The Earl of Dalhousie, in moving that the House go into Committee, according to Order, said, he would not detain their Lordships by entering into all the provisions of the Bill; but he would wish to observe that a supposition had gone abroad that these provisions were all new, and were now attempted to be enacted for the first time. That was a complete mistake, as the Bill was nothing more than an incorporation of the various clauses that had been inserted in Private Bills for many years past. Every Private Bill, having for its object the incorporation of a company for any particular purpose, had in it clauses that were equally applicable to every other similar scheme that could come before Parliament. The consequence was, that every such Private Bill was necessarily made extremely voluminous, and thus much labour was imposed both on the promoters and on the Legislature. It was, therefore, thought extremely desirable that all these clauses, which were common to various Bills, should be consolidated, and that a uniform system should thus be adopted. These clauses were formed into three groups; one of these, namely, that now before the House, referring to Land; another—the Companies Clauses Consolidation Bill—being applicable to the transfer of shares; and the third being confined to Railways. It was thought desirable to divide the measure into three sets of clauses, and to introduce three separate Bills. First, there were the Land Clauses Compensation Bill; the second, related to the transfer of shares, and the rights and liability of proprietors; and the third to the regulation of railways; so that any promoters of a measure getting an Act might incorporate in their Bill all or any of these Bills. For instance, if it were a Railway Bill, the company would require all three; a canal company would only require the Bill for taking the Land and the Companies Consolidation Clauses; whilst if it were only a Gas Bill, they would not require the provisions for the acquisition of land, or for the regulation 589 of railways. Their Lordships would see that this was a great relief to the parties, and a great relief to persons interested, because now no one was secure against the introduction of some particular clause injuring them which might escape detection; whereas hereafter the Committee on a Bill would only have to examine the Bill and see whether the particular clauses were departed from, and whether any different clauses were introduced.
§ Lord Beaumontsaid, he had to apologize for intruding on their Lordships at that stage of the proceedings; but he wished to express his opinion that he regarded the Bill then before the House as one which would enable railway companies to ride roughshod over all small proprietors, whose land they might wish to become possessed of. He agreed fully with the noble Earl that the Bill was an improvement on the existing system of passing all those clauses in each special Act. The object of the Government was, he had no doubt, to protect the landowners, to diminish litigation, and to afford facilities to companies in carrying out their projects. The Bill would institute several new tribunals, and would make it compulsory on the companies to comply with the decision of that form of tribunal selected by the proprietor. But he doubted whether it would afford the protection which was intended; and if it passed into a law, the railway companies would have a strong ground for resisting all special clauses that might be introduced into their respective Bills having a contrary tendency to the provisions of the General Act. There were other portions of the Bill which he thought would actually enact a hardship. He alluded more particularly to the provision for the payment of costs in those tribunals. In some cases the costs were to be paid entirely by the railway companies; but in other instances; where the amount awarded by the jury or by the arbitrators was less than the sum originally offered as compensation by the company, the costs were to be equally divided between both parties; and thus, if an unfortunate man who did not wish for the railway, and who was obliged to sell his land against his will, happened to set a higher value upon his home than either the company or the jury might think proper to award him, he would be compelled to pay half the costs out of the sum 590 of money awarded by compensation; and if that should not happen to be sufficient for the purpose, then a provision was made for recovering the balance by distress. A man might thus be left in a position to lose the entire sum awarded to him, and in addition a portion of his remaining fortune. Now, he thought a railway company should be in the same position as a borrower in a mortgage transaction, when the party getting the money had always to pay all the costs. Again, if the person selling the land had merely a life-interest in it, the money was put in the bank to the credit of the Accountant General, and though it could be drawn out on application to the court for effecting certain improvements, these were of a kind from which the tenant for life could not, in many instances, derive much benefit. The money could not, for instance, be expended in the draining of lands.
§ The Earl of Devonsaid, he had a clause to propose which would effect that object.
§ Lord Beaumontsaid, he was very glad to learn what the noble Earl had stated. There were other cases in which serious injury might be done to the drainage of lands by railways; such, for instance, as in the north of Lincolnshire, where great lines of drains were formed, and where large embankments would form a serious obstacle to the improvement of agriculture.
The Earl of Dalhousiewas understood to observe that special clauses would afford a remedy in such cases.
§ Lord Beaumontsaid, another objection was, that they had put railway companies on so strong a footing since the establishment of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, that it was very difficult for private parties to grapple with, them. In many cases persons who would have petitioned against particular companies were now deterred from doing so, from a feeling that all opposition to them would be useless. In proof of this he would allude to a circumstance that had come under his own knowledge. A railway in favour of which the Board of Trade had reported, passed near a large mansion which belonged to the same family since the reign of Edward I. Before the Report of the Board of Trade was made known, the solicitor to the railway company went to the proprietor of that mansion, and begged of him to appoint an agent to treat with the company for the purchase of his land, promising to be extremely 591 liberal, in consequence of the injury which the railway would do his residence, provided he offered no opposition to the Bill. The matter was then left to the honour of the company; but within the last, few days, the company having got a strong footing in consequence of the Board of Trade having reported in their favour, and their shares having risen in the market, informed this proprietor that they did not intend to give him any compensation. He (Lord Beaumont) intended to watch that Bill when it came before the House; and he believed the proprietor to whom he alluded was resolved to petition the other House of Parliament against it. Such a hardship ought to be provided against, and there was now an opportunity of doing so in the two Bills conjointly. He could not understand why the two Bills had been divided. They should have been considered together, their principle and object being the same. The two Bills, properly conjoined, might have been a sufficient security against the injuries which were now committed. He should, in conclusion, move that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee up stairs.
The Earl of Dalhousiemust oppose the Motion of the noble Lord. It was unnecessary for him, in reply to the noble Lord, to enter into an explanation of the measure, because he thought he had already done so to the satisfaction of the House. As to referring the Bill to a Committee up stairs, such a course would be impracticable in the present state of business. The clauses in the Bill before their Lordships were the result of the experience of years; they had been revised again and again during the progress of every Session; and the greater portion of them had been in existence during the last fifteen years, being thus contemporaneous with the existence of railways to any extent in this country. The present Bill afforded greater advantages, in the shape of protection, than had ever been given before to those whose lands were likely to be interfered with. Upon these grounds, he should object to the Bill being sent up stairs; but a still greater objection to such a course arose from a knowledge of the fact that there was now before Parliament an unprecedented accumulation of railway business, such as he hoped they should never meet with again. There were no less than 248 Railway Bills before Parliament, and they had now reached the middle of 592 the month of April, and not a single Committee was sitting upon one of those Bills. The Committees, it was settled, were to meet on the 21st of this month, and looking at the amount of business which they would have to perform, it appeared to him that a great hardship would be inflicted out of doors by the delay which must necessarily arise from referring this Bill to a Select Committee up stairs.
§ House in Committee.
§ The Earl of Devonmoved that an addition should be made to Clause 64 for the purpose of authorizing persons interested in reversionary inheritances to lay out certains sums of money in trust, under the authority of the Lord Chancellor, for drainage and other permanent improvements.
The Lord Chancellorobjected to such an addition being made to the clause, on the ground that the expense which it would occasion to parties interested would be so great as to defeat the object of the noble Lord.
The Earl of Dalhousealso objected to add the proposed words, on account of the difficulty which they would give rise to.
§ Clause withdrawn. Clause 87 was omitted.
§ Report to be received to-morrow.
§ House adjourned.