APPENDIX. liberty to, and the said clerks of the peace, sheriff clerks, parish clerks, schoolmasters, town clerks, and postmasters, and every of them, are and is hereby required, at all reasonable hours of the day, to permit permit such docu- all persons interested to inspect during a reasonable time, and make STATUTES. peace, &c., to ments to be in spected or copied by persons interested. Clerks of the peace, &c., for every omission to comply with the provisions of this act, liable to the penalty of 5., to be recovered in a summary way. extracts from or copies of the said maps, plans, sections, books, writings, extracts, and copies of or from the same, so deposited with them respectively, on payment by each person to the clerk of the peace, sheriff clerk, clerk of the parish, schoolmaster, town clerk, or postmaster, having the custody of any such map, plan, section, book, writing, extract, or copy, one shilling for every such inspection, and the further sum of one shilling for every hour during which such inspection shall continue after the first hour, and after the rate of sixpence for every one hundred words copied therefrom. III. And be it further enacted, That in case any clerk of the peace, sheriff clerk, parish clerk, schoolmaster, town clerk, postmaster, or other person, shall in any matter or thing refuse or neglect to comply with any of the provisions hereinbefore contained, every clerk of the peace, sheriff clerk, parish clerk, schoolmaster, town clerk, postmaster, or other person, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding the sum of five pounds; and every such penalty shall, upon proof of the offence before any justice of the peace for the county within which such offence shall be committed, or by the confession of the party offending, or by the oath of any credible witness, be levied and recovered, together with the costs of the proceedings for the recovery thereof, by distress and sale of the goods and effects of the party offending, by warrant under the hand of such justice, which warrant such justice is hereby empowered to grant, and shall be paid to the person or persons making such complaint; and it shall be lawful for any such justice of the peace to whom any complaint shall be made of any offence committed against this act, to summon the party complained of before him, and on such summons to hear and determine the matter of such complaint in a summary way, and on proof of the offence to convict the offender, and to adjudge him to pay the penalty or forfeiture incurred, and to proceed to recover the same, although no information in writing or in print shall have been exhibited or taken by or before such justice; and all such proceedings by summons without information shall be as good, valid, and effectual to all intents and purposes as if an information in writing had been exhibited. 1 & 2 VICT. CAP. 98. An Act to provide for the Conveyance of the Mails by Railways (a). [14th August, 1838. Whereas it is expedient that provision should be made by law for the conveyance of the mails by railways at a reasonable rate of charge to the public (b); be it enacted by the Queen's most excelcellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament Postmaster-Gene- assembled, and by the authority of the same, That in all cases of railways already made or in progress or to be hereafter made within the ral may require (a) This statute was founded on a report made by a select committee of the House of Commons in 1837. References are hereafter made to other Reports of Committees of the same (b) See also 7 & 8 Vict. c. 85, sect. 11, post. what United Kingdom, by which passengers or goods shall be conveyed in II. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General (if he shall see fit) to require that the whole of the inside of any carriage used on any railway for the conveyance of mails or post letter-bags shall be exclusively appropriated for the purpose of carrying the mails. III. And be it enacted, That the company of proprietors of any such railway shall, on being required so to do by the PostmasterGeneral, provide and furnish (in addition to the carriages aforesaid) a separate carriage or separate carriages, fitted up as the Postmaster. General, or such person as he shall nominate in that behalf, shall direct, for the purpose of sorting letters therein, and shall forward the same carriage or carriages by their railway, at such hours or times, and subject to all such reasonable regulations as aforesaid, as the Postmaster-General shall in that behalf order or direct; and such company of proprietors shall receive, take up, carry, and convey in any such last-mentioned carriage or carriages, all such post letterbags and officers of the Post Office as the Postmaster-General shall reasonably require, and shall deliver and leave any post letter-bags and officers of the Post Office at such places on the line of the rail APPENDIX. STATUTES. Postmaster-General may direct mails to be carried on railway in mail coaches in lieu of company's carriages. Railway compa to directions of Post Office re specting convey ance of mails. way as the Postmaster-General shall in that behalf from time to time reasonably order and direct. IV. And be it enacted, That, in case the Postmaster-General shall at any time be desirous of sending by any such railway any of her Majesty's mail coaches or mail carts, with the mails or post letterbags and guards thereof, and carriages for sorting letters, with any officers of the Post Office therein, instead of sending the said mails or post letter-bags, guards, and