This Act may be cited for all Purposes as "The Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c. Act, 1861."
In the Construction of this Aft the following Expressions shall have the Meanings hereby assigned to them, unless such Meanings are inconsistent with the Context; that is to say,
The Expression " Board of Trade " shall mean the Committee of Privy Council appointed for the Consideration of Matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations :
The Word " Harbour " shall include Harbours properly so called, whether natural or artificial, Estuaries, navigable Rivers, Piers, Jetties, and other Works in or at which Ships can obtain Shelter, or ship and unship Goods or Passengers :
" Harbour Authority " shall include all Persons, or Bodies of Persons, corporate or unincorporate, being Proprietors of or intrusted with the Duty of constructing, improving, managing, maintaining, or lighting any Harbour :
The Expression " Limited Estate, " shall mean the Estate of any Person entitled under any Settlement at Law or in Equity for his own Benefit to the Possession or Receipt of the Rents and Profits of Land of any Tenure for the Term of his own Life or of the Life of any other Per-son, whether such Land is or is not subject to Incumbrances
The Word " Settlement " shall include any Act of Parliament, Will, Deed, or other Assurance whereby particular Estates or particular Interests in Land are created with Remainders or Interests expectant thereon, and any Deed of Entail; and every Estate and Interest created by Appointment made in the Exercise of any Power contained in any Settlement or derived from any Settlement shall be considered as having been created by the same Settlement; and an Estate or Interest, by way of resulting Use or Trust to or for the Settlor, or his Heirs, Executors, or Administrators, shall be deemed to be an Estate or Interest under the same Settlement:
" Pilotage Authority " shall include all Bodies and Persons authorized to appoint or license Pilots, or to fix or alter Rates of Pilotage, or to exercise any Jurisdiction in respect of Pilotage :
The Expression " Shipping Purposes " shall include the constructing or doing any Work or Thing that conduces to the Safety or Convenience of Ships, or that facilitates the shipping or unshipping of Goods, and the Management and superintending the same, and shall also include the Maintenance of any Lifeboat or other Means of preserving Life in case of Shipwreck:
The Expression " Differential Dues " shall include any Dues, Rates, or Taxes levied on Foreign Ships, or on Goods carried in Foreign Ships, which are not levied under like Circumstances on British Ships or on Goods carried in British Ships ; and shall also include any Excess of Dues, Rates, or Taxes levied on Foreign Ships, or on Goods carried in Foreign Ships, over the Dues or Taxes levied under like Circumstances on British Ships or on Goods carried in British Ships; excepting always such Duties as the Commissioners of Customs may be. empowered to levy for the Use of Her Majesty under any Act of Parliament in the Events therein mentioned.
The Public Works Loan Commissioners, as defined by the Act of the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter Seventeen, may, out of the Funds for the Time being at their Disposal or provided by Parliament for the Purpose, advance to any Harbour Authority, for the Purpose of constructing, improving, maintaining, or lighting any public Harbour, or for carrying into effect any other Shipping Purpose, such Sum or Sums of Money as may be required, subject to the following Regulations:
(1)No Harbour Authority shall borrow any Money from the said Commissioners under this Act without the Approval of the Board of Trade, in "Writing, signed by One of their Secretaries or Assistant Secretaries :
(2)When the aggregate Amount of Principal Monies due to the said Commissioners from any One Harbour Authority in pursuance of this Act does not exceed One hundred thousand Pounds, the Interest payable in respect thereof shall be at the Rate of Three Pounds Five Shillings per Annum on each Hundred Pounds; but when such aggregate Amount exceeds One hundred thousand Pounds, the Interest payable in respect of One hundred thousand Pounds shall be at the Rate aforesaid, and the Interest payable in respect of the Excess shall be at such higher Rate as the said Commissioners may determine, not exceeding Five Pounds per Annum on each Hundred Pounds:
(3)The Period for Repayment of any Sums advanced shall not exceed Fifty Years:
(4)The Repayment of any Advances and of the Interest thereon shall be secured upon all or any of the Rates leviable by the Harbour Authority to whom such Advances are made, either alone, or together with such other Property or Income as may be agreed on, and it shall not be incumbent on the Public Works Loan Commissioners to require any other Security :
(5)Any Harbour Authority which has for the Time being Power to levy Rates and Tolls immediately or prospectively, or is or may be entitled to any other Income or Property applicable to Shipping Purposes, shall have Power to borrow Money from the said Commissioners under this Act on the Security of the said Rates, Tolls, Income, and Property, or any Part thereof, and to charge the same accordingly :
(6)For the Purposes of Loans made to any Public Harbour Authority under this Act the Clauses of " The Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847," with respect to the Mortgages to be executed by the Commissioners, except so far as the same may be inconsistent with the Clauses and Provisions of the said Public "Works Loan Act and the Acts therein mentioned, shall be incorporated with this Act 5 and in the Construction of this Act, and of the said incorporated Clauses, this Act shall be deemed to be the Special Act, and the Harbour Authority to which an Advance is made shall be deemed to be the Commissioners:
(7)No Harbour Authority, being the Proprietor of any private Harbour, shall borrow any Money from the said Commissioners under this Act unless such Regulations are made in respect of the Rates to be taken in such Harbour, and the User thereof by the Public, as the Board of Trade may approve ; and for the Purpose of making and enforcing such Regulations, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Order in Council, to declare that "The Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847," shall apply to such Harbour, and to fix a Schedule of Rates not exceeding the Rates specified in the Schedule to " The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act, 1853," to be taken in the said Harbour; and thereupon the said Harbours Clauses Act, with the Exception of such Clauses as maybe excepted in the said Order, shall apply to the said Harbour in the same Manner as if it had been declared to apply thereto by Act of Parliament: And in the Construction of this Act and of the said incorporated Act this Act shall be deemed to be the Special Act; and the Expression " the Undertaker " shall be deemed to mean the Proprietor of the said Harbour, and the "Rates" shall be deemed to be such Rates as may be sanctioned by the said Order in Council :
