ROPE COMPANY'S TRAMWAY ORDINANCE, 1901
Title
ROPE COMPANY'S TRAMWAY ORDINANCE, 1901
Description
ORDINANCE No. 21 OF 1901.
Rope Company's Tramway
AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Hongkong Rope Manufacturing
Company, Limited, to construct a Tramway in
the Colony.
[15th December, 1901.]
WHEREAS the Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited,
whose registered office is situated at No. 19 Des Voeux Road,
Victoria, in this Colony, is desirous of constructing a tramway in the
Colony for the purpose of loading and discharging goods, merchandise,
and cargo, and has applied to the Government of the Colony to confer
upon it the necessary powers for so doing, and it is expedient that such
powers should be granted, under and subject to the conditions, restrictions,
and provisions hereinafter contained:
BE it therefore enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice
and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Rope Company's Tramway
Ordinance, 1901.
2.-(1.) The Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited,
(hereinafter referred to as 'the Company') may construct, lay down,
and maintain, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance and in
accordinance with the plan which has been deposited as hereinafter mentioned,
the tramway hereinafter described, with all proper signalling arrangements,
crossings, passing places, sidings, juction, rails, turn-tables,
works, and conveniences, and the Company and its assigns shall have
the exclusive right to work and use the same.
(2.) The tramway authorized by this Ordinance is as follows:-A
partly single adn partly double line commencing at a point (shown on
the said plan) near to and to the south of the north-east corner of Inland
Lot No. 906, thence passing (by a curve) in a northerly direction along
Smithfield and across the Praya in the position shown on the said plan
and terminating upon the wharf intended to be erected in the position
shown on the said plan.
3. The plan hereinbefore referred to as having been deposited is the
plan dated the 17th day of October, 1901, and deposited by the Company
in the Office of the Director of Public Works.
4. The tramway shall be constructed on a gauge of two feet six inches
in width, and with rails of such material and type as shall, before being
laid down, be approved of by the Director of Public Works, and shall be
laid and maintained in such manner that the uppermost surface thereof
shall be on a level with the surface of the road: Provided that the
Governor-in-Council may from time to time require the Company or its
assigns to adopt and apply, at its sole cost and charges, such improvements
in or additions to the tramway and all appliances connected therewith,
including the motive power and trucks employed thereon, rails,
sleepers, turn-tables, signalling arrangements, and substructure, as
experience may suggest, having regard to the greater security of the public
and advantage to the ordinary traffic, and the Company and its assigns
shall, with all reasonable despatch, comply with any order made by the
Governor-in-Council for the purpose of carrying out any such improvements.
5. The Company and its assigns may from time to time, for the purpose
of making, forming, laying down, maintaining, renewing, altering,
adding to, or removing the tramway or any part or parts thereof, open
and break up any road, subject to the following regulations:-
(1.) the Company shall give to the Director of Public Works notice of
its intention, specifying the time at which it will begin to do so,
and the porton of road proposed to be opened or broken up, such
notice to be given seven days at least before the commencement of
the work; and
(2.) the Company shall not open or break up or alter the lever of any
road except with the authority of the Director of Public Works.
6.-(1.) When the Company or its assigns has or have opened or
broken up any portion of any road, it or they shall be under the forllowing
futher obligations, namely,-
(a.) it or they shall, with all convenient speed, complete the work
on account of which it or they open or broke up the same and
(subject to the formation, maintenance, renewal, or alteration of,
addition to, or removal of the tramway) fill in the ground, and
make good the surface, and restore the road, to the satisfaction
of the Director of Public Works; and
(b.) it or they shall in the meantime cause the place where the road
is opened or broken up to be fenced and watched and to be
properly lighted from sunset to sunrise.
(2.) If the Company or its assigns fails or fail to comply with this
section, it or they shall for every offence (without prejudice to the
enforcement of the specific performance of the requirements of this Ordinance
or to any other remedy against it or them) be liable, on summary
conviction, to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars and to a
further penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars for each day during
which any such failure continues after the first day on which such penalty
is incurred.
