2 & 3 Vict. c. 45, s. 1. c. 50. GATES AT LEVEL CROSSINGS. 2 & 3 VICT. c. 45. An Act to amend an Act of the fifth and sixth years of the WHEREAS by an Act passed in the session of parliament holden in the fifth and sixth years of the reign of his late majesty king 5 & 6 Wm. 4, William the Fourth, intituled "An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to highways in that part of Great Britain called England," it is amongst other things by the said Act enacted, that whenever a railroad shall cross any highway for carts or carriages, the proprietors of the said railroad shall make and maintain good and sufficient gates at each of the said crossings, and shall employ good and proper persons to attend to the opening and shutting of such gates, so that the persons, carts, or carriages passing along such road shall not be exposed to any danger or damage by the passing of any carriages or engines along the said railroad, and any complaint for any neglect in respect of the said gates shall be made within one month after the said neglect to one justice, who may summon the party so complained against to appear before the justices at their next special sessions for the highways, who shall hear and decide upon the said complaint, and the proprietor so offending shall forfeit any sum not exceeding five pounds: And whereas it is also by the said Act further enacted, that nothing in this Act contained shall apply to any turnpike roads, except where expressly mentioned, or to any roads, bridges, carriageways, cartways, horseways, bridleways, footways, causeways, churchyards, or pavements which now are or may hereafter be paved, repaired, or cleansed, broken up, or diverted, under or by virtue of the provisions of any local or personal Act or Acts of parliament: And whereas it is deemed expedient to amend the said provisions Proprietors of in the said Act, and to extend the same to turnpike roads in England Be it therefore 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, that wherever a railroad crosses [This obliga- or shall hereafter cross any turnpike road or any highway or statute labour road for carts or carriages in Great Britain, the proprietors or directors of the company of proprietors of the said railroad shall make and maintain good and sufficient gates across each end of such turnpike or other road as aforesaid at each of the said crossings, and railroad to maintain gates where any railroad crosses the highway, &c. tion is en- c. 55, s. 9, and 8 Vict. c. 20, s. 47. 2 & 3 Vict. c. 45, s. 2. of Trade my shall employ good and proper persons to open and shut such gates, so that the persons, carts, or carriages passing along such turnpike or highway shall not be exposed to any danger or damage by the By 26 & 27 passing of any carriages or engines along the said railroad; and Vict c. 92, s. any complaint for any neglect in respect of the said gates shall be 7, Board of made within one calendar month after the said neglect to any require a justice of the peace, or if in Scotland to the sheriff of the county, bridge.] who may summon the party so complained against to appear before them or him at the next petty session or court to be holden for the district or division within which such gates are situate, who shall hear and decide upon the said complaint; and the proprietor or director so offending shall for each and every day Penalty 51. for of such neglect forfeit any sum not exceeding five pounds, to- each day's gether with such costs as to the justices or sheriff depute aforesaid before whom the conviction shall take place shall seem fit. See the notes to 5 & 6 Vict. c. 55, s. 9, and to the Railways Clauses Act, 1845, 8. 47, post. neglect. How penalties shall be recovered and 2. And be it further enacted, that the penalties by this Act imposed, and the costs to be allowed and ordered by the authority of this Act, shall in England be recovered and applied in the same applied. manner as any penalties and costs under the said Act, and in Scotland shall be recovered and applied to the maintenance of the statute labour roads within the district where the offence is committed. [3 is repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1874 (No. 2), 37 & 38 Vict. c. 96.] 3 & 4 Vict. c. 97, ss. 1-7. [The provi sions of this Act, and of 5 & 6 Vict. c. ACT, 1840. THE RAILWAY REGULATION ACT, 3 & 4 VICT. c. 97. An Act for Regulating Railways. [10th August, 1840.] WHEREAS it is expedient for the safety of the public to provide for the due supervision of railways: [1 and 2 are recited in and repealed by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 55, s. 3, 55, are by s. 2 post, and are also repealed by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17.] of the latter Act to be construed as one Act.] Returns to be made by rail way companies. of Trade. [Sections 3 3. And be it enacted, that the lords of the said * committee may order and direct every railway company to make up and deliver to them returns, according to a form to be provided by the lords of the said committee, of the aggregate traffic in passengers, accordthe Board ing to the several classes, and of the aggregate traffic in cattle and goods respectively, on the said railway, as well as of all accidents which shall have occurred thereon attended with personal injury, and also a table of all tolls, rates, and charges from time to time levied on each class passengers, and on cattle and goods, conveyed on the said railway; and if the returns herein specified shall not be delivered within thirty days after the same shall have been required, every such shall forfeit to her majesty the sum company of tolls, rates, of twenty pounds for every day during which the said company and charges.] shall wilfully neglect to deliver the same; and every such penalty may be recovered in any of her majesty's courts of record: Provided always, that such returns shall be required, in like manner and at the same time, from all the said companies, unless the lords of the said committee shall specially exempt any of the said companies, and shall enter the grounds of such exemption in the minutes of their proceedings. Penalty for making false returns. Copies of existing bye laws to be laid Board of 4. And be it enacted, that every officer of any company who shall wilfully make any false return to the lords of the said committee shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. [5 and 6 are repealed by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17.] 