(8)Where any Harbour Authority, being the Proprietor of any Harbour, is entitled to a "limited Estate" therein, he shall have Power to make the Repayment of any Monies borrowed by him under this Act, with the Interest, a Charge on his limited Estate in the said Harbour, and on the Estate and Interest of every Person taking under the same Settlement any Estate or Interest in such. Harbour in defeasance or expectancy or by Destination on the Determination of the said limited Estate, but it shall be subject to all Incumbrances on the Harbour subsisting at the Time of the Charge:
(9)No Advance or Part of any Advance shall be made in pursuance of this Act to any Person entitled to a limited Estate so as to charge the Estate or Interest of any Person taking in defeasance or expectancy or by Destination, except to an Amount to be specified in Certificates to be from Time to Time issued under the Hand of One of the Secretaries or Assistant Secretaries of the Board of Trade; and no such Certificate shall be issued until it has been proved to the Satisfaction of the Board of Trade, that the Amount specified in the Certificate has been properly expended upon the said Harbour.
From and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two all Tolls and Rates ordinarily known by the Name of Passing Tolls, leviable in respect of any Harbours on Ships which pass but do not enter such Harbours, or on Goods carried in any such Ships, shall cease to be levied.
If on the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two any Debts legally incurred before the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one remain charged on the Passing Tolls hereby abolished, then, subject to the special Provisions herein-after contained, the Creditors to whom such Debts are due shall be indemnified out of the Consolidated Fund and the growing Produce thereof for any Loss they may sustain by reason of such Abolition ; but any Income or other Property that may be charged with the said Debts in common with such Tolls shall (except, in the Case of Debts legally charged upon the Tolls or Revenues of the Harbours of Whitby and Bridlington previously to the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one) be liable to make good any Payments made in pursuance of this Act for the Indemnity of the Creditors.
All Rates, Dues, Duties, and Imposts (herein-after included in the Term Shipping Dues) leviable by any of the Charitable Authorities named in the First Schedule annexed hereto on Ships, or on Goods carried in Ships, shall, except so far as the same maybe required for the Execution of such Shipping Purposes as have hitherto been executed by means of the said Dues, cease to be levied on and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Whenever any of the said Shipping Dues leviable by any of the said Authorities named in the First Schedule are applicable to Shipping Purposes, but such Shipping Purposes are not for the Benefit of Ships or Goods carried therein at the Port or Place at which such Dues are levied, such Dues shall cease to be levied on and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
During the Period prior to the said First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, the Shipping Dues levied by each of the Authorities named in the said First Schedule, including the Compensation for Differential Dues herein-after mentioned, shall, subject to the Execution of any Shipping Purposes to which the same or any Part thereof may be applicable, be applied in Payment of any Pensions which have been lawfully granted, or in which a vested Interest, absolute or contingent, has been lawfully created before the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one; and any Surplus arising from the said Dues during the said Period, after providing for the said Shipping Purposes, and Payment of the said Pensions for the Time being, and such Payments for Charitable or other Purposes as have heretofore ordinarily been made by the said Authority out of the said Dues, shall, with the Interest thereon, after the Termination of the said Period, be applied in Payment of such, if any, of the said Pensions as have not then ceased; and subject to such Payment, the said Surplus shall become Part of the Charitable Funds of the said Authority, and shall be held and administered by them upon the same Trusts and for the same Purposes upon and for which the said Dues would have been held and applied if this Act had not passed : If at any Time after the Expiration of the said Period it is made to appear to Her Majesty in Council that any of the said Pensions are still in existence, and that after duly accounting for the Surplus aforesaid, the Authority by which such Pensions were granted is unable, either out of the said Surplus or out of their other Funds applicable to Charitable Purposes to pay the said Pensions, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty from Time to Time, by Order in Council, to declare that the Shipping Dues theretofore levied by the said Authority shall continue for such Time and to such Extent as may by such Order be declared to be necessary for Payment of the said Pensions; and there upon the said Shipping Dues shall continue to be leviable according to the Terms of such Order: Provided that nothing in this Act contained shall enable any of the said Authorities to apply any Part of the said Dues to any Purposes to which they could not lawfully have applied the same if this Act had not passed.
Bach, of the said Authorities shall, as soon as they conveniently can after the passing of this Act, make out and send to the Board of Trade a List of all Pensions to be paid by them "which have been granted, or in which a vested Interest has been created, before the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one accompanied by such Vouchers and Explanations as the Board of Trade may require; and each of the said Authorities shall, as early as possible, in every Year during the said Period of Ten Years, publish in some local Newspaper a Statement of their gross Receipts from the said Shipping Dues, and of the Manner in which the same have been expended or applied in the preceding Year.
