A COLLECTION OF THE PUBLIC GENERAL ACTS FOR THE Regulation of Railways: INCLUDING THE COMPANIES, LANDS, AND RAILWAYS CLAUSES Published by WATERLOW & SONS, 49, Parliament Street, Price 12s. in cloth.] 1866. PREFACE. THIS collection of General Railway Acts was first published in the year 1845, and during the twenty-one years that have since elapsed it has passed through several editions, each containing the Enactments then in force relating to railways. The volume now published contains the General Statutes for the Regulation of Railways in England and Ireland in force at the close of 29 & 30 Vict. Sess. 1866, and includes the Companies, Lands, and Railways Clauses Consolidation Acts, with all the Amending Enactments complete. The Legislation of Sess. 1866, has introduced Two Important features with reference to the Railway System, viz. 1. The Power to Railway Companies in Ireland to obtain temporary advances from Government, and 2. The Provision for the Registration of the Securities issued by the Railway Companies in the United Kingdom. The firstmentioned Power applies only to Railway Companies in Ireland, but there are Companies in Great Britain who doubtless would be glad to avail themselves of such advances, and they will be ready to urge that "Justice to Great Britain" requires that the precedent now established, as to Companies in Ireland, should be extended to Companies in Great Britain. It will be advisable, however, that the nature of the security required by Government should be carefully considered, for it is probable that but few Companies would be willing to place themselves so completely in the power of the Government of the day as will be the case with the Companies in Ireland, who avail themselves of the powers recently granted. The Act here referred to (29 & 30 Vict. c. 95), as well as the "Railway Companies Securities Act," (29 & 30 Vict. c. 108), require the careful consideration of the Directors and Officers of Railway Companies. In this Edition several Statutes have been omitted in consequence of their Repeal, or Expiration by effluxión of time; with respect to the "Abandonment of Railways Act," 13 & 14 Vict. c. 83, the doubts expressed by the late Statute Law Commission as to this Act being now in force, may be considered as negatived, and the Act is retained in the Volume as part of the Existing Law. Several Statutes have been partially Repealed or Amended -the "Register of Amendments" at page x. contains the particulars thereof; and in the body of the volume such Repealed and Amended Provisions are printed in Italic Type, in order that they may be clearly distinguished from Enactments which are still part of the Existing Law. This Edition has been Revised throughout, and contains several Statutes and parts of Statutes which have not appeared in any previous Volume. The object of the Editor has been to render the work a Complete Consolidation of the General Enactments relating to Railways in England and Ireland; and in order to facilitate ready reference to their Provisions, the Index has been recompiled and greatly extended. With reference to the Question of the practicability of Expurgating the Statute Book of all Repealed and Expired Enactments, and of permanently continuing that Expurgation at the close of each subsequent session, it may be mentioned that this Volume was published in 1845 at the suggestion of the late Mr. I. K. Brunel. The first Edition was printed from moveable type, but a new Edition being required within a few weeks after its publication, it was deemed desirable, in order to avoid the repetition of the labour of careful examination necessary in the case of moveable type, that the volume should be stereotyped. From time to time during the twenty-one years that have since elapsed, Repealed and Expired Statutes have been omitted, and New Statutes added, so that each subsequent Edition has contained the Existing Statute Law relating to Railways ex. purgated of all Repealed and Expired Enactments. The plan which for Twenty-one Years has been carried out successfully in this Volume, could without any difficulty be applied to the whole of the Statute Book, and the Editor of this Volume ventures to hope that his life may be spared to see the completion of an Expurgated Edition of Statutes under the Authority of Parliament. Its practicability is undisputed. For upwards of Thirty Years the STATUTE BOOK, its EVILS, and THEIR REMEDY have been the theme of discussion, upwards of Three Hundred Thousand Pounds have been spent nominally in efforts to remove these evils and to devise a remedy, still the evils continue, and all remedies hitherto attempted, have failed. The subject is likely again to come under the consideration of Parliament during the ensuing Session, and therefore a short statement of the Expense of an EXPURGATED EDITION OF PUBLIC STATUTES is here given that it may be compared with the outlay required by other plans that may be suggested. The Statutes passed by the Parliaments of the United Kingdom are 7885 in number, and contain 70,462 foolscap folio pages, of which 43,462 pages have ceased to be in force. The Existing Enactments (expurgated of all Repealed and Expired matter) could be printed uniform with this volume, in 27,000 pages; of which not exceeding 20,000 pages are permanant Public Laws, the remaining 7000 pages consisting either of Annual Acts not yet expired, or of Acts of a local character similar in their nature to the series of Local Acts, and not constituting any part of the Permanent |