Pier and Harbour Orders Confirmation Act, 1867

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DINGWALL.

Order for the Management and Improvement of the Harbour of Dingwall, in the County of Ross.

Repeal of certain Sections of Act 5 Geo. 4. c. 93.

1. From and after the first day of August one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, the Sections of the Local Act, fifth George the Fourth, chapter ninety-three, relating to the harbour of Dingwall (in this Order termed “the Local Act”), which are specified in the Schedule (A.) annexed to this Order, and the Schedule to the said Act, shall be and are hereby repealed, and this Order shall commence and take effect.

Appointment and incorporation of Commissioners.

2. The magistrates and town council of the burgh of Dingwall, and their successors in office, shall be the commissioners for carrying this Order into execution, and shall be and are hereby, for the purposes of this Order, incorporated by the name of “the Dingwall Harbour Commissioners”; and by that name shall be a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and with power to purchase, lease, take, hold, and dispose of lands and other property for the purposes but subject to the restrictions of this Order.

Interpretation.

3. In this Order the several words and expressions to which meanings are assigned by the Acts wholly or partially incorporated therewith shall have the same respective meanings, and in this Order and in the said Acts as incorporated therewith the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there be something in the subject or context repugnant to such constructions respectively; that is to say, the expression “the Special Act” shall mean this Order; the expression “the Harbour” shall mean the harbour of Dingwall and the works in and connected therewith; and the expression “the Commissioners” shall mean the Dingwall Harbour Commissioners incorporated by this Order.

Harbour and works vested in the Commissioners.

4. From and after the first day of August one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, all the estate, right, and interest and all the powers of the magistrates and town council of the burgh of Dingwall in or over the Harbour of Dingwall, and in, over, or in respect of the lands, works, wharves, property, rights, and privileges connected therewith, shall be and are hereby vested in the Commissioners, subject to the debts, contracts, obligations, and liabilities affecting the same; and the said harbour and works shall thereafter be maintained, repaired, regulated, extended, and improved by the Commissioners, under the authority and subject to the provisions of this Order and the Acts incorporated therewith.

Harbour to be a separate trust.

5. The Harbour and works and property connected therewith and the revenues thereof shall be held and managed by the Commissioners as a distinct trust, and separate from the common good, property, and revenues of the Burgh of Dingwall.

Provision for payment of debts and money.

6. Any money borrowed on the credit or security of the harbour rates and duties leviable under the authority of the Local Act, and all other debts and money due or payable by the Magistrates and Council of Dingwall in relation to the harbour, at the first day of August one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, shall be payable and paid by the Commissioners; and all harbour rates and duties, and arrears of harbour rates and duties, and all other debts and money, principal or interest, belonging, due, or payable to the said magistrates and council in relation to the Harbour at the same date shall be payable to the Commissioners, and shall be recoverable by them in the same way as such rates and duties and arrears of rates and duties and other debts and money would or might have been payable to or recoverable by the said Magistrates and Council if this Order had not been made.

Conveyances and contracts to remain in force.

7. All conveyances, contracts, and other deeds granted by, to, or in favour of the said Magistrates and Council, in relation to the Harbour, shall be and remain as valid and effectual as if this Order had not been made, and may be enforced by and against the Commissioners in the same way, and to the same extent and effect as such conveyances, contracts, and other deeds might or could have been enforced by or against the said Magistrates and Council if this Order had not been made.

Incorporation of Commissioners Clauses Act.

8. “The Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847,” so far as the same is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, shall be incorporated with this Order, and shall, so far as the nature and circumstances of the case will admit, apply to the Commissioners collectively and severally, subject to the following provisions:—

(1.) Sections six and seven, and Sections 17 to 35, both inclusive, of the said Act, shall not be incorporated with this Order:

(2.) With reference to Section 37 of the said Act, the Provost of the Burgh of Dingwall, for the time being, shall ex-officio be the chairman of the Commissioners:

(3.) Section 54 of the said Act shall not be incorporated with this Order:

(4.) With reference to Section 84 of the said Act, the sum to be every year appropriated and set apart out of the rates as a sinking fund shall not be less than one-fiftieth part of the principal moneys borrowed, such appropriation to commence from the first day of August one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two:

(5.) With reference to Section 90 of the said Act, it shall not be obligatory on the Commissioners to cause the statement and account therein mentioned to be printed:

(6.) With reference to Section 92 of the said Act, the Sheriff of the County of Ross, or the Sheriff-substitute at Dingwall, shall from time to time, on the application of the Commissioners, appoint a properly qualified person, not being one of the Commissioners or holding office under them, to be the permanent Auditor of the accounts of the Commissioners; and if the office of such Auditor become vacant by death, or any other cause, the said Sheriff or Sheriff-substitute shall from time to time, on the application of the Commissioners, appoint a person properly qualified as aforesaid to supply such vacancy.

Undertakers.

9. The Commissioners shall be the undertakers of the works authorized by this Order.

Limits of harbour.