All Differential Dues shall cease and be abolished on and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
All Payments which, would but for such Abolition have been made out of Public Monies by way of Compensation for Differential Dues, under the Authority of the Acts enumerated in the Second Schedule hereto annexed, or of any other Act or Acts relating to such Dues, shall continue until the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and shall then cease.
From and after the Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one the Compensation for Differential Dues paid to any Corporation, Body of Persons, or Person in any One Year shall be the Amount paid to such Corporation, Body, or Person in the Year One thousand eight hundred and sixty; and the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may cause the said Compensation to be paid to the said Corporations, Bodies, or Persons, without requiring them to transmit their Claims to the Trinity House of Deptford Strond for Examination.
The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may at any Time, on giving Three Months Notice of their Intention so to do, commute annual Payments by way of Compensation for Differential Dues, by paying to the Parties entitled thereto a gross Sum, equal to such Number of Years Purchase as may for the Time being remain unexpired of the Period for which the said Payments are to continue, after deducting Interest on the anticipated Payments at the Rate of Four per Gent.
All such Harbour and Pilotage Authorities and other Bodies Corporate, Bodies of Persons, and Persons as have heretofore applied to Shipping Purposes or to other public Purposes, Compensation paid to them for Differential Dues, or as have contracted Debts for such Purposes, may, from and after such Time as such Compensation ceases to be paid to them, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, indemnify themselves for the Loss thereof by raising any Bates which they have Power to levy, to such an Amount as will produce a Sum that will enable them to perform such Services, subject to this Proviso, that no Rates or Dues of any Kind shall in pursuance of the Power hereby given be made payable in respect of any Foreign Ship, or Goods carried in any Foreign Ship, over and above the Rates and Dues made payable under like Circumstances in respect of British Ships and the Goods carried in British Ships.
In the event of any Increase of Taxes or Bates being sanctioned by Her Majesty in Council, the Body Corporate, Persons, or Body of Persons empowered to increase the same shall, notwithstanding any Act of Parliament, Charter, or Usage to the contrary, have the same Powers and Remedies for levying such increased Taxes or Bates as they had for levying the same Taxes or Bates previously to such Increase.
Nothing herein contained shall prejudice or affect the Right of any Creditor who may have advanced Monies either wholly or partially on the Security of any Differential Dues, or of any Payments out of the Public Monies made by way of Compensation for Differential Dues ; but if the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury make any Payment to such Creditor in respect of such Compensation the Sum so paid shall be deemed to be a Debt due to the Crown from the Persons or Body to whom the Creditor made the Advance in respect of which the Payment Js made, and shall be recoverable accordingly.
Any Body Corporate or Person having Power to levy Shipping Dues may, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, by Deed transfer, upon such Terms as they or he think fit, all or any Portion of the Shipping Dues leviable by them or him to any Authority entrusted with the Duty of constructing, maintaining, or improving any public Harbour within which such Dues or any Portion thereof may be levied ; and the Transferees of such Dues shall be possessed of all the Eights and Privileges in respect of such Dues of which the Transferors were possessed previously to such Transfer, and shall apply the said Dues to Shipping Purposes within the said Harbour.
Previously to making any such Transfer as aforesaid, the Parties proposing to make the same, herein-after called the Transferors, shall give Notice of the Terms on which it is proposed to be made, by publishing such Terms twice at least in some local Newspaper or Newspapers, or by issuing Advertisements naming a Time and Place at which a Copy of the proposed Terms may be inspected ; and it shall be lawful for any Persons or Body of Persons interested in the Matter, to lay before them in "Writing such Objections or Observations with reference thereto as they think expedient, and it shall be the Duty of the Transferors and of the said Harbour Authority to take the same into consideration and to make such Modifications in or Additions to the said Terms (if any) as they may think fit to adopt, and it shall likewise be their Duty, in applying for the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, to forward all such Objections and Observations, with their Answer thereto for the Consideration of Her Majesty in Council.
Upon the Completion of the Transfer, a Copy of the Order in Council approving of the Transfer, accompanied with a Copy of the Instrument of Transfer, shall be published in the London Gazette; and the Production of the London Gazette containing such Copy shall be Evidence that the said Transfer has been effected.
Every Harbour Authority may from Time to Time borrow at Interest, on the Security of any Property belonging to them, or of any Rate or Rates which they have Power to levy, any Sum or Sums they may require for procuring any such Transfer as aforesaid to be made to them; and for the Purposes of such borrowing, the Clauses of "The Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847," with respect to the Mortgages to be executed by the Commissioners (except the Clause numbered 84.) shall be incorporated with this Act. The said Transferors shall hold and apply all Monies paid to them by way of Consideration for any such Transfer as aforesaid upon the same Trusts, if any, and for the same Purposes, upon and for which the said Shipping Dues, if not so transferred, would have been held and applied.