7. And whereas many railway companies are or may hereafter be empowered by Act of parliament to make bye-laws, orders, rules, or regulations, and to impose penalties for the enforcement thereof, upon persons other than the servants of the said companies, and it is expedient that such powers should be under proper 3 & 4 Vict. c. 97, ss. 8-13. control; be it enacted, that true copies of all such bye-laws, orders, rules, and regulations made under any such powers by every such company before the passing of this Act, certified in such manner as the lords of the said committee shall from time to time direct, shall, within two calendar months after the passing of this Act, be laid before the lords of the said committee; and that every such otherwise to bye-law, order, rule, or regulation, not so laid before the lords of the said committee within the aforesaid period, shall, from and after that period, cease to have any force or effect, saving in so far as any penalty may have been then already incurred under the same. be void. be valid till been laid 8. And be it enacted, that no such bye-law, order, rule, or No future regulation made under any such power, and which shall not be in bye-laws to force at the time of the passing of this Act, and no order, rule, or two calendar regulation annulling any such existing bye-law, rule, order, or months after regulation which shall be made after the passing of this Act, shall they have have any force or effect until two calendar months after a true before the copy of such bye-law, order, rule, or regulation, certified as afore- Board of said, shall have been laid before the lords of the said committee, Trade. unless the lords of the said committee shall, before such period, in 8 Vict. c. signify their approbation thereof. [Referred to 20, s. 109.] Trade may 9. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for the lords of Board of the said committee, at any time either before or after any bye-law, disallow byeorder, rule, or regulation shall have been laid before them as laws. aforesaid shall have come into operation, to notify to the company who shall have made the same their disallowance thereof, and, in case the same shall be in force at the time of such disallowance, the time at which the same shall cease to be in force; and no byelaw, order, rule, or regulation which shall be so disallowed shall have any force or effect whatsoever, or, if it shall be in force at the time of such disallowance, it shall cease to have any force or effect at the time limited in the notice of such disallowance, saving in so far as any penalty may have been then already incurred under the same. [10 is repealed by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17; 11 is repealed by 7 & 8 Vict. c. 85, s. 16, and by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17; 12 is repealed by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17.] railway com 13. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for any officer Punishment. or agent of any railway company, or for any special constable duly of servants of appointed, and all such persons as they may call to their assistance, panies guilty to seize and detain any engine driver, guard, porter, or other of misconduct. servant in the employ of such company who shall be found drunk [See 5 & 6 while employed upon the railway, or commit any offence against Vict. c. 55, s. 17, post.] any of the bye-laws, rules, or regulations of such company, or shall wilfully, maliciously, or negligently do or omit to do any act whereby the life or limb of any person passing along or being upon the railway belonging to such company, or the works thereof Justice of the peace empowered to send any case the quarter sessions. respectively, shall be or might be injured or endangered, or whereby the passage of any of the engines, carriages, or trains shall be or might be obstructed or impeded, and to convey such engine driver, guard, porter, or other servant so offending, or any person counselling, aiding, or assisting in such offence, with all convenient despatch, before some justice of the peace for the place within which such offence shall be committed, without any other warrant or authority than this Act; and every such person so offending, and every person counselling, aiding, or assisting therein as aforesaid, shall, when convicted before such justice as aforesaid (who is hereby authorized and required, upon complaint to him made, upon oath, without information in writing, to take cognizance thereof, and to act summarily in the premises), in the discretion of such justice, be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two calendar months, or, in the like discretion of such justice, shall for every such offence forfeit to her majesty any sum not exceeding ten pounds, and in default of payment thereof shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labour as aforesaid. Some words at the end of the section, which are repealed by the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1884, have been omitted. A person placing a truck across the line in such manner, that a carriage or engine, if it came along the line, would be obstructed and the safety of the passengers endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanour under this section, though the line is not open for passenger traffic, and no carriage or engine has been obstructed (Reg. v. Bradford, 29 L. J. M. C. 171; Bell's C. C. 268). 14. Provided always, and be it enacted, that (if upon the hearing of any such complaint he shall think fit) it shall be lawful for such justice, instead of deciding upon the matter of to be tried by complaint summarily, to commit the person or persons charged with such offence for trial for the same at the quarter sessions for the county or place wherein such offence shall have been committed, and to order that any such person so committed shall be imprisoned and detained in any of her majesty's gaols or houses of correction in the said county or place in the meantime, or to take bail for his appearance, with or without sureties, in his discretion; and every such person so offending, and convicted before such court of quarter sessions as aforesaid (which said court is hereby required to take cognizance of and hear and determine such complaint), shall be liable, in the discretion of such court, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two years. For punish sons obstruct [15 is repealed by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 78, s. 17.] 16. And be it enacted, that if any person shall wilfully obstruct ment of per- or impede any officer or agent of any railway company in the ing the officers execution of his duty upon any railway, or upon or in any of the of any railway stations or other works or premises connected therewith, or if any person shall wilfully trespass upon any railway, or any of the stations or other works or premises connected therewith, and shall company, or trespassing upon any railway. |