17. The Acts mentioned in schedule two to this Act are hereby Section 17. repealed to the extent in that schedule mentioned. Provided that such appeal shall not affect any order in council made, or any license granted, under any Act hereby repealed or any liability or penalty incurred in respect of any offence committed before the passing of this Act, or any remedy or proceeding for enforcing such liability or penalty, and every such order, so far as relates to the matters provided for by this Act, and every such license, shall have effect as if it had been made or granted under this Act. Repeal of 18. This Act shall continue in force until the first day of October Duration of one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and no longer. SCHEDULES. SCHEDULE ONE. Directions for testing petroleum to ascertain the temperature at which it gives off inflammable vapour. The vessel which is to hold the oil shall be of thin sheet iron; it shall be two inches deep and two inches wide at the opening, tapering slightly towards the bottom; it shall have a flat rim, with a raised edge one quarter of an inch high round the top; it shall be supported by this rim in a tin vessel four inches and a half deep and four and a half inches in diameter; it shall also have a thin wire stretched across the opening, which wire shall be so fixed to the edge of the vessel that it shall be a quarter of an inch above the surface of the flat rim. The thermometer to be used shall have a round bulb about half an inch in diameter, and is to be graduated upon the scale of Fahrenheit, every ten degrees occupying not less than half an inch upon the scale. The inner vessel shall be filled with the petroleum to be tested, but care must be taken that the liquid does not cover the flat rim. The outer vessel shall be filled with cold, or nearly cold, water; a small flame shall be applied to the bottom of the outer vessel, and the thermometer shall be inserted into the oil so that the bulb shall be immersed about one and a half inches beneath the surface. A screen of pasteboard or wood shall be placed round the apparatus, and shall be of such dimensions as to surround it about two-thirds, and to reach several inches above the level of the vessels. When heat has been applied to the water until the thermometer has risen to about ninety degrees Fahrenheit, a very small flame shall be quickly passed across the surface of the oil on a level with the wire. If no pale blue flicker or flash is produced, the application of the flame is to be repeated for every rise of two or three degrees in the thermometer. When the flashing point has been noted, the test shall be repeated with a fresh sample of the oil, using cold, or nearly cold, water as before, withdrawing the source of heat from the outer (a) This Act has been continued by annual statutes, the last of which was the 41 & 42 Vict. c. 70, Sched. I., extending the duration of the Act until the 31st December, 1879. Act (a). Sched. 1. vessel when the temperature approaches that noted in the first experi ment, and applying the flame test at every rise of two degrees in the thermometer. Year and Chapter. SCHEDULE TWO. Title. Extent of Repeal. 25 & 26 Vict. c. 66. An Act for the safe keeping The whole Act. AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW WITH RESPECT TO MANUFAC- 38 VICT. CHAP. 17. 14TH JUNE, 1875. 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 as the Explosives Act, 1875 (a). Short title. (a) This Act which amends the law respecting the manufacture, keeping, selling, conveying and importing gunpowder and other explosive substances, by section 122 repeals the Acts mentioned in Schedule 4, namely, 23 & 24 Vict. c. 139, 24 & 25 Vict. c. 130, 25 & 26 Vict. c. 98, 29 & 30 Vict. c. 69, 32 & 33 Vict. c. 113, and a portion of section 26 of the Volunteer Act, 1863, 26 & 27 Vict. c. 65. The first part of this Act embodies the law relating to the manufacture and keeping of gunpowder, the licensing and regulation of factories and magazines, the licensing and regulation of consumers' stores for gunpowder, the registration and regulation of premises for retail dealing, with certain subsidiary provisions, and the sale and conveyance of gunpowder. The 2nd part contains the law applicable to explosives other than gunpowder, and specially dangerous explosives, with provisions in favour of certain specified manufacturers and dealers. The 3rd part provides for the appointment of government inspectors and their powers and duties, and the powers and duties of local authorities, with a power of search by specified officers and proceedings thereon. The 4th part contains supplementary provisions with respect to legal proceedings, the power of arrest, &c., and as to exemptions and savings from the operation of the Act and other matters. The 54th section of the former Metropolitan Building Act, 7 & 8 Vict. c. 84, which is excepted from the provisions repealed by the present Building Act, 18 & 19 Vict. c. 122, prohibits the erection, &c., of buildings within a certain distance of buildings used for dangerous businesses, such as the manufacture of gunpowder and other substances liable Section 2. 2. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, in this Act referred to as the commencement of this Act; but any order in council, order, general rules, and bye-laws, and any appointment to an office, may be made under this Act at any time after the passing thereof, but shall not take effect until the commencement of this Act. to sudden explosion, and imposes penalties for any breach of its provisions. It is a nuisance at common law to erect gunpowder mills or keep gunpowder in a dangerous situation; Str. 1167; Holt's Ca. 499. And this Act by section 102, provides that the Act shall not, except as expressly provided, exempt any person from actions or suits for nuisances, tort, or otherwise, or from indictment or other proceedings for a nuisance, &c., so that no person be punished twice for the same offence. See 2 & 3 Vict. c. 47, empowering superintendents or inspectors belonging to the metropolitan police force to enter ships in the Thames to search for unlawful quantities of gunpowder; and section 37 of same Act, imposing penalties for heating or melting combustible matters on board any ship, &c., on the river Thames, between Westminster Bridge and Blackwall. The following orders in council and orders of the secretary of state made under this Act will be found in the appendix to the Guide Book to the Explosives Act, 1875, by Major Majendie, R.A., Her Majesty's Inspector of Explosives. Orders in Council. Order in Council No. 1, classifying explosives. No. 2, making general rules for factories for explosives other than gunpowder. No. 3, relating to magazines for explosives other than gunpowder, whether with or without gunpowder. No. 4, relating to small firework factories. No. 5, relating to stores for gunpowder exclusively. No. 8, relating to the keeping of explosive for private use No. 9, relating to the sale of explosive. No. 10, relating to importation of explosive. No. 11, respecting notice to be given of accidents connected with the conveyance of explosives other than gunpowder. Orders of Secretary of State. Order of Secretary of State No. 1, applying general rules to floating maga " د, zines for gunpowder. No. 2, applying general rules to floating magazines for explosives other than gunpowder, whether with or without gunpowder. No. 3, adapting general rules to the packing for conveyance of explosives other than gunpowder. No. 4, making bye-laws as to the conveyance of explosives upon roads and in certain special cases. (a) See definition of expression "this Act," section 108. 3. This Act shall apply to gunpowder and other explosives as defined by this section (c). Section 3. Substances to which The term "explosive" in this Act- to those above mentioned or not, used or manufactured (2.) Includes fog signals (d), fireworks, fuzes, rockets, percussion PART I. LAW RELATING to Gunpowder (e). General Law as to Manufacture and Keeping of Gunpowder. 4. The manufacture of gunpowder shall not, nor shall any pro- Gunpowder cess of such manufacture, be carried on except at a factory for gun- to be manupowder either lawfully existing (9) or licensed (h) for the same under this Act. Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to the making of a small quantity of gunpowder for the purpose of chemical experiment and not for practical use or for sale. (b) See note to section 106, infra, as to order of council made under that section defining the composition, quality, and character of explosives, and classifying explosives, and section 104 providing that any substance declared by order in council to be specially dangerous to life or property as liable to explosion, shall be deemed to be an explosive within the meaning of this Act. See special definitions in section 107, and general definitions in section 108 of the Act. (c) See exceptions from the Act and savings, section 97, et seq. (d) Fog signals were held to be fireworks under the 23 & 24 Vict. c. 139, s. 6, and a person who manufactured and kept them upon premises within the specified distance without a license incurred a penalty; Bliss v. Lilley, 32 L. J. M. C. 3. (e) See section 39 as to the application of this part of the Act to other explosives, subject to the modifications and additions in section 40. (f) By section 105, infra, persons carrying on the processes as therein described, shall be subject to the provisions of the Act, as if they manufactured an explosive, and the expression "manufacture" shall be construed accordingly. (g) "Existing" means at the passing of the Act, section 108. See provisions in section 14 with reference to existing factories and magazines for gunpowder, and section 20 as to continuing certificates from local authority, and see application of Part I. of the Act to existing factories and magazines. (h) See section 8 as to grant and confirmation of license, and section 15, et seq, as to licenses for gunpowder stores, and section 49 as to licensing small firework factories. factured or licensed |