S.I. No. 109/1927 - The Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (Committee of Management) Order, 1927.

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1927. No. 109.

THE DUBLIN AND BLESSINGTON STEAM TRAMWAY (COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT) ORDER, 1927.

WHEREAS by the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway Order, 1887 (hereinafter generally called the Order of 1887), the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway Company (hereinafter called the Company) were authorised to construct, maintain and work, subject to the provisions of the said Order, and of the Acts incorporated therewith, a tramway from Terenure, in the County of Dublin, to Blessington, in the County of Wicklow, and the presentments and resolutions of the Grand Juries of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow respectively set out in the 1st Schedule to the said Order, were thereby confirmed so far as they relate to the charge to be defrayed by the baronies and places in the respective presentments and resolutions specified for the payment of dividends at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum upon the paid up capital of the Company as limited by the said Order, and so far as they relate to the liability of the same baronies and places respectively to provide for the completing, working and maintaining of the undertaking.

AND WHEREAS by Section 40 of the Order of 1887 it is provided that if at any time the baronies have been called upon to pay and have continued to pay during a period of not less than two years any money for maintaining or working the undertaking, the undertaking and all the property of the Company connected with it shall become the property of the and Grand Jury of the County in which such barony is situate, subject to any liabilities affecting such undertaking or property, and that the Lord Lieutenant may thereupon order that such Grand Jury or in the case of Dublin the Finance Committee of such Grand Jury, shall appoint a Committee of Management for the purpose of the undertaking, with such powers and duties as he may direct.

AND WHEREAS by Section 41 of the Order of 1887 it is provided that every Committee of Management appointed as aforesaid shall be constituted in such manner, and shall have such power with reference to the undertaking as the Lord Lieutenant may order ; and that the Grand Jury shall from time to time present in advance or otherwise such sums as the Committee so appointed may estimate or report to be necessary for the purposes for which the Committee has been appointed, to be levied off the said baronies, or parts thereof, as the case may be, in the same proportion as their guarantee or dividends; and that the members of the Committee shall be paid by the Grand Jury, out of moneys to be levied off the same baronies and places, such remuneration as the Lord Lieutenant may by general or special Order prescribe ; and that the Committee of Management shall apply the sum so presented in such manner as the Order of the Lord Lieutenant may prescribe; and that pending the appointment of a Committee of Management the Lord Lieutenant may direct the County Surveyor of the respective counties, or either of them, to do all such matters and things as a Committee of Management might do if appointed, during such period as the Lord Lieutenant may direct.

AND WHEREAS in pursuance of the Order of 1887 the Company have constructed, maintained and worked the said tramway.

AND WHEREAS certain parts of the baronies of Rathdrum, Uppercross, and Newcastle, in the County of Dublin, and of the barony of Lower Talbotstown, in the County of Wicklow, which were, by virtue of the said presentments and resolutions of the Grand Juries of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow chargeable with the payment of dividends upon the paid up capital of the Company subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in the said presentments and resolutions, and with the payment of such sums as should be required for completing, working and maintaining the undertaking have been called on to pay and have paid during a period of not less than two years, namely, in respect of the four half-years ending on the 30th day of June, 1914, the 31st day of December, 1914, the 30th day of June, 1915, and the 31st day of December, 1915, respectively, money for the maintenance and working of the undertaking.

AND WHEREAS by the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (Interim Management) Order, 1916, the management and control of the undertaking and property of the Company was vested, subject to the provisions of the Order in recital, in the County Surveyor of the County of Dublin for the time being, pending the determination of certain questions arising in an action in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland in which the County Wicklow Council were the plaintiffs and the Company and the County Dublin County Council were the defendants, and until the Lord Lieutenant should otherwise order.

AND WHEREAS under the provisions of the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. V. ch. 50), and the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 (No. 16 of 1924), the powers and duties of the Lord Lieutenant and the Privy Council of Ireland in relation to railways, light railways and tramways have been assigned to the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

AND WHEREAS judgment has been given in the said action in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland and the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow have applied to the Minister to appoint a Committee of Management for the purpose of the undertaking, and it appears expedient to the Minister to make the Order following:—

NOW I, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway Order, 1887, the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900, and every other power me thereunto enabling, do hereby order that the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow shall appoint a Committee of Management for the purpose of the said undertaking, and that, subject to any Order which the Minister may from time to time make, the said Committee of Management shall be constituted in the following manner, and have the following powers with reference to the undertaking:—

1. (a) The County Council of the County of Dublin shall on or before the first day of January, 1928, subsequent to the date of this Order and thereafter on or before the first day of January in every third year succeeding the year 1928 appoint three persons, and the County Council of the County of Wicklow shall on or before the first day of January, 1928, subsequent to the date of this Order and thereafter on or before the first day of January in every third year succeeding the year 1928 appoint three persons, and the six persons so appointed shall form a Committee of Management for the purpose of the undertaking, under the said Order of 1887, and the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900.

