c. 78. 12 & 13 VICT. sufficient to use the expression "The House of Lords Costs Taxation Act, 1849." Act may be amended, &c. XVI. And be it enacted, That this act may be amended or repealed by any act to be passed in this session of Parliament. THE RAILWAY CLEARING ACT, 1850. (13 & 14 VICT. c. 33.) An Act for Regulating Legal Proceedings by or against the Committee of Railway Companies associated under the Railway Clearing System, and for other Purposes.-[25th June 1850.] WHEREAS for some time past arrangements have subsisted between several railway companies for the transmission without interruption of the through traffic in passengers, animals, minerals, and goods passing over different lines of railway, for the purpose of affording, in respect to such passengers, animals, minerals, and goods, the same or the like facilities as if such lines had belonged to one company, which arrangements are commonly known as and in this act are designated as "the clearing system," and which arrangements are conducted under the superintendence of a committee appointed by the boards of directors of such several railway companies, which committee is in this act designated "the committee," and the business of such committee has heretofore been and is now carried on at a building appropriated for the purpose in Seymour Street, adjoining the Euston Station of the London and North-western Railway Company: And whereas the clearing system has been productive of great convenience to the public, and of a considerable saving of expense in the transmission of passengers, animals, minerals, and goods over the lines of the several railway companies, parties to such association; but considerable difficulty has been experienced in carrying into effect the objects of the association, in consequence of the committee not possessing the power of prosecuting or defending actions or suits, or taking other legal proceedings: And whereas George Carr Glyn esquire is the present chairman, and Kenneth Morison is the present secretary of the committee: And whereas the purposes aforesaid cannot be effected without the authority of Parliament: May it therefore please your Majesty that it Railway Clearing-Clearing Committee. lxix C. 33. ties to the clear may be enacted; and be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excel- 13 & 14 VICT. lent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parlia- Companies parment assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the ing system to be several companies which at the time of the passing of this act subject to the are parties to the clearing system, and every other company act. which shall in manner hereafter mentioned become party to the same, shall be subject to the provisions of this act. provisions of this assent of com II. And be it enacted, That if any company which may not other companies be a party to the clearing system shall, by writing sealed with may join, with the common seal of such company, request the committee to mitte. admit such company to be a party to the clearing system, and the committee shall assent to such request, such company shall from the time of such assent being given, or at such other time as may be specified in the said request, become a party to the clearing system. notice. III. And be it enacted, That if any company shall, by writ- Companies may ing sealed with the common seal of such company, give notice retire, on giving to the committee of the desire of such company to cease to be a party to the clearing system, such company shall, at the expiration of one calendar month from the time when such notice shall be given, or if a more distant time shall be stated in such notice, then at the time so stated, cease to be a party to the clearing system. notice to retire. IV. And be it enacted, That if not less than two-thirds of Committee may the committee present at a meeting specially summoned shall, give company by writing signed by their secretary or by two members of the committee, give notice to any company that such company shall cease to be a party to the clearing system, at a time named in such notice, not being less than one calendar month from the time of giving such notice, such company shall at the time so named cease to be a party to the clearing system. ber of the com V. And be it enacted, That each company party to the clear- Each company to ing system shall at all times be entitled to be represented on the appoint a memcommittee by one delegate appointed by the board of directors mittee. of such company from time to time, such appointment to be certified in writing by the secretary or any two directors of such company Provided always, that, notwithstanding any company may happen to be unrepresented by a delegate at any meeting, the acts of the committee shall be valid. VI. And be it enacted, That the committee shall meet at one the committee, Meetings of quorum, &c. C. 33. 