All Taxes on Ships, or Goods carried in Ships, leviable within the Port of Dublin, which are mentioned in the Third Schedule hereto, shall cease to be levied on and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
On and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two the Harbour of Ramsgate and the Soil thereof, and all Property, Real and Personal, vested in the Trustees of the said Harbour, or in any Person in trust for the Purposes of the said Harbour, with their actual and reputed Appurtenances, subject to all Leases, Contracts, Charges, or other Liabilities affecting the same, shall be transferred to and are hereby vested in the Board of Trade.
All Powers, Eights, and Privileges of imposing, collecting, or recovering any Taxes or Rates, of purchasing any Lands, or of doing any other Matter or Thing relating to the said Harbour of Ramsgate, or the Property belonging thereto, which may by virtue of any Act of Parliament, Charter, or otherwise, be vested in or exerciseable by the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour, shall be transferred to and are hereby vested in the Board of Trade.
All Debts and Obligations incurred, all Contracts entered into, and all Matters and Things engaged to be done by, with, or for the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour, in respect of any Property, Powers, Rights, or Privileges hereby transferred to the Board of Trade, shall be deemed to have been incurred, entered into, or engaged to be done by, with, or for the Board of Trade, and all such Debts, Obligations, Contracts, Matters, and Things, and all Securities for the same, and all Penalties and Forfeitures for the Non-performance thereof, shall be enforceable by or against the Board of Trade, to the same Extent as the same would, if no such Transfer had taken place, have been enforceable by or against the said Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour.
The Accounts for the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour for the Period antecedent to the said Transfer shall be finally made up, and shall be audited, settled, allowed, approved, and transmitted to the Honourable the House of Commons, as required by the Acts relating to the Harbour ; and thenceforth the Trustees and all Persons who at any Time shall have been Trustees of the Harbour, and their respective Representatives, shall be freed from all Liabilities whatsoever, under or by virtue of the Acts relating to the Harbour or any of them.
The Board of Trade shall out of the Ramsgate Harbour Fund indemnify the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour and their respective Representatives from all Liabilities not arising from their own personal wrongful Act or Default, to which the Trustees at the Time of this Act coming into operation are or but for this Act would become subject.
On and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two the Board of Trade may, for the Purpose of maintaining and improving the Harbour of Ramsgate, in lieu of the Rates heretofore levied, impose and levy Rates on Vessels entering and using the said Harbour, and on Goods shipped or unshipped in the said Harbour, not exceeding the Rates specified in the Schedule (A.) annexed to " The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act, 1853," with the Exceptions and Modifications herein-after mentioned ; that is to say,
(1)In the Case of any Vessel carrying Passengers the Board of Trade may, instead of levying a Tonnage Rate on the Vessel, levy on every Passenger embarking from or landing on the Pier or Piers of the said Harbour on or from the said Vessel, a Rate not exceeding Threepence, to be paid if demanded before the Passenger is allowed to embark or land :
(2)On every Ton of Coal, Coke, or Culm shipped or unshipped in the said Harbour, the Board of Trade may levy a Rate not exceeding Sixpence :
(3)Whenever any Vessel enters the Harbour in distress, and for the Purpose of repairing the said Vessel any Goods are unshipped therefrom, and the Rates upon the Unshipment of such Goods are duly paid, then if such Goods are afterwards re-shipped in the said Harbour without any Change in the Ownership thereof having taken place, no further Rates shall be leviable upon the said Goods in respect of such Reshipment:
(4)No Rates shall be levied on Fishing Boats belonging to Ramsgate :
(5)No Rate shall be levied on Vessels using the said Harbour solely as a Harbour of Refuge, and remaining therein not more than Sixty Hours:
And the Board of Trade may from Time to Time vary such Rates by reducing or raising the same, so that they do not exceed the Rates herein-before authorized.
On and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, the Board of Trade shall be entitled to receive a Per-centage of Five Pounds in the Hundred on all Salvage paid or liabe to be paid in respect of any Ship or Boat, or Cargo or Apparel of any Ship or Boat, or any "Wreck or other Property, which may be brought into the said Harbour; and such Per-centage shall be deducted from the Salvage, and shall be paid to the Board of Trade before the Remainder of the Salvage is paid over to the Salvors, and shall be recoverable by the same Means by which the Salvage is recoverable.
From and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, the Sum of Two hundred Pounds a Year heretofore paid to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Sandwich out of the Revenues of the Harbour of Ramsgate shall cease, and in lieu thereof there shall be paid to them, on or before that Day, by the Board of Trade, out of the Ramsgate Harbour Fund hereinafter mentioned, a single Sum of Two thousand Pounds.
The said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses shall apply the said Sum of Two thousand Pounds in Payment or Part Payment of any Debts lawfully charged on the said annual Sum of Two hundred Pounds, heretofore paid to them either alone or in common with other Property or Income of the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses; and the Remainder, if any, of such Debts, shall be paid by the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses out of any Rate or Rates they may have Power to levy in respect of the Harbour of Sandwich; and the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses may, notwithstanding any Prohibition contained in any Act of Parliament as to the maximum Amount of such Rate or Rates, raise the same to such Amount as may be necessary for satisfying such Debts as aforesaid.
All Money and Income received by the Board of Trade in pursuance of this Act shall be carried to a separate Account, entitled " The Ramsgate Harbour Fund Account," and, subject to any other Charges specified in this Act, the same shall be applied to the Management, Maintenance, and Improvement of the said Harbour.