10. The limits within which the Commissioners shall have authority, and which shall be deemed the limits to which this Order extends, shall comprise the Harbour and works by this Order vested in the Commissioners or authorized to be executed, and the lands, foreshore, and sea on which the same are or may be situate, and shall extend along the Firth of Cromarty and the channel of the River Conon, from the one extremity of the Royalty of the Burgh of Dingwall to the other.

Power to take lands by agreement.

11. For the purposes of the works authorized by this Order the Commissioners may from time to time by agreement enter on, take, and use such lands in and around the Harbour as may be required for the said works, not exceeding in the whole eight acres.

Incorporation of Lands Clauses Acts.

12. “The Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1815,” and “The Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts Amendment Act, 1860,” except so much thereof respectively as relates to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement, are hereby incorporated with this Order.

Power to execute works.

13. Subject to the provisions of this Order, and subject also to such alterations (if any) in the deposited plans as the Board of Trade require from time to time before completion of the works in order to prevent injury to navigation, the Commissioners may, on the lands vested in or purchased or acquired by them under this Order, and in the lines and according to the levels and within the limits of deviation shown on the deposited plan and sections, make and maintain the works shown on the deposited plan and sections, and herein-after described.

Description of works.

14. The works authorized by this Order comprise the following:—

First.—A new cut or entrance channel to the Harbour, commencing near the lower end of the existing wharf on the south-west side of the Harbour, and terminating at or near low-water mark in the channel of the River Conon, near the lower end of the middle bank:

Second.—An embankment and track-path, commencing near the lower end of the existing wharf, and extending along the south side of the said new cut or entrance channel, for a distance of three hundred and seventy-five yards or thereabouts, with a continuation of the said embankment sloped down to low-water mark in the channel of the River Conon:

Third.—A bridge over the Dingwall Canal, at or near the upper end of the said existing wharf:

Fourth.—An extension seawards of the said existing wharf on the south-west side of the Harbour, and a new quay or wharf on the north-east side of the Harbour opposite to the said existing quay or wharf:

Fifth.—An embankment or extension seawards and widening of the north-east bank of the Dingwall Canal.

Further powers as to works.

15. The Commissioners may also make, execute, and maintain the following works authorized by this Order:—

First.—All piers, jetties, landing places, roads, approaches, and other works and conveniences connected with the new cut or entrance channel, wharves, embankments, and bridge before described:

Second.—The sufficient and effectual dredging, scouring, cleansing, and removing of any banks of sand or mud within or adjoining the Harbour or works, or in the new entrance channel and approaches to the Harbour.

Abandonment of portions of Dingwall Canal.

16. The following portions of the Dingwall Canal shall be abandoned and disused for the purposes of navigation or of the Harbour; that is to say:—

First.—The portion of the said canal situate between the bridge, commonly called Peter’s Bridge, at the extreme land-ward or west-end of the said canal, and the upper end of the said existing wharf on the south-west side of the Harbour, but without prejudice to the rights of the Commissioners, or of the said Magistrates and Town Council as representing the community of the said Burgh and as acting under the Local Act, to the River Peffery and the diversion thereof from the said canal, as occasion may require:

Second.—The portion of the said canal situate between the point herein-before described as the commencement of the said new cut or entrance channel and the River Conon.

Power to levy rates.

17. The Commissioners may demand and receive in respect of vessels, animals, fish, and goods described in the Schedule (B.) annexed to this Order, any sums not exceeding the several rates specified in the said Schedule.

Certain fishing vessels under stress of weather exempt from rates.

18. Fishing vessels belonging to countries with which, for the time being, treaties exist exempting from duties and port charges such vessels when forced by stress of weather to seek shelter in the ports or on the coasts of the United Kingdom shall, when forced by stress of weather to make use of the Harbour, and not breaking bulk while making use thereof, be exempt from rates leviable under this Order.

Customs officers.

19. Officers of Customs, being in the execution of their duty, shall, at all times, have free ingress, passage, and egress to, through, and out of the Harbour and the works of the Commissioners by land, and with their vessels and otherwise, without payment.

Rates may be leased.

20. The Commissioners may, from time to time, lease the rates authorized by this Order for any period not exceeding three years, and for such rent or consideration, and on such terms and conditions, as they think fit; and the lessee shall have and may exercise, during the continuance of his lease, the same powers of levying and recovering the said rates as the Commissioners have or might exercise under “The Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847,” and this Order.

Borrowing powers.

21. The Commissioners may, from time to time, borrow on mortgage such money as may be required for the purposes of the works authorized by this Order, not exceeding in the whole the sum of six thousand pounds, on the security of the Harbour and works and lands and property connected therewith by this Order vested in the Commissioners, and of the lands and property and works to be purchased and acquired and executed by them under the authority of this Order, and of the rates authorized by this Order, and any other property of the Commissioners; and any money borrowed under the authority of this Order and discharged otherwise than by means of the sinking fund may be re-borrowed if required for the purposes of this Order, and so toties quoties.

Borrowed money may be repaid by instalments.

22. In any mortgage or assignation in security to be granted by the Commissioners for money borrowed under the authority of this Order, provision may be made for the repayment of the principal money so borrowed within any period not exceeding forty years from the date of the loan, by such instalments as may be agreed on between the Commissioners and the lenders; and the Commissioners shall not be required to appropriate or set apart any sum as a sinking fund in respect of any principal monies which are repayable by such instalments.

