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Should it ever be determined to put any of such projects under way ample powers exist under later provisions of the Bill for doing so in a manner which would effectually deprive the existing private enter- prises of this nature from carrying out such enterprises except at the
expense of obtaining fresh sites upon which to do so if such sites
could, in fact, be found.
I do not assume that the present Government has any intention of exercising any of the powers referred to above but it is impossible to foresee what may happen in the future or what powers future Governments
may propose to exercise,
It will be noted that express powers are given in Section 3 in terms which are unambiguous to remove any of the existing wharves, piers, landing places or rails at present belonging to private concerns.
All public and private rights of access user possession or occupa- tion relating to any portion of any foreshore or land which may be occupied by such works as are of a permanent nature are extinguished by the Bill.
The rights of any reclamation seaward in respect of any land occupied by such works is also taken away. On the other hand any per- son whose rights are extinguished or whose property is injuriously affected by such works is entitled to compensation if he can persuade a judge that he has suffered loss. This provision appears to cover claims to losses of all descriptions including loss of access to the sea.
If one can imagine the Government going so far as to carry out works vitally affecting the Wharf Company's operations or to reclaim the bay in which the Dock Company's premises exist it does not require much further imagination to appreciate that enterprises of those Companies would, in such a contingency, be entirely frustrated and it would be impossible to recreate them or to effectively compensate them for the loss of their existing Marine facilities so as to enable them to carry on business in a fresh locality with the same advantages as before.
In case the Government may be assumed to be innocent of the intent-
ion of carrying out any works of the nature above referred to and of
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