The Board of Trade shall, whilst Ramsgate Harbour remains in their Hands, render to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury periodical Accounts of the whole of the Receipts and Expenditure in respect thereof, such Accounts to be signed and declared to by the Accountant appointed by the Board of Trade for that Purpose, and the said Commissioners shall cause the same to be examined and audited in such Manner as they think fit. 3
The Board of Trade shall as soon as practicable after the Meeting of Parliament in every Year, cause the Accounts of Ramsgate Harbour for the preceding Year to be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
Whereas the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour have established a Benefit or Superannuation Fund for Persons employed by them at weekly Wages, by means of Contributions from the Workmen, and of Sums added out of the Be venues of the Harbour: And whereas there is a considerable Capital now standing to the Credit of the said Fund: Be it enacted, That the Board of Trade shall either continue the said Benefit or Superannuation Fund in accordance with the Regulations now in force with respect to the same, or such other Regulations as may from Time to Time be approved by them, or shall wind up the said Fund in such a Manner that every Pension granted by the Trustees before the Fifteenth Hay of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, or granted by them after that Day and allowed by the Board of Trade, shall be fully paid, and that every Contributor not in receipt of a Pension granted before such Time as aforesaid shall be repaid the Amount he has contributed, with Interest at Three per Centum per Annum: In case the said Fund is wound up, the Capital of the said Fund now in the Hands of the Trustees shall be employed in satisfying its Liabilities; if the said Capital is insufficient for the Purpose, the Deficiency shall be made up out of the Ramsgate Harbour Fund, but if the said Capital is more than sufficient for the Purpose, any Surplus shall be carried to the Credit of the last-mentioned Fund.
The Board of Trade shall allow Compensation or Superannuation Allowance to any Person in the Employ of the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour not having Claims on the Benefit or Superannuation Fund herein-before mentioned, whose Salary or Emoluments are by reason of the passing of this Act abolished or made less than they were before the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, or who being continued in the Employ of the Board of Trade afterwards retires from the Service, so that no such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance shall exceed the Proportion of Salary or Emoluments which might be granted under similar Circumstances to a Person in the Public Civil Service, and so that no such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance shall be granted, except in the Oases and upon the Conditions in and upon which the same would or might be granted if such Persons had been employed in the Public Civil Service; and any Compeusation or Superannuation Allowance so allowed shall be paid out of the Ramsgate Harbour Fund.
If at any Time whilst the Harbour of Ramsgate is vested in the Board of Trade, the Income and Revenue applicable to the Purposes of managing, maintaining, and improving the said Harbour of Ramsgate are insufficient for such Purposes, or for the other Purposes to which the said Ramsgate Harbour Fund is applicable, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to advance such Sums as may be requisite for the said Purposes out of Monies to be provided for the Purpose by Parliament.
The Harbour of Ramsgate shall not be assessed, rated, or liable to pay to any County, Parochial, or other Rates or Cesses; and Ramsgate Harbour, and all Property and Income vested in or belonging to the Board of Trade in respect of the said Harbour, and all Premises or Property used or applied by the Board of Trade for the Purpose of the said Harbour, and all Instruments or Writings used by the Beard of Trade in respect of the said Harbour, shall be exempted from all public Taxes and Duties of every Kind ; save only that Parochial or other local Rates shall still be payable on those Parts of the said Property at Ramsgate on which they have heretofore been paid.
No Dues shall be levied by the Commissioners for paving, lighting, watching, and improving the Town of Ramsgate on Coal, Culm, and Coke imported, landed, or shipped within the Parish or Harbour of Ramsgate in the following Cases; that is to say,
(1)When the same are wholly and in good Faith consumed in and for the Purposes of the said Harbour or in Vessels lying in the said Harbour :
(2)When the same are wholly and in good Faith consumed by the Engines or on the Premises of any Railway Company having Access by means of a continuous Line of Railway or Tramway to the said Harbour:
(3)When the same are conveyed on any such Railway to and delivered from the same at any Place beyond the Parish of Ramsgate, and the adjoining Parish of Saint Lawrence, and are not thereafter delivered within either of those Parishes:
And if, in any of such Cases, Dues have in the first instance been paid to the said Commissioners, the Parties who have paid them shall be allowed a Drawback or Return thereof, to be paid by the said Commissioners out of any Funds under their Control; but if any Person fraudulently obtains or endeavours to obtain the said Drawback without being legally entitled to the same, he shall be liable for every such Offence to a Penalty not exceeding Fifty Shillings; and such Penalty may be recovered and shall be applied in the same Manner as Penalties are recovered and applied under the Act (Local and Personal) of the First and Second Years of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled [1 & 2 Vict. c. lxx. (Local.)] An Act for better paving, lighting, watching, and improving the Parish of Ramsgate in the County of Kent3, and for regulating the Police thereof.
For the Purposes of Ramsgate Harbour, "The Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847," shall be deemed to be incorporated with this Act, and for the Purposes of such Incorporation this Act shall be deemed to be " the Special Act; " the Rates and Monies hereby made leviable on account of the Harbour of Ramsgate shall be deemed to be " the Rates authorized to be levied by the Special Act; " and the Board of Trade shall be deemed to be " the Undertakers."
