676075-1883-Ordinance-passed-6-of-1883- — Page 10

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 16TH JUNE, 1883.

Disputes as to tolls to be

settled by

Magistrate.

Licensee liable

for damage.

Discontinu-

ance of Tramways by

the Company.

Proceedings in case of insol- Fency of

Company.

Purchase by Government of Tramways,

31. If any dispute arise concerning the amount of the tolls due to the Company or to their lessées from any licensee, or concerning the charges occasioned by any de- tention or sale of any carriage under the provisions herein contained, the same shall be settled by summary procedure before a Magistrate in the manner hereinafter provided for the recovery of unpaid tolls, penalties, and forfeitures, and it shall be lawful for the Company or their lessées in the meanwhile to detain the carriage or (if the case so require) the proceeds of the sale thereof.

32. Every licensee shall be answerable for any trespass or damage done by his carriages, or horses, or by any of the servants or persons employed by him to or upon the Tramway, or to or upon the property of any other person, and, without prejudice to the right of action against the licensee, or any other person, every such servant, or other person, may lawfully be convicted of such trespass or da- mage before a Magistrate, and upon such conviction every such licensee shall pay to the Company, lessees, or persons injured, as the case may be, the damage, to be ascertained by such Magistrate, so that the same do not exceed two . hundred and fifty dollars.

Discontinuance of Tramways.

33. If, at any time after the opening of any Tramway for traffic, the Company discontinue the working of such Tramway or of any part thereof for the space of six months (such discontinuance not being occasioned by circumstances beyond the control of the Company, for which purpose the want of sufficient funds shall not be considered a circumstance beyond their control) and such discontinuance is proved to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council, the Governor in Council may by Order declare that the powers of the Company in respect of such Tramway, or the part thereof so discontinued, shall, from the date of such order, be at an end, and thereupon the said powers of the Company shall cease and determine, unless the same are purchased by the Government in manner by this Ordinance provided. Where any such order has been made, the Surveyor General may, at any time after the expiration of two months from the date of such order, under the authority of a certificate to that effect by the Governor in Council, remove the Tramway, or part of the Trainway so discontinued, and the Company shall pay to the Surveyor General the cost of such removal, and of the making good of the road by the Surveyor General, such cost to be certified by the Surveyor General, whose certifi- cate shall be final and conclusive; and if the Company fail to pay the amount so certified within two months after delivery to them of such certificate or a true copy thereof, the Surveyor General may, without any previous notice to the Company (but without prejudice to any other remedy which he may have for the recovery of the amount) sell and dispose of the materials of the Tramway, or part of the Tramway removed, either by public auction or private sale, and for such sum or sums and to such person or persons as he may think fit, and may out of the proceeds of such sale reimburse himself the amount of the cost certified as aforesaid, and of the cost of sale, and the balance, if any, of the proceeds of sale shall be paid to the Company.

Insolvency of Company.

34. If at any time after the opening of any Tramway for traffic, it appears to the Governor in Council that the Company are insolvent, so that they are unable to maintain such Tramway, or work the same with advantage to the public, the Governor in Council may enquire into the financial affairs of the Company, and if the Governor in Council shall be of opinion that the Company are so in- solvent as aforesaid, he may by order declare that the powers of the Company shall, at the expiration of six months from the making of the order, be at an end, and the powers of the Company shall cease and determine at the expiration of the said period unless the same are purchased, by the Government in manner by this Ordinance provided, and thereupon the Surveyor General may remove the Tram- way in like manner, and subject to the same provisions as to the payment of the costs of such removal, and to the same remedy for recovery of such costs in every respect as in cases of removal under the next preceding section.

Purchase of Tramways.

35. The Governor in Council may, within six months after the expiration of a period of twenty-one years from the time when the Company were empowered to construct