7.-(1.) The Company or its assigns shall maintain in good condition
and repair, and at their proper level so as not to be a danger or
annoynce to the ordinary traffic, the rails of which the tramway for the
time being consists, and the turn-tables and other appliances used in
connexion with the tramway, and the substructure upon which the same
rests, together with the roadway between the rails of the tramway and so
much of the roadway as extends eighteen inches beyond the rails of the
tramway, which shall be liad with such materials and in such manner as
the Director of Public Works may direct; and if the Director of Public
Works from time to time or at any time hereafter alters the level of any
road along or across which the tramway is laid, then and in such event
and so often as the same may happen the Company or its assigns shall,
at its or their own expense, alter the rails so that the uppermost surface
thereof shall be on a level with the surface of the road as altered.
(2.) If the Company or its assigns makes or make default in complying
with this section, it or they shall for every offence be liable, on summary
conviction, to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars and, in case of
a continuing offence, to a further penalty not exceeding ten dollars for
every day after the first day on which such default continues.
8. If, at any time after the commencement of the construction of the
tramway, the Company or its assigns fails or fail to proceed therewith
for a period of six months, or after the completion thereof disuses or disuse
the same or any part thereof six months, with affording the
Governor-in-Council some satisfactory reason for the discontinuance or
disuse of the tramway, as the case may be, it shall be lawful for the
Governor-in-Council to abate and remove the same and restore the site to
its former condition, at the cost of the Company or its assigns, and the
amount of such cost shall be a debt due to the Government and shall be
recoverable against the Company or its assigns.
9.-(1.) Subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council being first
obtained, the Company or its assigns may at any time and from time to
time sell, assign, and absolutely dispose of the tramway or any part or
parts thereof and the rights conferred by this Ordinance to such person
or persons, or corporation or company, by public auction or private
contract or partly by public auction and partly by private contract, and
with, under, and subject to such terms and conditions in all respects as
the Company or its assigns may think fit, with power at any such sale to
fix a reserve for or buy in the same.
(2.) When any such sale, assignment, and absolute disposal has been
made, all the rights, powers, authorities, obligations, and liabilities of the
Company and its assigns in respect to the tramway or part or parts
thereof sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of shall be transferred to,
vested in, and may be exercised by and shall attach to the person or persons,
or corporation or company, to whom the same has or have been
sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of in like manner as if the tramway
or part or parts thereof sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of
was or were constructed by such person or persons, and corporation or
company, under the powers conferred upon him or them or it by
this Ordinance, and in reference to the same he or they or it shall be
deemed to be the Company.
10. Subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council being first
obtained, the Company or its assigns may at any time and from time to
time demise the tramway or any part or parts thereof, together with the
rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this Ordinance, to such person
or persons, or corporation or company, for such term or terms of years,
or from year to year, or for any less period, and for such rent or rents,
and on such terms and conditions in all respects as the Company or its
assigns may think fit to adopt, to take effect either in possession or reversion,
and either with or without a premium or premiums as a consideration
or considerations for such demise or demises.
11. It shall be lawful for the Company and its assigns from time to
time and at any time to borrow money on mortgage of all or any part of
the tramway and of the rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this
Ordinance, and for that purpose to assign or demise by way of mortgage
all or any portion of the tramway to any person or persons, or corporation
or company, and to enter into all such convenants, provisoes, declarations,
and agreements as the Company or its assigns may think fit and
proper.
12. The rights, powers, and privileges granted by this Ordinance to
the COmpany and its assigns shall continue in force for ten years, to be
computer from the 15th day of December, 1901: Provided always that
the Governor-in-Council may think expedient, by Order to be published in
the Gazette, declare that he duration of such rights, powers, and privileges
shall be extended for any further terms or terms not exceeding ten
years at a time, and thereupon such rights, powers, and privileges shall
continue in force for such extended period.
13.-(1.) On the cessation of the rights, powers, and privileges granted
by this Ordinance, it shall be at the option of the Governor-in-Council to
purchase the tramway and works authorized by this Ordinance from the
Company or its assigns for a price which shall be exclusive of any allowance
for past or future profits of the undertaking or any compensation
for compulsory sale, to be determined, in case of difference, by two
arbitrators to be nominated one by the Governor-in-Council and the
other by the Company or its assigns, and, in case the said arbitrators
cannot agree, by an umpire to be agreed upon between them.
