who are entitled to appear against the preamble of a railway bill will be heard, upon the presentation of a petition to that effect, in support of the insertion or alteration of a clause or clauses, so that their rights and property may be protected, or adequate compensation granted. Compensation, however, will not be granted for any probable injury to, or depreciation in the value of, any property, consequent upon the construction of any railway. If a contrary principle were recognised, endless sources of opposition would be admitted; and such costly obstacles would be thrown in the way of any new undertaking, that few or none could withstand and overcome them.

Before concluding this part of the subject, it will be well to introduce here some valuable sugtions (just issued by the House of Commons, March, 1846) with regard to the course of proceeding of select committees on railway groups. The suggestions were drawn up by the chairman for the consideration of the said select committee, and form an amended version of those already given at pp. 111, 112 and 113.

Proceedings of Committees on Railway Groups.

1. The attention of every committee should be directed to the following resolutions of the House: "That all select committees on railway groups or bills be empowered to refer (if they shall so think fit) to the chairman of ways and means, together with the members ordered to prepare and

bring in each such bill, any unopposed railway bill submitted for their consideration, and that such bills be severally dealt with by the said chairman and those members respectively acting with him, as other unopposed bills are to be dealt with."

2. If parties agree as to the order of precedence in which other bills included in the group shall be taken, the committee will adopt their agreement.

3. If parties do not agree, the committee will decide the order of precedence, without hearing counsel.

4. In this case such bills in each group as are not opposed by competing lines will be first taken into consideration, in the order in which they have been read a second time.

5. With respect to competing lines, the committee will subdivide if necessary the bills in each group, so as to distribute into separate classes the bills for such lines as compete

inter se.

6. With regard to such separate classes and the bills in such classes, the committee must exercise its discretion, according to the circumstances of the case, in determining the order of precedence.

7. In the cases of bills for lines of railway competing inter se, the following course adopted last session is proposed to be continued:

Suppose a case of four competing bills:

No. 1. Counsel opens the case, and then produces evidence. Landowners and other opponents, and Nos. 2, 3, and 4 then cross-examine.

No. 1. Re-examines.

Landowners and other opponents, and then Nos. 2, 3, and 4 offer consecutively positive evidence in opposition to No. 1, on the merits of his case.

No. 1. Cross-examines.

Landowners and other opponents, and then Nos. 2, 3, and 4, re-examine.

Same process with 2, 3, and 4, in rotation, and 4, 3, 2, and 1 reply.

Where the opposition of several distinct opposing parties turns on the same point, it will be desirable to restrict, as far as possible, the limits within which the right of successive examinations and cross-examinations shall be exercised.

8. In all cases the counsel in opening the case is to be restricted to a statement of facts. The counsel for opponents may either address the committee previously to offering evidence, or afterwards, but not both.

9. The promoters of each bill shall be required, two clear days before the day appointed for the first sitting of the committee, to furnish to the clerk of the committee, for the use of each member thereof, a particular printed statement of the chief points, succinctly stated, on which they rest their case.

10. The opponents of a bill shall be required to furnish at the same time a like statement of the chief points on which they rest their opposition.

11. The Standing Orders as to traffic having been rescinded, no detailed evidence as to traffic shall in ordinary cases be received either in support of or in opposition to a bill, but the promoters of a bill shall be required to append to the foregoing statement a printed list of the chief cities or towns intended to be accommodated, with their respective distances from the proposed line, together with the amount of the population of such cities or towns, taken from the returns of the last general census. It will, of course, be competent to the committee, if they shall see sufficient cause, to require further evidence as to traffic.

12. With a view to place some reasonable limit on the amount of engineering evidence, parties shall be required to furnish the committee with the names of the engineering witnesses whom they propose to call; and it is recommended that committees should place some limit on the number of en

gineering witnesses to be examined with reference to the same portion of any proposed line.

13. In the case of amalgamation bills, the promoters of any such bill shall be required to furnish the committee with a printed statement of all the pecuniary claims and liabilities to which any company included in the proposed amalgamation is subject by any previous Act of Parliament.

The committee on any railway bill having agreed to the preamble, and gone through the various clauses, new clauses may be offered, either by members of the committee or by the parties. The committee, however, cannot insert clauses as amendments that are not within the order of leave, as in respect of which there has not been a due compliance with the Standing Orders of the House.

When the report has been drawn up the committee clerk delivers into the Private Bill Office a printed copy of the bill, with the written amendments made by the committee; and every new clause added thereby is marked at the place for its insertion. (H. C. 140.) In conformity with the authenticated copy the bill is to be printed at the expense of the parties, unless the committee report the amendments to be merely verbal or literal.

Report.

One clear day's notice in writing of the day on which the bill is to be reported must be given by

the agent for the bill to the clerks in the Private Bill Office. (H. C. 139.)

The chairman of the committee has to report to the House that the allegations of the bill have been examined, and whether the parties concerned have given their consent, where such consent is required by the Standing Orders to the satisfaction of the committee. (H. C. 81.)

The minutes of the committee on the bill have to be brought up and laid on the table of the House wth the report. (H. C. 83.)

The report upon every bill directed to be printed, as amended in committee, is ordered to lie on the table. (H. C. 118.)

When it is intended to bring up any clause, or to propose any amendment on the report, notice must be given thereof in the Private Bill Office, on the day previous thereto. (H. C. 141.) The suddenness and shortness of this notice require constant attention on the part of opponents.

Any clause or amendment offered upon the report, has to be referred by the House to the Standing Orders Committee, and to be printed. (H. C. 121.)

When any such clause or amendment shall have been referred to the select committee on Standing Orders, they have to report to the House whether such clause or amendment be of such a nature as not to be adopted without the re-commitment of the bill, or of such a nature as