PART III, Section 26. Middle Temple, &c. Saving rights of the crown and the duchy of Lancaster. Inn, Gray's Inn, Staple Inn, Furnival's Inn, or the close of the collegiate church of Saint Peter, Westminster. 27. Nothing contained in this Act, or in any bye-law thereunder made, shall apply to or shall authorize or empower the board, or any vestry, district board, or district surveyor, to take, use, or in any manner interfere with any land, soil, tenements, or hereditaments, or any rights of whatsoever nature, belonging to or enjoyed or exercisable by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty in right of her crown, or in right of her duchy of Lancaster, without the consent in writing of the commissioners for the time being of Her Majesty's woods, forests, and land revenues, or one of them, on behalf of Her Majesty, in right of her crown, first had and obtained for that purpose (which consent such commissioners are hereby respectively authorized to give), or without the consent in like manner of the chancellor of the said duchy, on behalf of Her Majesty, in right of her said duchy; neither shall anything contained in this Act, or in any bye-law thereunder made, extend to divest, take away, prejudice, diminish, or alter any estate, right, privilege, power, or authority vested in or enjoyed or exerciseable by the Queen's Majesty, her heirs or successors, in right of her crown, or in right of her said duchy; and nothing contained in part I. of this Act shall apply to the extension of Savoy Street or the bridge which the chancellor and council of the said duchy are by the Metropolitan Board of Works (Various Powers) Act, 1875 (a), empowered to make and construct, or to any house or building within the precinct of the Savoy, or upon the land mentioned in section six (b) of the last-mentioned Act, constructed or extended after the passing of this Act, in or abutting upon any road, passage, or way existing, formed, or laid out at the time of the passing of this Act. (a) Which gives power to the metropolitan board of works to make improvements in connection with the Victoria Embankment in and near the precinct of the Savoy. (b) Providing that the board may surrender to the duchy of Lancaster two strips of land, parts of, and at the easternmost end of the board's vacant ground; and any land so granted shall be deemed to be part of the improvable ground in the liberty of the Savoy, within the meaning of certain letters patent of the 11th of October, 51 George 3. AN ACT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FIRE BRIGADE WITHIN THE METROPOLIS. 28 & 29 VICT. CAP. 90. 5TH JULY, 1865. WHEREAS it is expedient to make further provision for the protection of life and property from fire within the metropolis: Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Preliminary. 1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the "Metropolitan Short title. Fire Brigade Act, 1865.” (c). 2. For the purposes of this Act the "metropolis" shall mean the city of London and all other parishes and places for the time being within the jurisdiction of the metropolitan board of works : "Insurance Company" shall include any persons corporate or (c) This Act, which came into operation on the 1st January, 1866, imposes upon the metropolitan board, the duty of extinguishing fires and protecting life and property in case of fire within the metropolis, and amongst other provisions it empowered the board to take on lease, purchase, or otherwise acquire station houses or land for affecting its purposes. The stations, plant, and other property belonging to the fire engine establishments of the insurance companies in the metropolis are transferred to the board. It establishes a fire brigade with power to the board to make regulations for the training, discipline, &c. of the men belonging to it. It authorizes vestries to allow compensation to engine keepers hitherto employed in the service of fire engines, and requires fire insurance companies to pay to the board an annual contribution to the expenses of executing the Act, and the commissioners of the treasury to pay to the board, by way of contribution to the expenses, such sums as parliament may from time to time grant within a stated limit. This Act contains provisions for meeting expenses not specially provided for, and empowers the board, with the consent of the treasury, to borrow money; but those sections are now repealed by the Metropolitan Board of Works (Loans) Act, 1869, which substitutes other powers for these purposes, which are referred to in the notes, infra. Definition of "Metropolis" and "Insu rance Company." Section 2. Definition of Duty of metropolitan board in relation to fires. Purchase of buildings and land. Transfer of plant of existing fire offices. Constitution of fire brigade. Salaries of fire brigade. unincorporate, or any person carrying on the business of fire in surance. 3. The expression "Metropolis Local Management Acts" shall mean the Acts following; that is to say, "The Metropolis Management Act, 1855," "The Metropolis Management Amendment Act, 1856," and "The Metropolis Management Amendment Act, 1862." Establishment and Duties of Fire Brigade. 4. On and after the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and sixty six the duty of extinguishing fires and protecting life and property in case of fire shall within the metropolis be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be entrusted to the metropolitan board of works; and with a view to the performance of that duty it shall be lawful for them to provide and maintain an efficient force of firemen, and to furnish them with all such fire engines, horses, accoutrements, tools, and implements as may be necessary for the complete equipment of the force, or conducive to the efficient performance of their duties. 5. The said board, hereinafter referred to as the board, may take on lease, purchase, or otherwise acquire stations for engines, stables, houses for firemen, and such other houses, buildings, or land as they may think requisite for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act, and may from time to time sell any property acquired by or vested in them for the purposes of this Act: The board may also contract with any company or persons authorized to establish the same for the establishment of telegraphic communication between the several stations in which their fire engines or firemen are placed, and between any of such stations and other parts of the metropolis. 6. On and after the said first day of January one thousand eight dred and sixty-six all stations, fire engines, fire escapes, plant, and other property belonging to or used by the fire engine establishment of the insurance companies in the metropolis shall vest in or be conveyed or assigned to the board for all the estate and interest of the said companies therein, upon trust to be applied by the board to the purposes of this Act, but subject to all legal liabilities and obligations attaching thereto, including the payment of all pensions that have been granted to the members of the said fire engine establishment, according to a list that has been furnished to the chairman of the said board by the chief officer of the said fire engine establishment, and all trustees for the same shall be indemnified against such liabilities and obligations. The board may also, if they think fit, purchase the stations, fire engines, and plant belonging to any parish, place, or body of persons within their jurisdiction." 