So much of the Sea Shore belonging to the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour, and lying either to the Eastward or Westward of the said Harbour as is for the Time being used as a public Highway, or as lies between High and Low Water Mark, shall be deemed to be a public Highway within the Parish, so far and so far only as relates to any Offences committed thereon contrary to the Provisions of the said Act (Local and Personal) of the First and Second Years of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled [1 & 2 Vict. c. lxx. (Local.)] An Act for better paving, lighting, watching, and improving the Parish of Ramsgate in the County of Kent, and for regulating the Police thereof, for which the Offenders would have been liable to Pine, Penalty, or Forfeiture in case the same Offences had been committed on any other public Highway within the said Parish of Ramsgate.
From and after the passing of this Act, the Harbour of Dover and the Soil thereof, and all Property, Real and Personal, vested in the Warden and Assistants of the Harbour of Dover in the County of Kent, or in any Person in trust for the Purposes of the said Harbour, with their actual and reputed Appurtenances, subject to all Liabilities affecting the same, shall be transferred to and vested in a Board of Trustees, to be called " The Dover Harbour Board," constituted as herein-after mentioned ; and the said Dover Harbour Board shall be a Body Corporate, with a perpetual Succession and a Common Seal, and having a Capacity to hold Lands subject to the Provisions of this Act.
All Rights and Privileges of imposing, collecting, or recovering any Taxes or Rates, of purchasing any Lands, or of doing any other Matter or Thing relating to the said Harbour of Dover, or the Property belonging thereto, or to the said Warden and Assistants of Dover Harbour, which may, by virtue of any Act of Parliament, Charter, or otherwise, be vested in or exerciseable by the Warden and Assistants of Dover Harbour, shall, on and after the passing of this Act, by force and virtue of this Act, be transferred to and vested in the said Dover Harbour Board.
All Debts and Obligations incurred, all Contracts entered into, and all Matters and Things engaged to be done by, with, or for the Warden and Assistants of Dover Harbour, in respect of any Property, Powers, Eights, or Privileges transferred to the said Dover Harbour Board as aforesaid, shall be deemed to have been incurred, entered into, or engaged to be done by, with, or for the Dover Harbour Board; and all such Debts, Obligations, Contracts, Matters, and Things, and all Securities for the same, and all Penalties and Forfeitures for the Nonperformance thereof, shall, on and after the passing of this Act, be enforceable by or against the said Dover Harbour Board to the same Extent as the same would, if no such Transfer had taken place, have been enforceable by or against the said Warden and Assistants of Dover Harbour.
After the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two the said Dover Harbour Board may, for the Purpose of maintaining and improving the said Harbour, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, impose Rates on Vessels using the Harbour, and on Goods landed or shipped in the Harbour, not exceeding the Rates specified in Schedule A. annexed to " The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act (1853)," and may from Time to Time, with the like Consent, vary such Rates by reducing or raising the same, so that they do not exceed the Rates mentioned in the said Schedule; and any Rates so imposed may be either in lieu of or in addition to any other Rates leviable by the said Warden and Assistants, and which by this Act the said Dover Harbour Board are authorized, on and after the said First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, to levy as aforesaid.
Subject to the Right of the Creditor as reserved by this Act, all Debts legally incurred previously to the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and secured on the Passing Tolls levied in respect of Dover Harbour, either alone or in common with other Property, shall be paid by the said Harbour Board out of any Rates they may have Power to levy, and out of any Real or Personal Property of which they may have become seised or possessed ; and for the Purpose of paying such Debts, and the permanent Improvement of the said Harbour, the said Harbour Board may sell the Real and Personal Property vested in them as aforesaid, or any Part thereof, and apply the Monies arising from such Sale accordingly.
If any of the present Officers of the Warden and Assistants of Dover Harbour shall not be appointed by the said Harbour Board to the same Offices as those they now hold, or to others of an equal annual Value, then the said Harbour Board may, with the Consent of the Board of Trade, allow such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance as the said Harbour Board may think fit to any such Officer or Officers, but so that no such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance shall exceed the Proportion of Salary or Emoluments which might be granted under similar Circumstances to a Person in the Public Civil Service under the Act of the Twenty-second Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter Twenty-six, or of any other Act for regulating such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance for the Time being in force; and any Compensation or Superannuation Allowance so allowed shall be paid out of the Revenue of the said Harbour Board.
The said Dover Harbour Board shall consist of Seven Members, Four of whom shall form a Quorum; the said Seven Members shall be the Lord Warden for the Time being of the Cinque Ports, Two Burgesses of the Borough of Dover elected by the Town Council every Three Years, and to be eligible for Re-election, a Member to be from Time to Time appointed by the President of the Board of Trade for the Time being, a Member to be from Time to Time appointed by the First Lord of the Admiralty for the Time being, a Member to be from Time to Time appointed by the South-eastern Railway Company under their Common Seal, and a Member to be from Time to Time appointed by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company, under their Common Seal: Provided, that in the event of either or both of the said Railway Companies failing or declining to appoint a Member of the said Harbour Board within One Calendar Month' after having been required so to do by the President of the Board of Trade, then such President shall, from and after such Default, be entitled thereafter to appoint from Time to Time another Member or Members in lieu thereof, as the Case may be ; and the said Lord Warden shall ex officio be Chairman of the said Harbour Board; and the said Lord Warden shall also from Time to Time nominate under his Hand One of the Members of the said Harbour Board to be his Deputy, to preside at all Meetings at which the said Lord Warden shall not be present; and in the event of an Equality of Votes at any Meeting of the said Board the Chairman of such Meeting shall be entitled to a Casting Vote in addition to his ordinary Vote.
