CAPTAIN GROSVENORsaid, he wished to ask the President of the Board of Trade, Whether he has had his attention called to the fact that the South Eastern Railway Company, by a certain money charge made in the case of Dr. Pearce on the 16th of April 1869, violated their Bye-law No. 1; and whether the Bye-laws of a Railway Company, as certified by the Board of Trade, are binding upon the Company as well as upon the public; and, if so, what remedy is open to the public as against the Company in the case of a Bye-law being violated by the latter?
MR. BRIGHTSir, the bye-laws of a railway company, when duly certified, have the same force as an Act of Parliament. In the case referred to the charge 356 was dismissed on somewhat different grounds from the one mentioned by the hon. Gentleman; but whether a company has violated its bye-laws or not is a question to be determined by the magistrate or court before which it is taken, and not by the Board of Trade.