Commissioners may borrow on cash account.

23. The Commissioners may accept and take from any bank or banking company in Scotland credit on a cash account to be opened and kept with such bank or banking company in the name of the Commissioners, according to the usage of bankers in Scotland, to the extent of the sum which the Commissioners are by this Order authorized to borrow, or any part thereof, and may assign the rates authorized by this Order in security of the payment of the amount of such credit or of the sums advanced from time to time on such cash account with interest thereon: Provided, that the whole principal sums due and owing by the Commissioners on such cash account and for money borrowed by them on mortgage shall never, when taken together, exceed the said sum of six thousand pounds.

Form of assignations in security and transfers.

24. The mortgages or assignations in security to be granted by the Commissioners for money borrowed under the authority of this Order, and all transfers thereof, may be in the forms contained in the Schedule (B.) annexed to “The Burgh Harbours (Scotland) Act, 1853,” or to the like effect.

Application of borrowed money.

25. Every part of the money borrowed under this Order shall be applied only for the purposes authorized by this Order.

Application of rates and income.

26. The Commissioners shall apply all money received by them from the rates authorized by this Order, and all other money (not being money raised on mortgage or otherwise in the nature of capital) coming into their hands in respect of the Harbour and works by this Order vested in or authorized to be executed by the Commissioners, for the purposes and in the order following, and not otherwise:—

(1.) In paying the costs of and connected with the preparation and making of this Order:

(2.) In paying year by year the interest (if any) accruing on money borrowed under the authority of the local Act:

(3.) In paying the expense of the maintenance, repair, management, and regulation of the Harbour:

(4.) In paying year by year the interest accruing on money borrowed under this Order:

(5.) In paying the cost of the works authorized by this Order, and of the lands and property to be purchased and acquired for the purposes thereof, and generally in paying any expense incurred in improving the Harbour:

(6.) In creating a sinking fund, in the manner, and in so far as the nature and circumstances of the case will admit, in the proportion specified by “The Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847,” as varied by this Order.

Application of capital.

27. The Commissioners shall apply all money in the nature of capital (and not being mortgage money) received by them under this Order for the like purposes and in the like manner as directed by the provisions respectively numbered 5 and 6 of the last preceding clause of this Order, with reference to money to which that clause relates and which may remain after payment of interest on money borrowed under this Order.

Commissioners may provide dredges, engines, &c.

28. The Commissioners may, for the purposes of the Harbour, or any of them, from time to time purchase, provide, lease, or hire, such dredges, engines, tugs, vessels, lighters, tools, plant, or other materials, as they think fit, and may from time to time demand and receive such sums for the use of the same as they think fit, or may sell and dispose of the same, and the money thereby realized shall be applied for carrying into effect the purposes of this Order, or some of them.

Pilotage, lights, buoys, and beacons.

29. The Commissioners shall be a pilotage authority and local authority, within the meaning of “The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,” and the Acts amending the same, and shall have all powers conferred by those Acts on pilotage authorities and on local authorities.

Meters and weighers.

30. The Commissioners shall have the appointment of meters and weighers within the limits of the Harbour.

Lands for extraordinary purposes.

31. The Commissioners shall not acquire for extraordinary purposes lands exceeding in extent in the whole three acres.

Exception of parts of Harbours Clauses Act.

32. Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, and 26 of “The Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847,” shall not be incorporated with this Order.

Saving rights under Crown Lands Act, 1866.

33. This Order shall not be taken as a consent to the surrender of any rights, interests, powers, authorities, or privileges transferred to the management of the Board of Trade by “The Crown Lands Act, 1866,” nor shall any works under this Order be commenced within limits affected by any such rights, interests, powers, authorities, or privileges without the assent of the Board of Trade having been first obtained.

Short Title.

34. This Order may be cited as “The Dingwall Harbour Order, 1867.”

SCHEDULES to which the foregoing Order refers.

SCHEDULE (A.)

SCHEDULE (B.)

I.—RATES ON VESSELS ENTERING OR USING THE HARBOUR.

II.—RATES ON ANIMALS, FISH, AND GOODS SHIPPED, UNSHIPPED, OR TRANSHIPPED WITHIN THE HARBOUR.

In charging the rates on goods, the gross weight or measurement of all goods to be taken; and for any less weights, measures, and quantities than those above specified, a proportion of the respective rates to be charged.

Five cubic feet not exceeding two and a half hundredweight, to be rated as a barrel bulk, but when the weight of five cubic feet is greater than two and a half hundredweight, then two and a half hundredweight to be rated as a barrel bulk.

III.—RATES FOR THE USE OF CRANES, WEIGHING MACHINES, AND SHEDS.

1. Cranes:—

2. Weighing machines:—

For goods weighed, one penny for each ton or part of a ton.

3. Shed dues:—

For each ton of goods of 8 barrels bulk, or for each ton of goods of 20 cwt., which shall remain in the sheds or on the quays of the harbour for a longer time than 48 hours, the sum of threepence; and the sum of 1½d. per ton for each day during which such goods shall remain after the first 48 hours.