(2.) If the Governor-in-Council does not exeercise the option to buy
within one month of such cessation as aforesaid, the Company or its
assigns shall, at its or their own expense, remove the tramway and works
and restore the site thereof to its former condition, and, in the event of
its or their failure to do so within one year of the dat of such cessation
it shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council to abate and remove the
same and restore the site thereof to its former condition, at the cost of
the Company or its assigns, and the amount of such cost shall be a debt
due to the Government and shall be recoverable against the Company
or its assigns accordingly.
14. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to alter or affect the
provisions of any enactment for the time being in force conferring
power upon the Director of Public Works to stop or otherwise deal with
traffic along streets or roads or to block up or otherwise deal with streets
or roads for the purpose of carrying out works of a public nature.
15. Nothing in this Ordinance, or in any Order-in-Council made
thereunder, shall take away or abridge the right of the public to pass
along or across every part of any public road along or across which the
tramway is laid, whether on or off the tramway, with carriages, cars,
or vehicles not having wheels suitable only to run on the rails of the
tramway.
16. The powers and privileges given by this Ordinance are so given
saving and reserving always the rights of His Majesty, his heirs and
successors, and of all bodies politic and corporate, and of all other
persons, and those claiming by, from, or under him or them, except as
in herein otherwise provided. A.D. 1901. Ordinance No. 36 of 1901. Short title. Power to Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited to construct tramway. Plan of tramway. Gauge of tramway. Power to Company to break up road, etc. Completion of work and reinstatement of road. Penalty for not maintaining rails, roads, etc., at proper level and in good condition. Power for Governor-in-Council to abate and remove works in certain events. Power to sell tramway. Power to demise tramway. Power to mortgage tramway. Duration of the Ordinance. Cessation of power of Company. Saving of power to stop or divert traffic, etc. Reservation of rights of public. Reservation of rights of the Crown and others.
Rope Company's Tramway
AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Hongkong Rope Manufacturing
Company, Limited, to construct a Tramway in
the Colony.
[15th December, 1901.]
WHEREAS the Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited,
whose registered office is situated at No. 19 Des Voeux Road,
Victoria, in this Colony, is desirous of constructing a tramway in the
Colony for the purpose of loading and discharging goods, merchandise,
and cargo, and has applied to the Government of the Colony to confer
upon it the necessary powers for so doing, and it is expedient that such
powers should be granted, under and subject to the conditions, restrictions,
and provisions hereinafter contained:
BE it therefore enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice
and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Rope Company's Tramway
Ordinance, 1901.
2.-(1.) The Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited,
(hereinafter referred to as 'the Company') may construct, lay down,
and maintain, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance and in
accordinance with the plan which has been deposited as hereinafter mentioned,
the tramway hereinafter described, with all proper signalling arrangements,
crossings, passing places, sidings, juction, rails, turn-tables,
works, and conveniences, and the Company and its assigns shall have
the exclusive right to work and use the same.
(2.) The tramway authorized by this Ordinance is as follows:-A
partly single adn partly double line commencing at a point (shown on
the said plan) near to and to the south of the north-east corner of Inland
Lot No. 906, thence passing (by a curve) in a northerly direction along
Smithfield and across the Praya in the position shown on the said plan
and terminating upon the wharf intended to be erected in the position
shown on the said plan.
3. The plan hereinbefore referred to as having been deposited is the
plan dated the 17th day of October, 1901, and deposited by the Company
in the Office of the Director of Public Works.
4. The tramway shall be constructed on a gauge of two feet six inches
in width, and with rails of such material and type as shall, before being
laid down, be approved of by the Director of Public Works, and shall be
laid and maintained in such manner that the uppermost surface thereof
shall be on a level with the surface of the road: Provided that the
Governor-in-Council may from time to time require the Company or its
assigns to adopt and apply, at its sole cost and charges, such improvements
in or additions to the tramway and all appliances connected therewith,
including the motive power and trucks employed thereon, rails,
sleepers, turn-tables, signalling arrangements, and substructure, as
experience may suggest, having regard to the greater security of the public
and advantage to the ordinary traffic, and the Company and its assigns
shall, with all reasonable despatch, comply with any order made by the
Governor-in-Council for the purpose of carrying out any such improvements.