No Member of the said Harbour Board shall enjoy any Office or Place of Profit under this Act; and no such Member shall directly or indirectly by himself or his Partner have any Share or Interest in or be in any Manner concerned in any Contract or Bargain relating to any Works to be ordered, done, or executed under the Provisions of this Act or any other Act, or any Charter, relating to Dover Harbour, or in the Execution of any such "Works, or in the supplying of any Materials for any such Works, or for the Use of the said Harbour or Board ; and if any Member of the said Board shall disobey this Enactment, every such Member so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay the Sum of One hundred Pounds to any Person or Persons who shall sue for the same, and shall, upon being convicted of any such Offence, become then and be for ever afterwards incapable of being or acting as a Member of the said Board ; and no such Contract or Bargain as aforesaid, which any such offending Member has entered into contrary to the Intent of this Enactment shall be enforced against the said Board : Provided nevertheless, that all Acts and Proceedings of any Person acting as a Member of the said Board previous to his being convicted of any such Offence, shall, notwithstanding such Conviction, be good, valid, and effectual.
If at any Time any Debts hereby made payable by the said Dover Harbour Board are paid out of Monies provided by Parliament in pursuance of this Act, the Amount so paid shall be deemed to be a Debt due to the Crown from the said Dover Harbour Board, and shall be recoverable accordingly.
Until the Debts charged on the Revenues of Dover Harbour previously to the said Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one are discharged, it shall not be lawful for the Dover Harbour Board to charge the said Revenues or any Part thereof with any new Debt, or to undertake any new Works, without the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury.
The Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Dover, herein-after called the Corporation, may at any Time hereafter, by Deed under their Common Seal, transfer to the said Dover Harbour Board, to be applied by them to the Purposes of the Harbour, all or any of their Powers, Bights, and Privileges, whether exercised by them in the Capacity of Corporation or of Local Board of Health, of levying Bates and Dues on Coal, Culm, and Coke imported, and of levying Bates and Dues on Ships or on Goods carried in Ships; and thereupon the said Dover Harbour Board may exercise the Powers, Bights, and Privileges so transferred in as full a Manner as but for such Transfer the said Corporation might have exercised the same.
The said Corporation and the said Dover Harbour Board may, on any such Transfer as aforesaid, enter into such Arrangements as they may think fit, for the apportioning as between themselves the Incidence of any Debt charged on the Rates and Dues so transferred, and for granting Indemnities to each other for the Purpose of carrying such Arrangements into effect.
Any Creditor shall, in respect of any Advance made by him on the Security of the Rates and Dues hereby authorized to be transferred to the said Dover Harbour Board, have the same Claim against the said Rates and Dues when transferred to the said Dover Harbour Board, and against the said Dover Harbour Board to the Extent of the Rates and Dues so transferred, as he would, if such Transfer had not been made, have had in respect of the same Debt against such Rates and Dues in the Hands of the said Corporation and against the said Corporation in respect thereof.
The Principal and Interest of all Debts which have previously to the Fifteenth Day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one been legally charged on the Tolls or Revenues of the Harbours of Whitby or Bridlington, shall be chargeable upon the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, and shall be paid in such Manner as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may direct; and the Debt payable to the Public Works Loan Commissioners charged upon the Tolls or Revenues of the Harbour of Bridlington shall cease from the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may allow out of Monies to be voted by Parliament such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance as they may think fit to any Person in the Employ of the Trustees of Whitby Harbour who by reason of the passing of this Act is deprived of any Salary or Emolument, so that no such Compensation or Superannuation Allowance exceeds the Proportion of Salary or Emoluments which might be granted under similar Circumstances to a Person in the Public Civil Service.
It shall not be lawful for the Trustees of Whitby Harbour or the Commissioners of Bridlington Harbour to charge the Passing Tolls levied by them with any new Debts; nor shall it be lawful for them, until the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, to undertake any new Works without the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury.
The Trustees of Whitby Harbour may, for the Purpose of maintaining and improving the Harbour, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, impose Rates on Vessels using the Harbour, and on Goods snipped or unshipped in the Harbour, not exceeding the Rates specified in Schedule A. annexed to " The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act, 1853," and may from Time to Time, with the like Consent, vary such Bates by reducing or raising the same, so that they do not exceed the Bates mentioned in the said Schedule ; and any Bates so imposed may be either in lieu of or in addition to any other Bates leviable by the said Trustees.
The Commissioners acting under the Act of the Seventh Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, intituled An Act for letter paving, cleansing, lighting, watching and improving the Town of Whitby in the North Biding of the County of York, may, if they shall think fit, at any Time hereafter, by Deed transfer to the said Trustees of Whitby Harbour, to be applied by them to the Purposes of the Harbour, all or any of the Powers, Bights, and Privileges which they may possess of levying Bates and Dues on Coal or other Articles imported, or of levying Bates and Dues on Ships or on Goods carried in Ships; and thereupon the said Trustees may exercise the Powers, Bights, and Privileges so transferred in as full a Manner as but for such Transfer the said Commissioners might have exercised the same.
