PROVISIONAL ORDERS OF THE BOARD

OF TRADE, RULES, ETC.

PROVISIONAL ORDERS UNDER THE GAS AND WATER WORKS FACILITIES ACT, 1870.

INTRODUCTORY NOTES.

COMPANIES are now frequently formed to supply gas or water under the authority of a provisional order, made and confirmed pursuant to the above Act. For copy of Act see infra, p. 324, et seq.

A gas, or water, or tramway company, which, without the authority of parliament, interferes with the public streets or roads for the purpose of laying its pipes or rails, &c., is liable to be indicted for a nuisance. Ellis v. Sheffield Gas Consumers' Co., 2 B. & E. 767; Reg. v. Longton Gas Co., 29 L. J. M. C. 118; Reg. v. Train, 2 B. & S. 640; Reg. v. United Kingdom Telegraph Co., 2 B. & S. 647. And its operations may in a proper case be restrained by injunction. See All.-Gen. v. Cambridge Gas Consumers' Co., 4 Ch. Ap. 71; Att.-Gen. v. Sheffield Gas Consumers' Co., 17 Jur. 677; 22 L. J. Ch. 811; 3 De G. M. & G. 309.

When the only mode of obtaining parliamentary powers was to procure a special Act, companies for gas and water purposes, and especially small ones, were often prevented by the expense, from obtaining such powers, and used in many cases to do the best they could without them. But now, companies rarely commence operations without due power, either by special Act,

Short title.

Interpretation of terms.

Act to apply to certain cases.

or by provisional order, under the following Act, duly confirmed by Parliament.

The expense of obtaining such a provisional order is very small, and the result is, that even a company with a capital of one or two thousand pounds or so, for supplying a village with gas or water, can afford to procure one. It will however be observed, that an order cannot be obtained where there is an existing company or other body supplying under an Act gas or water in the district. Sec. 3.

By the Gas and Water Works Facilities Act, 1870, 33 & 34 Vict. c. 70, it was provided as follows:

Preliminary.

:

1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Gas and Water Works Facilities Act, 1870."

2. For the purposes of this Act the terms hereinafter mentioned shall have the meanings hereinafter assigned to them; that is to say, The term "local authority" shall mean the bodies of persons named in the table in the Schedule (A.) to this Act annexed:

The term "road" shall mean any carriageway being a public highway, and any bridge forming part of the same:

The term "road authority "shall mean any local authority, board, town council, body corporate, commissioners, trustees, vestry, or other body or persons in whom a road as defined by this Act is vested, or who have the power to maintain or repair such road:

The term "district," in relation to a local authority, shall mean the area within the jurisdiction of such local authority:

The term "The Lands Clauses Acts" means, so far as the provisional order in which that term is used relates to England or Ireland, the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845; and, so far as the same relates to Scotland, the Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1845; together with, in each case, the Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts Amendment Act, 1860.

Description of Cases within this Act.

3. This Act shall apply where powers are required for all or any of the purposes following :

(1.) To construct or to maintain and continue gasworks and works connected therewith, or to manufacture and supply gas in any district within which there is not an existing company, corporation, body of commissioners, or person empowered by Act of Parliament to construct such works or to manufacture and supply gas:

(2.) To construct or to maintain and continue waterworks and works connected therewith, or to supply water in any district within which there is not an existing company, corporation, body of commissioners, or person empowered by Act of Parliament to construct such works and to supply water:

(3.) To raise additional capital necessary for any of the purposes aforesaid:

(4.) To enable two or more companies or persons duly authorised to supply gas or water in any district or in adjoining districts to enter into agreements jointly to furnish such supply or to amalgamate their undertakings:

(5.) To authorise two or more companies or persons supplying gas or
water in any district or in adjoining districts to manufacture

and supply gas or to supply water, and to enter into agree-
ments jointly to furnish such supply, and to amalgamate their
undertakings:

and such purposes, or any one or more of them, as the case may be, shall,
for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be included in the term
"gas undertaking" or "water undertaking," according as the same re-
late to the supply of gas or water; provided that any gas or water com-
pany empowered as aforesaid may apply for and avail themselves of the
facilities of this Act within their own districts respectively.

Provisional Orders authorising Gas and Water Undertakings.

4. Provisional orders authorising any gas undertaking or water undertaking under the authority of this Act may be obtained in any district by any company, companies, or person; and in the construction of this Act the term "the undertakers" shall be deemed to include any such company, companies, or person.

Where the undertakers require powers for the purpose of constructing gasworks or waterworks, or works connected therewith within any district, the consent of the local authority of such district shall be necessary before any provisional order can be obtained; and where in such district there is a road authority distinct from the local authority, the consent of such road authority shall also be necessary in any case where power is sought to break up any road of such road authority, before any provisional order can be obtained, unless the Board of Trade in any case in which the consent of the local authority or road authority is refused are of opinion, after inquiry, that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, such consent ought to be dispensed with, and in such case they shall make a special report, stating the grounds upon which they have dispensed with such consent.

5. The undertakers intending to make an application for a provisional order in pursuance of this Act shall proceed as follows:(1.) On or before the 1st of November next before their application they shall give notice in writing of their intention to make the same to every company, corporation, or person (if any) supplying gas (if the proposed application relates to gasworks) or water (if the proposed application relates to waterworks) within the district to which the proposed application refers: (2.) In the months of October and November next before their application, or in one of those months, they shall publish notice of their intention to make such application by advertisement, according to the regulations contained in Part I. of the Schedule (B.) to this Act; and where it is proposed to abstract water from any stream for any waterwork, they shall give notice in writing of their intention to make such application to the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees, and

By whom provisional orders authorising undertakings may be obtained.