(b) The Chairman of the Committee shall be such one of the members of the Committee as is appointed by the Minister. The Chairman shall hold office until the ensuing appointment of members of the Committee, and it shall be the duty of the Chairman constantly to superintend and supervise the working of the tramway.

(c) Each of the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow may nominate a person or persons to fill any vacancy or vacancies by death, resignation or otherwise which have occurred among the members of the Committee respectively appointed by them and such person or persons shall hold office until the ensuring appointment of members of the Committee.

(d) Any vacancy occurring in the office of Chairman by death, resignation or otherwise shall be filled by the nomination of a Chairman by the Minister from among the members of the Committee, and the Chairman so nominated shall hold office until the ensuing appointment of members of the Committee.

(e) Every member of the Committee appointed or nominated as aforesaid by the County Council of Dublin shall be a ratepayer of the County of Dublin owning or occupying rateable lands and hereditaments in the guaranteeing area within the County of Dublin of a minimum annual value of £10, and every member of the Committee appointed or nominated by the County Council of Wicklow shall be a ratepayer of the County of Wicklow owning or occupying rateable lands and hereditaments in the guaranteeing area within the County of Wicklow of a minimum annual value of £10.

2. The Committee may, notwithstanding any vacancy in their body, exercise any of the powers and do any act or thing by this Order or any Order of the Minister conferred upon them or authorised to be done by them.

3. The Committee shall meet at such place as they shall appoint for the discharge of their duties and transaction of the business of the undertaking and for the purpose of this Order. Such meeting shall be held at least once in every month, on such days and at such times as shall from time to time be appointed by the Committee. Such meetings are in this Order referred to as ordinary meetings.

4. The Chairman or the Secretary of the Committee, or other person nominated by the Committee for such purpose, or any two or more members of the Committee, may at any time summon a special meeting of the Committee, by giving to each member of the Committee, or by leaving at or sending by post to any address appearing in any minutes, papers, or books kept by the Committee, or by the respective Secretaries of the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow, as an address of such member, two clear days' notice of such meeting.

5. At any ordinary or special meeting of the Committee any three members of the Committee shall form a quorum, and previously to proceeding to the business of any meeting the members present shall, in the absence of the Chairman, elect a Chairman, and all powers vested in the Committee shall be exercisable by the quorum, and all matters and questions shall be determined by the majority of the members of the Committee present, and in case of an equality of votes the Chairman of such meeting shall have a second or casting vote, and the acts and proceedings of a majority of the members of the Committee present, at any meeting shall be binding on the Committee, but the majority of members present at any subsequent meeting duly held shall have power from time to time to alter, vary, or rescind any resolution or direction which has been come to or given at any previous meeting. Provided that at least fourteen days' notice, in writing, of any such proposed alteration, variation, or rescission shall be given to each member of the Committee in the manner prescribed by Clause 4 of this Order.

6. Any meeting of the Committee may adjourn such meeting to another day.

7. The Committee shall cause to be kept minutes true, proper, and sufficient, of their meetings, and the proceedings thereat, which minutes shall from time to time be punctually and fairly entered in books to be kept for that purpose, which books shall at all times be open to the inspection and transcription of such persons as may be appointed by the Minister or the Minister for Finance, or the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow or either of them for that purpose, and the Committee shall afford all proper and sufficient facilities for the inspection and transcription thereof.

8. The Committee may appoint a Secretary of the Committee, and the person so appointed shall hold office until removal therefrom by the Committee, or until some other person shall be appointed to the Office by the Committee.

9. The Secretary shall undertake and discharge such duties and acts as the Committee shall from time to time direct.

10. The remuneration of the Committee of Management and the Secretary shall, until further Order of the Minister (which he is hereby empowered from time to time to make), be as follows, that is to say:—

(a) The Chairman shall be paid a salary of £100 per annum, inclusive of travelling expenses.

(b) Each other member of the Committee shall be paid a fee of £2, inclusive of travelling expenses, for every attendance at meetings of the Committee, subject to a maximum of £24 per annum.

(c) The Secretary of the Committee shall be paid such salary as the Committee with the approval of the Minister may direct.

11. Subject to the provisions of the Order of 1887, and the Acts therein incorporated, and the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900, and to any Order which the Minister may from time to time make, the management and control of the said undertaking and property shall be vested in the Committee, and the Committee may in addition to the powers by this Order expressly conferred on the Committee exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things with reference to the undertaking as under the Order of 1887 and the Acts therein incorporated, and the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900, might have been exercised and done by the Company, if the said undertaking and property had continued to be the property of the Company, except such powers, acts and things as are by statute directed or required to be exercised by the Company in general meeting.

