THE CANTERBURY, WEST COAST, AND NELSON, RAILWAY BILL.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1458, 17 October 1884, Page 2

THE CANTERBURY, WEST COAST, AND NELSON, RAILWAY BILL.

(From our Wellington, Correspondent.) '* The East and West Coa^t Railway C Middle Island) and Nelson R.ilway Bill" has been printed and circulated. An official statement attached to it states that " The necessity for this Bill arises from ti-e fact that undo** U,e provisions of the Act of 1881 ('"Rail way Construction Act" herei.) called the priucipal Act) with respect to .borrowing money on debentures, it is impossible for the Company constructing the railway to effect tne settlement of land granted to it under the Act of 1881, as no land could be .sold without the express consent of every debenture holder of the Company. The oilier provisions of tho Act of 1881 are not adapted to the special circumstances of this proposed railway, especially with ; regard to the cost of construction and ■ limit of the concessions of land per j mile ; also having regard to the poor quality ofthe land through which the ! railway had to pass. With this view tiie whole of the provisions in the Act of 18S1 relating to borrowing of money and concession of laud have be_n re- j cast to suit the exceptional circumstances of this line. Clauso 6, as to : the running powers of the Company | is in substitution of Sections 112 and 113 of the principal Act, and provides for the running of trains with or without passengers or goods, and removes the restriction of one year as the terms • of any agreement iv that respect. ! Clause 9 (2) provides for a concession j of laud elsewhere than along the line j of lailway in case no land be there available. This clause is in substitution of Section 101 ofthe principal Act. Clause 9 (5), in substitution of soctiou 104 of the principal Act, grants to the Company all the coal that way be discovered on the land granted to the Company and the right of working the same. Clause 9 \7), in substitution of section 106 of the principal Act which limits the cost of construction to £5,000 per mile, provides for the grant of land to the Company in accotdauce with what the cost of this particular railway may prove to be per mile. Clauses 10 to 18 are in substitution of sections 52 and 56 of the principal Act and provide for the raising of money on debentures secured on the entire assets of the Company, including the railway, instead of by specific mortgage upon the lands of the Company. Except in this particular the above sections are unaltered save in their language. ' The first part of the Bill deals with tlie East and West Coast railway. The Governor in Council is empowered at any time before the next session of Parliament to contract with any Com- ' pany, Syndicate, or persons for a line of railway to connect the East and West Coasts of the North Island by such route; as the Governor ih Council shall determine. In the contract to be made under the Act, the Governor

may agree that on the completion of the railway, or of any portion thereof, he will take over and work such railway or portion thereof as he may think fit upon the. condition of retaining 70 per centum of the gross traffic receipts thereof for tho first year, aud 65 per cent for each year thereafter, and of paying any balance of such gross receipts iv each year to the Company, or to sueii person or persons as it shall appoint. Clause 6 provides that the Governor and Company may have running powers over each other's lines under the conditions specified in the official statement quoted above. The following are the principal provisions in regard Lo the concessions of laud to the Company. — On the making of the contract the Governor iv Council may on tiie application of- the Company forthwith cause a sufficient area of Crown lauds for a distance not exceeding fifteen miles on each side of the proposed line of railway, or if there shall not be sufficient land on each iide then upou oue side of the proposed line of such railway, to be withdrawn from sale. Such lands shall be with drawn from sale by Order in Coum-il to be published iv tlie Gazelle The ' blocks are to be rectangular, ex ..■■••it I where advantage i." taken of a natural I boundary, and no block is io havn a I greater frontage to the Hue of railw.iv ! than one mile. The cost of the s'lrwy is to be borne equally by tho Government and the Company. The Company shall only be eutitled to alternate c'ioice of the blocks of laud so surveyed as aforesaid in such a manner as maybe provided by the contract, and in no oase shall the land so granted to the Company include more than one-half the frontage to the line. Progress of sections will be made by the Company for the laud, or when a complete section of the railway is finished. The Crown is to have the right to select an equal area to that selected by tlie Company. If no laud adjoining the line is available, then other land benefited by the construction of the railway is to be set aside. The value of the land to be granted under this i Act is to be calculated upon the esti- ; mated market value thereof immediately prior to the making of the contract irrespective of any Land Act or regulations made thereunder, and without regard to any prospective value that will be given to such lands hy the proposed undertaking. Such value shall be ascertained by the Surveyor General on behalf of the Governor, and some person to be appointed by the Company, and, in cose of their disagreement, by some persons to be chosen by the SurveyorGeneral and such first mentioned person and tlieir repsesentatives. The Company are to pay the value of the improvements to persons holding land as tenant or licensee of the Crown. ] The Company shall be entitled to any : coal found upon any land comprised in . any such grant, and may work the same, without paying any royalty, but otherwise all such lat.d shall be subject in all respects to the provisions of " The Resumption of Land for Mining ! Purposes Act, 1882." Every Crown grant issued under this Act shall contain a power to the Governor on behalf of thy Crown at any time • within five years from the issue of the grant to take and lay off for roads or , streets through auy laud comprised • therein such part of such land, not exceeding five per cent, as ihe Governor may think fit. The value of the lands lo be granted is not to exceed 50 per cent of the cost of the railway. j The Company are authorised to borrow I money on debentures, but the creditors j of tiie Company are to have no claim |on the coloaial revenue. The interest 1 payable is not to exceed 6 per cent, ; and the debentures are to be a first j charge on the assets of the Company j and railway. In default of the payj ment of debentures or cupons a • receiver may be appointed, in whom the. Company's property siifil! vest. Debenture holders are not to sell, o • apply for order to sell, the Company's property without first giving notice to the Governor. If the Governor exer- ; cises the power of purchase conferred by the sth section of the principal Act I the railway or any part thereof which :is purchased shall be then iha ged, j and shall be less than the purchasing . I price determined by arbitration. Pursuant to the provisions of sectims 114 to 119 of the principal Act, both j inclusive, the price to be paid to the ; Company shall be the difference be- | tweert the, moneys charged and the ' price so to be defined. If the moneys ' charged shall be more than the price, so determined, the Company shall pay to the Governer the difference between the price so determined and the money charged. If the money charged ou any part thereof shall bear interest at a higher rate than six per cent per annum, the arbitrators who determine the price to be paid for the purchase shall determine what, if any, is a proper sum to be allotted to the Governor as a rebate in respect of any interest on the amount charged in excess of five per cent per annum, and the amount so ascertained, if any, shall be added to the principal money and as between the Governor and the Company shall be deemed the amount charged upon the railway. Similar power is given to contract for the construction of a line of railway to connect Nelson with any part of the East aud West Coast railway, and the provisions of this Act are to apply to junction railways.