Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

ΤΟ

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD WESTBURY,

This Work

IS,

(BY PERMISSION)

WITH SENTIMENTS OF GREAT RESPECT,

DEDICATED

BY

THE AUTHORS.

PREFACE.

AN apology for the appearance of the present work, or for the form which it has assumed, is hardly deemed necessary by the Authors. The importance of the subjects treated of; the now almost unanimous opinion of the profession as to the form of legal writing most practically convenient for reference; the long time which has elapsed since a treatise of a similar nature has been published, and the great changes and additions which have in the meantime been made with regard to the law of railway companies, both by decision and by legislative enactment, afford reasons sufficient to justify the Authors' undertaking.

In the notes to the various sections of the acts of Parliament, the aim has been to express the result in point of law of all decided cases down to the end of last year* as concisely as possible, instead of wearying, and, as often happens, bewildering, the reader by long and complicated statements of facts. In this way the Authors hope to have been able to supply, within a moderate compass, a complete treatise on the Law relating to Railway Companies.

Those acts of Parliament which are of lesser importance, are printed separately, and in their chronological order, in the Appendix, but are referred to in several other portions of the work, and are included in the Index.

* Some cases decided since the beginning of this year will be found in the Addenda.

By making the Index as comprehensive as possible, the Authors trust that they have obviated any inconvenience that might otherwise result from the form of the book, or from the miscellaneous character of the subjects dealt with.

That their work will be found to contain various imperfections, the Authors cannot but expect; the occurrence of any serious inaccuracy has, it is hoped, been guarded against by the exercise of care and diligence. They respectfully submit the result of their labours to the consideration of the profession and of the public.

The Authors desire to acknowledge their obligations to Mr Edward Pennefather O'Brien, of the Inner Temple, for contributing the common law portion of the notes to the Companies Clauses Act, and some of the earlier sections of the Lands Clauses Act.

« PreviousContinue »