5. The Company and its assigns may from time to time, for the purpose
of making, forming, laying down, maintaining, renewing, altering,
adding to, or removing the tramway or any part or parts thereof, open
and break up any road, subject to the following regulations:-
(1.) the Company shall give to the Director of Public Works notice of
its intention, specifying the time at which it will begin to do so,
and the porton of road proposed to be opened or broken up, such
notice to be given seven days at least before the commencement of
the work; and
(2.) the Company shall not open or break up or alter the lever of any
road except with the authority of the Director of Public Works.
6.-(1.) When the Company or its assigns has or have opened or
broken up any portion of any road, it or they shall be under the forllowing
futher obligations, namely,-
(a.) it or they shall, with all convenient speed, complete the work
on account of which it or they open or broke up the same and
(subject to the formation, maintenance, renewal, or alteration of,
addition to, or removal of the tramway) fill in the ground, and
make good the surface, and restore the road, to the satisfaction
of the Director of Public Works; and
(b.) it or they shall in the meantime cause the place where the road
is opened or broken up to be fenced and watched and to be
properly lighted from sunset to sunrise.
(2.) If the Company or its assigns fails or fail to comply with this
section, it or they shall for every offence (without prejudice to the
enforcement of the specific performance of the requirements of this Ordinance
or to any other remedy against it or them) be liable, on summary
conviction, to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars and to a
further penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars for each day during
which any such failure continues after the first day on which such penalty
is incurred.
7.-(1.) The Company or its assigns shall maintain in good condition
and repair, and at their proper level so as not to be a danger or
annoynce to the ordinary traffic, the rails of which the tramway for the
time being consists, and the turn-tables and other appliances used in
connexion with the tramway, and the substructure upon which the same
rests, together with the roadway between the rails of the tramway and so
much of the roadway as extends eighteen inches beyond the rails of the
tramway, which shall be liad with such materials and in such manner as
the Director of Public Works may direct; and if the Director of Public
Works from time to time or at any time hereafter alters the level of any
road along or across which the tramway is laid, then and in such event
and so often as the same may happen the Company or its assigns shall,
at its or their own expense, alter the rails so that the uppermost surface
thereof shall be on a level with the surface of the road as altered.
(2.) If the Company or its assigns makes or make default in complying
with this section, it or they shall for every offence be liable, on summary
conviction, to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five dollars and, in case of
a continuing offence, to a further penalty not exceeding ten dollars for
every day after the first day on which such default continues.
8. If, at any time after the commencement of the construction of the
tramway, the Company or its assigns fails or fail to proceed therewith
for a period of six months, or after the completion thereof disuses or disuse
the same or any part thereof six months, with affording the
Governor-in-Council some satisfactory reason for the discontinuance or
disuse of the tramway, as the case may be, it shall be lawful for the
Governor-in-Council to abate and remove the same and restore the site to
its former condition, at the cost of the Company or its assigns, and the
amount of such cost shall be a debt due to the Government and shall be
recoverable against the Company or its assigns.
9.-(1.) Subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council being first
obtained, the Company or its assigns may at any time and from time to
time sell, assign, and absolutely dispose of the tramway or any part or
parts thereof and the rights conferred by this Ordinance to such person
or persons, or corporation or company, by public auction or private
contract or partly by public auction and partly by private contract, and
with, under, and subject to such terms and conditions in all respects as
the Company or its assigns may think fit, with power at any such sale to
fix a reserve for or buy in the same.
(2.) When any such sale, assignment, and absolute disposal has been
made, all the rights, powers, authorities, obligations, and liabilities of the
Company and its assigns in respect to the tramway or part or parts
thereof sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of shall be transferred to,
vested in, and may be exercised by and shall attach to the person or persons,
or corporation or company, to whom the same has or have been
sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of in like manner as if the tramway
or part or parts thereof sold, assigned, and absolutely disposed of
was or were constructed by such person or persons, and corporation or
company, under the powers conferred upon him or them or it by
this Ordinance, and in reference to the same he or they or it shall be
deemed to be the Company.
10. Subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council being first
obtained, the Company or its assigns may at any time and from time to
time demise the tramway or any part or parts thereof, together with the
rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this Ordinance, to such person
or persons, or corporation or company, for such term or terms of years,
or from year to year, or for any less period, and for such rent or rents,
and on such terms and conditions in all respects as the Company or its
assigns may think fit to adopt, to take effect either in possession or reversion,
and either with or without a premium or premiums as a consideration
or considerations for such demise or demises.
