be taken for the purposes of this Act; and it shall also be lawful for the owner or owners of and person or persons interested in such lands or grounds to treat and agree with such proprietors, renters, lessees, or occupiers, for the damage the owner or owners of such lands or grounds shall or may sustain by making any such Railway or Road; and in case they cannot agree concerning the amount or value of such damage, or in case the owner or owners of or person or persons interested in such lands or grounds shall refuse or neglect to treat, or by reason of absence or otherwise, shall be prevented from treating, then the same shall be settled and ascertained by the verdict of a jury, in such and in like manner as the value of the lands to be taken for making the several Branch Railways hereby authorized, is by the said 376 recited Acts or this Act directed to be settled and ascertained. The right hon. Gentleman said, that the said Clause was not within the title of the Bill; that it gave compulsory power to take lands, without any intimation thereof having been given in the Notices; and without the proper Plans and Sections and Estimates having been deposited according to the Standing Orders of the House. Perhaps the House would find it the most convenient course to discharge the Order for the Second Reading of the Bill, and refer it back to the Select Committee on Petitions for Private Bills, by which this Clause might be examined, and referred, if necessary, to the Standing Orders' Committee, in order to see whether it was conformable with the Standing Orders.

§ Mr. Greene
said, the House was greatly indebted to the right hon. Gentleman in the Chair for directing their attention to that which was undoubtedly a great violation of the Standing Orders. He begged to move that the order for the Second Reading be discharged.

§ Mr. T. Duncombe
thought the principle contained in the Bill atrocious; and he wished to know whether it had been adopted by the Board of Trade; or whether it had been introduced at the recommendation of the Board of Trade.

§ Mr. J. W. Patten
did not believe that the Board ever had the subject under their consideration.

§ Mr. T. Duncombe
The Bill must have been before them, at all events; and I have no doubt they repotted favourably on it.

§ Mr. Strutt
said, it would be impossible for the Committee to read through the whole Bill, but in the marginal notes and in the index through which the Committee had looked, there was nothing to induce the supposition that such a power was conferred in any part of the Bill. It was only a few days ago that his attention had been called to the subject. He found, on inquiry, that he was not only the Chairman of the Committee, but also a landowner affected by the Bill, and he therefore thought the proper course for him to pursue would be to lay the matter before the Speaker, and leave it in his hands.

§ Lord G. Somerset
said, the great object of referring Bills of this nature to sub-committees was to prevent the intro- 377 duction of anything extraordinary and unusual. He was willing to leave it to the Committee on Petitions to consider what course they would take, but he hoped they would do something in reference to this Clause, which he must say had been surreptitiously introduced.