Sect. 3.

last section.

be made by them under the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, if they think fit, vary the terms upon which any local authority may of sale require the Undertakers to sell, and upon which the Undertakers contained in shall be required to sell to such local authority their undertaking or so much of the same as is within the jurisdiction of such local authority under the said section, in such manner as may have been agreed upon between such local authority and the Undertakers.

See the first note to the preceding section.

In county of London orders in favour of companies, it is the practice to County of provide that the period of forty-two years shall run from one fixed date, viz., London August 26th, 1889. See, e.g., s. 66 of Lewisham Electric Lighting Order, Orders. 1901, confirmed by 1 Edw. 7, ch. clxxviii.

The object in view is to secure that in the event of a purchase, the whole electric lighting concerns of the metropolis in the hands of undertakers other than local authorities may be acquired at one and the same time. Provisional orders in favour of companies or persons within the county of London specially provide that the recurring period of seven years for seeking to alter prices or methods of charge shall begin to run from August 26th, 1889.

The recurring period of ten years for purchase is sometimes by arrangement varied in provisional orders. For an instance, see the County of London (East) Electric Lighting Order, 1897, s. 65, where the period of seven years is substituted. For an instance where special terms were arranged and inserted in the provisional order regarding time of purchase, price, etc., see Blackheath and Greenwich District Electric Lighting Order, 1897, s. 65.

In a recent county of London provisional order a section was inserted authorising the local authority to require the undertakers to sell at the expiration of a period of ten years from the commencement of the order, or at the expiration of every subsequent period of one year, this power of purchase being in addition to and not in derogation of the power of the local authority to purchase under s. 2 of the Act of 1888. Lewisham Electric Lighting Order, 1901, confirmed by 1 Edw. 7, ch. clxxviii. See further the Chapter on COUNTY OF LONDON, post, p. 303.

of electric

4.—(1.) Where in any case any electric line or other work may Restrictions have been laid down or erected in, over, along, across, or under as to placing any street, for the purpose of supplying electricity, or may have lines, etc. been laid down or erected in any other position for such purpose in such a manner as not to be entirely enclosed within any building or buildings, or where any electric line or work so laid down or erected may be used for such purpose otherwise than under and subject to the provisions of a licence, order, or special Act, the Board of Trade, if they think fit, may, by notice in writing under the hand of one of the secretaries or assistant secretaries of the Board of Trade, to be served upon the body or person

Sect. 4 (1). owning or using or entitled to use such electric line or work, require that such electric line or work shall be continued and used only in accordance with such conditions and subject to such regulations for the protection of the public safety and of the electric lines and works of the Postmaster-General, and of other electric lines and works lawfully placed in any position and used for telegraphic communication, as the Board of Trade may by or in pursuance of such notice prescribe, and in case of non-compliance with the said regulations then the Board of Trade may require such body or person to remove such electric line or work: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any electric line or work laid down or erected by any body or person for the supply of electricity generated upon any premises occupied by such body or person to any other part of such premises.

(2.) Where in any case any electric line or work is used for the supply of electricity in such a manner as to injuriously affect any telegraphic line of the Postmaster-General or to affect the telegraphic communication through any such line, the PostmasterGeneral may, by notice to be served upon the body or person owning or using or entitled to use such electric line or work, require that such supply be continued only in accordance with such conditions and regulations for the protection of the telegraphic lines of the Postmaster-General and the telegraphic communication through the same as he may by or in pursuance of such notice prescribe, and in default of compliance with such conditions and regulations* the Postmaster-General may require that the supply of electricity through such electric line or work shall be forthwith discontinued: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to the supply of electricity through any electric line or work laid down or erected under and subject to the provisions of any licence, order, or special Act, or which may be used in accordance with any conditions or regulations prescribed by the Board of Trade by or in pursuance of any notice given by them under this section.

(3.) If any body or person fails to comply with the requirements of any notice which may be served upon them or him under this section, such body or person shall be liable to a penalty not

*The department does not make use of any specific form of notice or of conditions and regulations in taking action under this sub-section. When cases have occurred it has been found necessary, on account of the diversified nature of such undertakings, to consider each one on its merits and to take such special steps to safeguard the interests of the department as the particular circumstances require. See also sub-s. (6), p. 149.

exceeding twenty pounds for every such offence, to be recovered Sect. 4 (3). summarily, and any court of summary jurisdiction, on complaint made, may make an order directing and authorising the removal of any electric line or work specified in such notice by such person and upon such terms as they may think fit.

(4.) Any notice authorised to be served under this section upon any body or person may be served by the same being addressed to such body or person, and being left at or transmitted through the post to any office of such body or the usual or last known place of abode of such person; and any notice so served by post shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing the notice would be delivered in the usual course of post, and in proving such service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice was properly addressed and put into the post.