11. It shall be lawful for the Company and its assigns from time to
time and at any time to borrow money on mortgage of all or any part of
the tramway and of the rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this
Ordinance, and for that purpose to assign or demise by way of mortgage
all or any portion of the tramway to any person or persons, or corporation
or company, and to enter into all such convenants, provisoes, declarations,
and agreements as the Company or its assigns may think fit and
proper.
12. The rights, powers, and privileges granted by this Ordinance to
the COmpany and its assigns shall continue in force for ten years, to be
computer from the 15th day of December, 1901: Provided always that
the Governor-in-Council may think expedient, by Order to be published in
the Gazette, declare that he duration of such rights, powers, and privileges
shall be extended for any further terms or terms not exceeding ten
years at a time, and thereupon such rights, powers, and privileges shall
continue in force for such extended period.
13.-(1.) On the cessation of the rights, powers, and privileges granted
by this Ordinance, it shall be at the option of the Governor-in-Council to
purchase the tramway and works authorized by this Ordinance from the
Company or its assigns for a price which shall be exclusive of any allowance
for past or future profits of the undertaking or any compensation
for compulsory sale, to be determined, in case of difference, by two
arbitrators to be nominated one by the Governor-in-Council and the
other by the Company or its assigns, and, in case the said arbitrators
cannot agree, by an umpire to be agreed upon between them.
(2.) If the Governor-in-Council does not exeercise the option to buy
within one month of such cessation as aforesaid, the Company or its
assigns shall, at its or their own expense, remove the tramway and works
and restore the site thereof to its former condition, and, in the event of
its or their failure to do so within one year of the dat of such cessation
it shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council to abate and remove the
same and restore the site thereof to its former condition, at the cost of
the Company or its assigns, and the amount of such cost shall be a debt
due to the Government and shall be recoverable against the Company
or its assigns accordingly.
14. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to alter or affect the
provisions of any enactment for the time being in force conferring
power upon the Director of Public Works to stop or otherwise deal with
traffic along streets or roads or to block up or otherwise deal with streets
or roads for the purpose of carrying out works of a public nature.
15. Nothing in this Ordinance, or in any Order-in-Council made
thereunder, shall take away or abridge the right of the public to pass
along or across every part of any public road along or across which the
tramway is laid, whether on or off the tramway, with carriages, cars,
or vehicles not having wheels suitable only to run on the rails of the
tramway.
16. The powers and privileges given by this Ordinance are so given
saving and reserving always the rights of His Majesty, his heirs and
successors, and of all bodies politic and corporate, and of all other
persons, and those claiming by, from, or under him or them, except as
in herein otherwise provided. A.D. 1901. Ordinance No. 36 of 1901. Short title. Power to Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited to construct tramway. Plan of tramway. Gauge of tramway. Power to Company to break up road, etc. Completion of work and reinstatement of road. Penalty for not maintaining rails, roads, etc., at proper level and in good condition. Power for Governor-in-Council to abate and remove works in certain events. Power to sell tramway. Power to demise tramway. Power to mortgage tramway. Duration of the Ordinance. Cessation of power of Company. Saving of power to stop or divert traffic, etc. Reservation of rights of public. Reservation of rights of the Crown and others.
Abstract
A.D. 1901. Ordinance No. 36 of 1901. Short title. Power to Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Company, Limited to construct tramway. Plan of tramway. Gauge of tramway. Power to Company to break up road, etc. Completion of work and reinstatement of road. Penalty for not maintaining rails, roads, etc., at proper level and in good condition. Power for Governor-in-Council to abate and remove works in certain events. Power to sell tramway. Power to demise tramway. Power to mortgage tramway. Duration of the Ordinance. Cessation of power of Company. Saving of power to stop or divert traffic, etc. Reservation of rights of public. Reservation of rights of the Crown and others.
Identifier
https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/758
Edition
1901
Volume
v2
Cap / Ordinance No.
No. 21 of 1901
Number of Pages
6
Files
Collection
Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online
Citation
“ROPE COMPANY'S TRAMWAY ORDINANCE, 1901,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, accessed February 26, 2025, https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/758.