12. In the exercise of the powers hereinbefore or hereinafter by this Order conferred on the Committee, and in the management and control of the said undertaking, the Committee shall be subject to the Order of 1887, and the Acts incorporated therein, and to the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900, and to any Order of the Minister, made or to be made in reference to the undertaking in his exercise of the functions of the Board of Trade, and to any resolution, regulation, or direction which the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow may lawfully make in reference to the undertaking, until such last mentioned resolution, regulation, or direction has been rescinded, varied or annulled by any resolution of the said County Councils or by Order of the Minister.

13. Without prejudice to the generality of the powers given to the Committee by Clause 11 of this Order, the Committee shall have and may exercise all or any of the powers following, that is to say:—

(1) Power subject to the approval of the Minister to enter into any agreement with any corporation or persons with regard to all or any of the following matters, namely:—

(a) The maintenance and management of the Tramway or any portion thereof, or of the works connected therewith, or any of them.

(b) The use and working of the Tramway and works aforesaid, or of any part thereof, and the conveyance of traffic thereon whether of passengers and goods and the fixing, collecting and apportionment of the tolls, rates, charges, receipts and revenues levied, taken, or arising in respect of such traffic.

(2) Power to repair and maintain or alter (such alteration being subject to the approval of the Minister for Industry and Commerce in his exercise of the functions of the Board of Trade) as they shall think fit, the Tramway and any works, buildings and property forming portion of the undertaking, and keep the same in good order and repair, and for the purposes aforesaid to enter into any such contracts and to incur such expenditure as shall be thought proper.

(3) Power to enter into such agreements for the conveyance of goods and passengers as the Company might have entered into and to receive, collect, levy and enforce such tolls, rates and charges as the Company might have received, collected, levied, and enforced if the undertaking had continued the property of the Company.

(4) Power to purchase, hire, or otherwise acquire all such machinery; plant, engines, carriages, waggons, stores, materials and things as the Committee may think necessary or proper for equipping, maintaining and working the Tramway.

(5) Power to appoint, employ, hire, pay, dismiss or suspend such officers, agents, workmen or servants as the Committee may think proper for the purpose of exercising any of the powers or doing any of the acts or things by this Order or any other Order of the Minister conferred upon the Committee or authorised to be done by them.

(6) Power to employ bankers and open one or more accounts with such bankers in the names of members of the Committee, or any two or more of them, or any other names or name which the Minister may direct, and to arrange for the custody of cash or securities under the control of the Committee.

(7) Power in the exercise of the powers conferred on them by this Order or any other Order of the Minister, to take in accordance with the law for the time being in force any civil or criminal proceedings, and no such proceedings shall abate or be discontinued by reason solely of any change of the members of the Committee.

(8) Such other powers as the Minister may from time to time by Order confer on the Committee.

14. The Committee shall keep full, true and distinct books of account, showing the capital of the undertaking and its receipts from every source, and its expenditure, and they shall keep and preserve all receipts and other documents, necessary for vouching same, and shall, at all times, produce the said books, receipts and documents for the inspection of such person or persons as the County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow, or either of them, may from time to time respectively appoint to examine same, and also of such person or persons as the Minister or the Minister for Finance may from time to time appoint for the like purpose, and also of the Arbitrators appointed pursuant to Section 6 of the Tramways and Public Companies (Ireland) Act, 1883.

15. The Committee shall furnish to the Minister in such form as he may direct six copies of an annual account of the undertaking, not later than sixty days after the expiration of the year for which the account is made up, and shall compile and furnish to the Minister in such form and manner as he may direct such statistics and returns relating to the undertaking as he may require.

16. The accounts of the undertaking shall be audited once in each year by some person to be appointed from time to time for that purpose by the Minister, and the Committee shall produce for the inspection and examination of such auditor their books of accounts, and all receipts and documents necessary for vouching same, and supply the auditor with all such further information as may be reasonably required by him for the purpose of auditing the said accounts. The expenses of the audit shall be paid by the Committee, and shall include such reasonable remuneration of the auditor as shall be fixed by the Minister by any general or special Order.

The auditor shall furnish a statement of the result of the audit, with a summary of the accounts of the undertaking since the last preceding audit to the Minister, and the respective County Councils of the Counties of Dublin and Wicklow.

17. If at any time hereafter it shall appear expedient or desirable that any alteration should be made in the constitution or functions of the Committee, such alterations may be made by Order of the Minister.

18. In this Order the following words and expressions shall have the meaning following, that is to say: "The Minister" means the Minister for Industry and Commerce. "Tramway" and "The Undertaking" shall mean respectively the Tramway and works, and the undertaking authorised by the Order of 1887, and described in the Second Schedule thereto.

19. From and after the appointment of the Committee and of the Chairman thereof, as provided by this Order, the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (Interim Management) Order, 1916, shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice to the validity of any act or proceeding done or taken thereunder.

20. This Order may be cited as the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (Committee of Management) Order, 1927.

Dated this First day of December, 1927.

By Order of the Minister.

(Signed),  GORDON CAMPBELL,

Secretary.