99 c. 56.

(5.) In this section terms and expressions to which by the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, meanings are assigned shall have 45 & 46 Vict. the same respective meanings, provided that the term "street shall include any square, court, or alley, highway, lane, road, thoroughfare, or public passage or place whatever, and the expression "telegraphic line" shall have the meaning assigned to it by the Telegraph Act, 1878.

(6.) Nothing in this section shall apply to any electric line or work of the Postmaster-General, or to any other electric line or work used or to be used solely for telegraphic purposes, except by way of protection, as in this section provided.

The purpose of this section is to bring under the control of the Board of Trade existing lines and works for supplying electricity which have been laid down without licence, provisional order, or special Act, and which were thus free of such control. In pursuance of this section, the Board of Trade have issued regulations which will be found post, p. 261. The first of these regulations provides as follows:-"Nothing in these regulations shall be deemed to authorise the owner to break up or interfere with any street." Speaking generally, these regulations are as far as possible similar to the regulations made by the Board of Trade for lines and works under licence, provisional order, or special Act. Thus it will be found that regulations 3, 5-11, 15, and 16, 19-46 are substantially the same,-the word " owner (see definition) being substituted for "undertakers." Regulation 2 prohibits earth connection unless as there provided. Regulation 4 limits the pressure between any two conductors or between any part of either conductor and the earth to 3,000 volts. Regulation 14 substitutes 100,000 watts, for the 300,000 in the ordinary regulations as the limit which a high-pressure electric line may be used for transmitting. Regulation 17 provides precautions against injurious affection by induction, and regulation 18 contains certain special provisions for the protection of the Postmaster-General.

41 & 42 Vict.

c. 76.

Sect. 4.

NOTE.

Short title.

Urban authorities by adopting Part II. of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 59), may acquire power to make byelaws for prevention of danger or obstruction to the public from posts, wires, tubes, or any other apparatus stretched or placed above, over, along, or across any street (whether before or after the adoption of that part of the Act) for the purpose of any telegraph, telephone, lighting, railway signalling, or other purpose. See further, ante, p. 96. For form of byelaws generally approved by the Board of Trade, see post, p. 271. These byelaws will affect electric works not authorised under the Electric Lighting Acts, 1882 and 1888. See further, the notes to s. 14 of the Act of 1882, ante, pp. 111 et seq.

A man who creates on his land an electric current for his own purposes and discharges it into the earth beyond his control is, on the principle of Fletcher v. Rylands (1868), L. R. 3 H. L. 330, as responsible for the damage caused by that current as he would have been, if instead, he had discharged a stream of water. National Telephone Co. v. Baker, [1893] 2 Ch. 186. See further, notes to s. 10 of the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, ante, p. 102.

For definition of "telegraphic line" as used in this section, see ante, p. 125.

5. This Act may be cited as the Electric Lighting Act, 1888; and the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, and this Act shall be read and construed together as one Act, and may be cited together for all purposes as the Electric Lighting Acts, 1882 and 1888.

See note to s. 1 of the Act of 1882, at p. 88.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING (SCOTLAND)

ACT, 1890.

(53 & 54 VICT. CAP. 13.)

An Act to amend the Electric Lighting Acts, 1882 and 1888.

[4th July 1890.]

BE it 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, as follows:

1. The schedule annexed to this Act shall be substituted for so Amendment much of the schedule annexed to the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, 45 & 46 Vict. of schedule of as relates to Scotland, and any reference in the principal Act to c. 56. such last-mentioned schedule shall, as respects Scotland, be construed as a reference to the schedule to this Act.

See this new Schedule, ante, p. 140.

local autho

2. Where the district of any police commissioners or town Delegation council is also within the jurisdiction or limits of any gas comby certain missioners, the police commissioners, or where they are the local rities. authority the town council, may appoint the gas commissioners to be the local authority for such district for the purposes of the principal Act, and after the publication of such appointment in the Edinburgh Gazette the gas commissioners shall be the local authority for such district accordingly.

An appointment under the provisions of this section shall not be made without the consent of the gas commissioners, which consent they are hereby authorised to give, and such appointment shall not be made or consent given except by resolution to be passed at a special meeting of the police commissioners, or town council, or gas commissioners, as the case may be, held after one month's previous notice of the same, and of the purpose thereof, has been given in the manner in which notices of meetings of such authority or body are usually given. Provided that during one month next after the passing of this Act any such special meeting may be held after three clear days' previous notice as aforesaid.

Provided always that where the jurisdiction or limits of any gas commissioners include the districts of more than one body of police commissioners or town council, any appointment of the gas commissioners under this section shall not be made except by resolution to be passed as aforesaid by each such body of police