7. The force of firemen established under this Act, hereinafter called the metropolitan fire brigade, shall be under the command of an officer, to be called the chief officer of the metropolitan fire brigade. The chief officer and men composing the said fire brigade shall be appointed and removed at the pleasure of the board. 8. The board shall pay such salaries as they think expedient to the said fire brigade. They may also make such regulations as they Section 8. think fit with respect to the compensation to be made to them in case of accident, or to their wives or families in case of their death; also with respect to the pensions or allowances to be paid to them in case of retirement; also with respect to the gratuities to be paid to persons giving notices of fires; also with respect to gratuities by way of a gross sum or annual payment to be from time to time awarded to any member of the said force, or to any other person, for extraordinary services performed in cases of fire; also with respect to gratuities to turncocks belonging to waterworks from which a supply of water is quickly derived. 9. The board may by bye-laws make regulations for the training, discipline, and good conduct of the men belonging to the said fire brigade, for their speedy attendance with engines, fire escapes, and all necessary implements on the occasion of any alarm of fire, and generally for the maintenance in a due state of efficiency of the said brigade, and may annex to any breach of such regulations penalties not exceeding in amount forty shillings, but no bye-law under this section shall be of any validity unless it is made and confirmed in manner directed by the Metropolis Local Management Acts; and all provisions of the said Acts relating to bye-laws shall, with the necessary variations, apply to any bye-laws made in pursuance of this Act. Power to make regulations for fire brigade. 10. The vestry of any parish or place in the metropolis may allow Compensation such compensation as they think just to any engine keeper or other to parish person employed in the service of fire engines who has hitherto officers. been paid out of any rate raiseable in such parish or place, and who is deprived of his employment by or in consequence of the passing of this Act, and any compensation so allowed shall be paid out of the rate out of which the salary of the officer so compensated was payable. 11. The board may make such arrangements as they think fit as to establishing fire escapes throughout the metropolis. They may for that purpose contribute to the funds of the Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, or of any existing society that provides fire escapes, or may purchase or take by agreement the property of any existing society in their stations and fire escapes, and generally may maintain such fire escapes and do such things as they think expedient towards aiding persons to escape from fire; and any expenses incurred by them in pursuance of this section shall be deemed to be expenses incurred in carrying into effect this Act. any 12. On the occasion of a fire the chief or other officer in charge of the fire brigade may, in his discretion, take the command of volunteer fire brigade or other persons who voluntarily place their services at his disposal, and may remove, or order any fireman to remove, any persons who interfere by their presence with the operations of the fire brigade, and generally he may take any measures that appear expedient for the protection of life and property, with power by himself or his men to break into or through, or take possession of, or pull down any premises for the purpose of putting an end to a fire, doing as little damage as possible; he may also on any such occasion cause the water to be shut off from the mains and pipes of any district, in order to give a greater supply and pressure of water in the district in which the fire has occurred; and no water company shall be liable to any penalty or claim by reason of any interruption of As to purchase of fire escapes. As to powers of fire brigade. Section 12. Contributions by insurance offices. Mode of enforcing contributions. Mode of ascertaining proportions of contribution. the supply of water occasioned only by compliance with the provisions of this section. All police constables shall be authorized to aid the fire brigade in the execution of their duties. They may close any street in or near which a fire is burning, and they may of their own motion, or on the request of the chief or other officer of the fire brigade, remove any persons who interfere by their presence with the operations of the fire brigade. Any damage occasioned by the fire brigade in the due execution of their duties shall be deemed to be damage by fire within the meaning of any policy of insurance against fire. Expenses. 13. Every insurance company that insures from fire any property in the metropolis shall pay annually to the metropolitan board of works, by way of contribution towards the expenses of carrying this Act into effect, a sum after the rate of thirty-five pounds in the one million pounds on the gross amounts insured by it, except by way of reassurance, in respect of property in the metropolis for a year, and at a like rate for any fractional part of a million, and for any fractional part of a year as well as for any number of years for which the insurance may be made, renewed, or continued. The said payments by insurance companies shall be made quarterly in advance, on the first of January, first of April, first of July, and first of October in every year; the first of such payments to be made on the first of January one thousand eight hundred and sixtysix, and such first payment and the other payments for the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six to be based upon the amounts insured by the several companies in respect of property in the metropolis in the year ending the twenty-fourth of December one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four: provided that any insurance company which at the time of the passing of this Act contributes to the expenses of the said fire engine establishment may, in respect of all payments to be made by it in the years one thousand eight hundred and sixtysix and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, but not afterwards, contribute after the yearly rate of thirty-five pounds in one million pounds of the business in respect of which it contributes to the said fire engine establishment for the present year, according to a return which has been furnished to the chairman of the said metropolitan board, instead of in the manner in this Act provided (a). 14. All contributions due from an insurance company to the board in pursuance of this Act shall be deemed to be specialty debts due from the company to the board, and be recovered accordingly. 15. For the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be contributed by every such insurance company as aforesaid, every insurance company insuring property from fire in the metropolis shall, on the thirtieth day of December one thousand eight hundred and sixtyfive, with respect to the amounts insured in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and on the first of June one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and on every succeeding first of June, (a) By the Statute Law Revision Act, 1875, the latter part of this section, beginning "the first of such payments," is expressly repealed. |