Notices and deposit of documents by promoters as in Schedule.

Power for

Board of Trade to determine

on application and on objection.

Power for

Board of Trade

to make provisional order.

Form and contents of provisional order.

occupiers of all mills and manufactories or other works using the waters of such stream for a distance of twenty miles below the point at which such water is intended to be abstracted, such distance to be measured along the course of such stream, unless such waters shall within a less distance than twenty miles fall into or unite with any navigable stream, and then only to the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees, and occupiers of such mills and manufactories as aforesaid which shall be situate between the point at which such water is proposed to be abstracted and the point at which such water shall fall into or unite with such navigable stream; and such notice shall state the name (if any) by which the stream is known at the point at which such water shall be immediately abstracted, and also the parish in which such point is situate, and the time and place of deposit of the plans and sections required by this Act to be deposited:

(3.) On or before the 30th day of the same month of November, they shall deposit the documents described in Part II. of the same Schedule, according to the regulations therein contained: (4.) On or before the 23rd day of December in the same year, they shall deposit the documents described in Part III. of the same Schedule, according to the regulations therein contained. All maps, plans, and documents required by this Act, to be deposited for the purposes of any provisional order, may be deposited with the persons and in the manner directed by the Act of the Session of Parliament held in the seventh year of the reign of His late Majesty, King William the Fourth and the first year of Her present Majesty, intituled "An Act to compel clerks of the peace for counties, and other persons, to take the custody of such documents as shall be directed to be deposited with them under the standing orders of either House of Parliament; " and all the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

6. The Board of Trade shall consider the application, and also any objection thereto that may be lodged with them on or before such day as they from time to time appoint, and shall determine whether or not the undertakers may proceed with the application.

7. Where it appears to the Board of Trade expedient and proper that the application should be granted, with or without addition or modification, or subject or not to any restriction or condition, and it has been proved to their satisfaction that all the requisitions of Section 5 of this Act have been in all respects complied with, the Board of Trade may settle and make a provisional order accordingly.

Every such provisional order, if it relates to gasworks, shall expressly restrict the undertakers from manufacturing gas or any residual products arising in the manufacture of gas on any land except such as is specified in that behalf in the order; and shall also expressly restrict them from storing gas on any land except such as is specified in that behalf in the order, within 300 yards from any dwelling-house, existing at the time when the undertakers propose to store gas on such land, without the consent in writing of the owner, lessee, and occupier of such dwelling-house. Every such provisional order shall contain such other provisions as, according to the nature of the application and the facts and circumstances of each case, the Board of Trade thinks fit to submit to Parliament for confirmation in manner provided by this Act; but so that any such provisional order shall not contain any provision for empowering

the undertakers or any other person to acquire lands otherwise than by agreement, or to acquire any lands even by agreement, except to an extent therein limited.

The costs of, and connected with the preparation and making of each Costs of order. provisional order, shall be paid by the undertakers, and the Board of Trade may require the undertakers to give security for such costs before they proceed with the provisional order.

8. When a provisional order has been made as aforesaid, and delivered to the undertakers, the undertakers shall forthwith deposit and publish the same by advertisement according to the regulations contained in Part IV. of the Schedule (B.) to this Act.

9. On proof to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade of the completion of such publication as aforesaid, the Board of Trade shall, as soon as they conveniently can, after the expiration of seven days from the completion of such publication, in relation to any provisional order which shall have been published as aforesaid, not later than the 25th of April in any year, procure a bill to be introduced into either House of Parliament, for an Act to confirm the provisional order, which shall be set out at length in the Schedule to the bill; but until confirmation by Act of Parliament, a provisional order under this Act shall not have any operation.

If, while any such bill is pending in either House of Parliament, a petition is presented against any provisional order comprised therein, the bill, so far as it relates to the order petitioned against, may be referred to a select committee, and the petitioner shall be allowed to appear and oppose, as in the case of a bill for a special Act.

The Act of Parliament confirming any provisional order under this Act shall be deemed a Public General Act.

10. The provisions of The Lands Clauses Acts shall be incorporated with every provisional order under this Act, save where the same are expressly varied or excepted by any such provisional order, and except as to the following provisions, namely,

(1.) With respect to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement :

(2.) With respect to the entry upon lands by the promoters of the undertaking.

Where a provisional order authorises a gas undertaking, the provisions of "The Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847," shall be incorporated with such provisional order, save where the same are thereby expressly varied or excepted.

Where a provisional order authorises a water undertaking, the provisions of "The Waterworks Clauses Act, 1847," and of "The Waterworks Clauses Act, 1863," shall be incorporated with such provisional order, save where the same are thereby expressly varied or excepted.

For the purposes of such incorporation, a provisional order under this Act shall be deemed the special Act.

11. If any undertakers, empowered by any provisional order under this Act to make works, do not, within three years from the date of such provisional order, or within any shorter period prescribed therein, complete the works; or,

If within one year from the date of the provisional order, or within such shorter time as is prescribed in the provisional order, the works are not substantially commenced; or,

If the works are commenced, but whilst the powers to carry them on

Publication of provisional order as in Schedule. Confirmation

of provisional order by Act of Parliament.

Incorporation of general Acts in provisional order.

Cesser of powers at expiration of prescribed time.