Any Creditor shall, in respect of any Advance made by him on the Security of the Bates and Dues hereby authorized to be transferred to the said Trustees of Whitby Harbour, have the same Claim against the said Bates and Dues when transferred, and against the said Trustees to the Extent of the Bates and Dues so transferred, as he would, if such Transfer had not been made, have had in respect of the same Debt against such Bates and Dues in the Hands of the said Commissioners, and against the said Commissioners in respect thereof.
The said Trustees and Commissioners may, on every such Transfer as last aforesaid, enter into such Arrangements as they may think fit for the apportioning as between themselves the Incidence of any Debt charged on the Bates and Dues so transferred, and for granting Indemnities to each other for the Purpose of carrying such Arrangements into effect.
On and after the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, all Vessels exceeding Ten Tons entering or leaving the Harbour of Whitby shall pay to the Trustees of Whitby Harbour such Sum or Toll, not exceeding One Penny per Ton, as such Trustees may from Time to Time direct to be paid to them, for the Support, Maintenance, and Improvement of the existing or any future Tide Lights at the Entrance of the Harbour: Provided always, that any Vessel which shall have paid such Toll on entering the Harbour may again leave the Harbour without further Payment of Toll.
The Commissioners of Bridlington Harbour may, for the Purpose of maintaining and improving the Harbour, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, impose Rates on Vessels using the Harbour, and on Goods shipped or unshipped in the Harbour, not exceeding the Rates specified in Schedule (A.) annexed to "The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act, 1853," and may from Time to Time, with the like Consent, vary such Rates by reducing or raising the same, so that they do not exceed the Rates mentioned in the said Schedule; and any Rates so imposed may be either in lieu of or in addition to any other Rates leviable by the said Commissioners.
For the Purpose of the Rates to be taken at the Harbours of Dover, Whitby, and Bridlington, so much of " The Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847," as relates to the Collection and Recovery of Rates, shall be deemed to be incorporated with this Act, and for the Purposes of such Incorporation this Act shall be deemed to be " the Special Act; " the Rates and Monies hereby made leviable on account of the said Harbours shall be deemed to be " the Rates authorized to be levied by the Special Act;" and each of the Authorities hereby authorized to levy such Rates shall be deemed to be " the Undertakers."
Whereas by the Act of the Ninth and Tenth Victoria, Chapter Three hundred and forty-six, Local and Personal, a Tax of Two Shillings was made payable to the Marine Society by certain Fishing Vessels passing the Nore, and the said Fishing Vessels were exempted from all other Claims, Dues, and Customs: And whereas by the Act of the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Victoria, Chapter Twenty-nine, the said Provisions of the Act of the Ninth and Tenth Victoria, Chapter Three hundred and forty-six, were repealed : And whereas Doubts are entertained whether such Repeal may not have revived other Taxes formerly payable by Fishing Vessels to the said Marine Society, and it is expedient that such Doubts be removed : Be it enacted, That nothing in the said Act of the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Victoria, Chapter Twenty-nine, shall be deemed to have revived any Taxes or Rates which, but for the said Act of the Ninth and Tenth Victoria, Chapter Three hundred and forty-six-, would have been payable to the said Marine Society.
The Lords of the Committee of Privy Council appointed for the Consideration of Matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations may be described in all Acts of Parliament, Deeds, Contracts, and other Instruments, by the official Title of " the Board of Trade" without expressing their Names, and all Acts of Parliament, Contracts, Deeds, and other Instruments wherein they are so described shall be as valid as if the said Lords or any of them had been named therein.
All Lands and Hereditaments heretofore purchased or taken by or in the Name or Names of any Person or Persons, for the Use of the Department of the Board of Trade, and all Lands and Hereditaments hereby transferred to and vested in the Board of Trade, and all Lands and Hereditaments that may hereafter be conveyed to the Board of Trade, or to any other Person or Persons for the Use of the Department of the Board of Trade, shall, upon and after the passing of this Act, vest in the Persons for the Time being constituting the Board of Trade, and upon their vacating their Offices shall be transferred to and vested in their Successors in Office, in a perpetual Succession, and shall be held by such Persons and their Successors in Office on trust for Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, for the Public Service.
Any Deed, Contract, or other Instrument to be executed by or on behalf of the Board of Trade shall be valid if under the Seal of the Board of Trade and signed by the President or Vice President thereof, or signed, if there be no President or Vice President, by any One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
The Monies to arise by any Sale of Land made by the Board of Trade shall be paid to such Persons as the said Board appoint, and a Receipt signed by the President or Vice-President of the said Board, or, if there be no such Officers, by any One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, shall be an effectual Discharge to the Purchaser.
The Board of Trade may purchase any Lands they may require for the Public Service; and for the Purposes of such Purchase the Clauses of " The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," and of "The Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1845," and of any Act amending the same, -with the Exception of such Clauses of the said Acts as relate to the Purchase of Lands otherwise than by Agreement, and to Access to the Special Act, shall be incorporated with this Act.