officers of the Post Office by carriages to be provided by such railway company as aforesaid, then and in any such case such railway company shall, at the request of the Postmaster-General, signified by such notice as aforesaid, cause such mail coaches or mail carts, with the mails or post letter-bags and guards thereof, and carriages for sorting letters, with any officers of the Post Office therein, to be conveyed by the usual or proper trucks or frames on their said railway, subject to such regulations and restrictions of the Postmaster-General as hereinbefore mentioned. V. And be it enacted, That, for the greater security of the mails or nies to be subject post letter-bags so to be carried or conveyed by railways, the company of proprietors of such respective railways along which such mails or post letter-bags, mail coaches or carts and carriages for sorting letters shall be so required by the Postmaster-General to be conveyed, and their respective officers, servants, and agents, shall obey, observe, and perform all such reasonable regulations respecting the conveyance, delivering, and leaving of such mails and post letterbags, guards, and officers of the Post Office, mail coaches, or carts and carriages, on any such railways, or on the line thereof, as the Postmaster-General, or such officer of the Post Office as he shall nominate in that behalf, shall in his discretion from time to time give or make: provided always, that it shall not be lawful for any officer or servant of the Post Office to interfere with or give orders to the engineer or other person having the charge of any engine upon any railway along which mails or post letter-bags shall be conveyed; but if any cause of complaint shall arise, the same shall be stated to the conductor or other officer of the railway company having the charge of the train, or to the chief officer at any station upon the railway; and, in case of any default or neglect on the part of any officers or servants of the railway company to comply with any of the regulations of the Postmaster-General or other officer of the Post Office so to be nominated as aforesaid, the railway company shall be wholly responsible for the same. Remuneration to for conveyance of mails. VI. And be it enacted, That every company of proprietors of any railway companies railway along which such mails or post letter-bags, mail coaches, carts, or carriages shall be so required by the Postmaster-General to be conveyed, shall be entitled to such reasonable remuneration to be paid by the Postmaster-General to any such company of proprietors for the conveyance of such mails, post letter-bags, mail guards, and other officers of the Post Office, mail coaches, carts, and carriages in manner required by such Postmaster-General, or by such officer of the Post Office as he shall in that behalf nominate as aforesaid, as shall (either prior to or after the commencement of such service) be fixed and agreed on between the Postmaster-General and such company of proprietors, or in case of difference of opinion between them, then as shall be determined by arbitration as hereinafter provided, but so that the services which may be required by the PostmasterGeneral, or by such officer of the Post Office as he in that behalf shall nominate as aforesaid, to be performed by any such company of proprietors, be not suspended, postponed, or deferred by reason of such remuneration not having been then fixed or agreed on between the said Postmaster-General and such company of proprietors, or by reason of the award on any reference to arbitration to determine the remuneration not having been then made. VII. And be it enacted, That, notwithstanding any agreement entered into between the Postmaster-General and any such company, or any award to be made on any such reference as aforesaid, fixing the amount of remuneration to be paid to such company for any services to be rendered by them as aforesaid, it shall be lawful and competent to and for the Postmaster-General, by notice in writing, to require, from and after the day to be named in any such notice, not being less than twenty-eight days from the delivery thereof, any addition to be made to the services in respect of which such agreement shall be entered into or award made; and in any such case, and also in case of a discontinuance of any part of such services as hereinafter provided, a fresh agreement shall be entered into between the Postmaster-General and such company, regulating the future amount of remuneration to be paid by the Postmaster-General to such company for such increased or diminished services, as the case may be; or, if the parties cannot agree on such amount, the same shall be referred to arbitration in like manner as hereinbefore is mentioned and hereinafter provided as to any original agreement; and such arbitrators shall have power to award any compensation they may consider reasonable to be paid to any railway company for any loss that may have been occasioned to them by the discontinuance or alteration of the services previously agreed to be performed by them by any train or carriage specially required by the Postmaster-General to be forwarded for the conveyance of the mails, but so that nevertheless such increased or diminished services shall not be suspended, postponed, or deferred by reason of the amount of such increased or diminished remuneration not having been then fixed or agreed on between the Postmaster-General and such company of proprietors, or by reason of the award on any reference to arbitration to determine the amount of such increased or diminished remuneration not having been then made. VIII. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the PostmasterGeneral, and he is hereby authorized, at any time during the continuance of the services of any company of proprietors as aforesaid, to give to such company, by writing under his hand, six calendar months' previous notice that such services, or any part thereof, shall cease and determine; and thereupon, at the expiration of such six calendar months' notice, the said services, or such part thereof as aforesaid, and the remuneration for the same, shall cease and determine. IX. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General at any time during the continuance of the services of any company of proprietors as aforesaid, by notice in writing under his hand, absolutely to determine and put an end to the same or any part thereof, without giving any previous notice, or on giving any notice less than six calendar months in respect thereof, and thereupon the said services shall cease and determine accordingly: provided, nevertheless, that in case the Postmaster-General shall, without giving six calendar months' notice as aforesaid, at any time determine the services to be required by the Postmaster-General of any company of proprietors, or any part of such services, without any cause whatever, APPENDIX. STATUTES. Agreements be General and railway companies as tween Postmaster to amount of remuneration, &c., may be altered. Postmaster-General may terminate services of railway companies on notice; or may terminate companies without services of railway notice, subject to certain conditions APPENDIX. STATUTES. Royal arms to be painted on engines or carriages provided for the service of the Post-Office. Bye-laws of railway companies not to be repug of act. or for any cause other than the default by such company of proprietors in the performance of any of the services to be required of them by the Postmaster-General, or the breach by such company of proprietors of any of their engagements with the Postmaster-General, then and in any such case the Postmaster-General shall make to such company a full and fair compensation for all loss thereby occasioned, the amount whereof, in case the parties differ about the same, shall be ascertained by arbitration as hereinafter mentioned. X. And be it enacted, That on all carriages to be provided for the service of the Post Office on any such railway there shall on the outside be painted the royal arms, in lieu of the name of the owner and of the number of the carriage, and of all other requisites, if any, prescribed by law in respect of carriages passing on any such railway; but the want of such royal arms on any carriage belonging to or used by the Post Office shall not form an objection to such carriage running on any railway, anything to the contrary notwithstanding. XI. And be it enacted, That it shall not be competent or lawful to or for the company of proprietors of any railway to make any byenant to provisions laws, orders, rules, or regulations which shall militate against or be contrary or repugnant to any of the enactments herein contained; and that if any company of proprietors shall make or shall have made any such bye-laws, orders, rules, or regulations, either prior or subsequently to the Postmaster-General signifying to the said company his intention that the mails or post letter-bags, mail coaches, carts, or carriages shall be conveyed by such railway, all such byelaws, orders, rules and regulations, so far as they shall militate against or be contrary or repugnant to any of the enactments herein contained, shall be and be deemed absolutely void and of no effect, in like manner as if such bye-laws, orders, rules, or regulations had never been made or passed, anything to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. Penalty for re ing to convey mails. XII. And be it enacted, That if the company of proprietors of any fusing or neglect railway, or any of their respective officers, servants, or agents, shall refuse or neglect to carry or convey any mails or post letter-bags, when tendered to them for such purpose by the Postmaster-General or any officer of the Post Office, or shall refuse to carry on their railway any mail coaches, carts, or carriages as herein before provided, when so required by the Postmaster-General, or shall refuse or neglect to receive, take up, deliver, and leave any such mails or post letter-bags, mail guards or other officers of the Post Office, mail coaches, carts, or carriages, at such places, at such times, on such days, and subject to such regulations and restrictions as to speed of travelling, places, times, and durations of stoppages, as the Postmaster-General shall from time to time reasonably direct or appoint, as hereinbefore provided, or shall not obey, observe, and perform all such regulations respecting the conveyance of the mails and post letter-bags, mail coaches, carts, and carriages, on any such railways as the Postmaster-General, or such officer of the Post Office as he shall nominate in that behalf, shall make for the purposes aforesaid, then and in any such case the company of proprietors who, or whose officer, servant, or agent, shall so offend in the premises, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding twenty pounds; provided nevertheless, that the payment of or liability to such penalty shall not in any manner lessen or affect the liability of any such company under any bond which may have been given by them under the provisions hereinafter contained. |