18 & 14 VICT. of the clock in the afternoon of the second Wednesday in the months of March, June, September, and December in every year, or so soon thereafter as a quorum shall be assembled, and at any other times whereof the secretary shall, at the written request of the chairman for the time being, or any two members of the committee, give at least ten days' notice in writing to every company party to the clearing system, or the secretary of every such company; and every such meeting may be adjourned from time to time and from place to place as the committee shall think proper; and meetings and adjourned meetings of the committee shall be held at the said building in Seymour Street, except when the committee shall have appointed some other place, and then at such other place; and in order to constitute a meeting of the committee there shall be present at least ten members; and, except where otherwise provided, all questions at every meeting shall be determined by the majority of votes of the committee present, and in case of an equal division of votes the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote, in addition to his vote as one of the committee; and notice of the business to be brought before any meeting shall, at least six days before the day of such meeting, be given to every company party to the clearing system, or the secretary of every such company. Appointment of the chairman. VII. And be it enacted, That until the first meeting of the committee which shall be held after the passing of this act the said George Carr Glyn, or other the chairman of the committee for the time being, shall continue in office; and at the first meeting of the committee which shall be held after the passing of this act, and in the month of March in each succeeding year, the committee present at the meeting shall, if they think fit, either continue in office the chairman for the time being, or choose another chairman; and a general meeting of the committee specially summoned shall have power to remove any chairman; and if any chairman shall die, or resign, or be removed, the committee shall have power, as soon as may be, to choose some other person to fill the vacancy thereby occasioned; but every chairman elected to supply a vacancy other than at a general meeting in the month of March in any year shall continue in office so long only as the person in whose place he shall be so elected would have been entitled to continue if such death, resignation, or removal had not happened: Provided always, that it shall not be necessary that the person chosen as chairman be a delegate of any of the companies parties to the clearing system; but in case he shall not be a delegate he shall not be entitled to vote on any question, unless in the case of Proceedings of Clearing Committee. lxxi an equality of votes, when he shall be entitled to give the 13 & 14 VICT. casting vote. c. 33. of chairman VIII. And be it enacted, That if at any meeting of the com- In the absence mittee the chairman shall not be present the committee present committee to shall choose one of their members to be chairman of such elect a chairman. meeting. secretary. IX. And be it enacted, That the said Kenneth Morison shall Appointment of be the secretary to the committee until he die, or resign, or be removed; and that the committee shall have the power to remove him and all future secretaries; and that in the event of the resignation, or death, or such removal as aforesaid of any secretary, the committee shall appoint a secretary to the committee. treasurer. X. And be it enacted, That the committee may from time to Appointment of time appoint a treasurer, and remove such treasurer from his appointment, and prescribe and alter the duties of the office of treasurer, and take from the treasurer such security as they shall think fit, which security may be taken in the name or names of such person or persons as the committee approve of. received by XI. And be it enacted, That any money which shall be As to monies received by the committee shall be held by the committee as committee. trustees for the company or companies to whom the committee shall decide such money to be payable; but no member of the said committee shall be answerable for any such money as may be lost or withheld by reason of the misconduct, default, or insolvency of the treasurer, or of any banker or agent in whose hands the same may be, or by reason of any cause other than the personal misconduct of such member. be settled, and declared by XII. And be it enacted, That the accounts of the clearing Accounts to system, and the balances due to and from the several companies balance ascerparties thereto, shall be settled and adjusted by the secretary of tained and the committee for the time being, which secretary shall also settle and determine the amount to be from time to time contributed to the funds of the clearing system by the companies parties thereto; and in case of any difference respecting such accounts the decision of the committee, to the effect that any balance or sum is payable by any company then or theretofore party to the clearing system, shall be final and conclusive, and such sum or balance shall be a debt due to the said committee. paid out of the XIII. And be it enacted, That the committee shall, out of Expenses to be the funds of the clearing system, pay all the expenses of the funds of the clearing system. c. 33. 13 & 14 VICT. clearing system, and all costs, charges, damages, and expenses which the members of the committee, or any or either of them, shall as such members or member, or which the secretary as nominal plaintiff or defendant, or other party, on behalf of the committee, bear, sustain, or be put to, and that the members of the committee and secretary shall be completely indemnified and saved harmless out of the funds of the clearing system, and by the companies parties to the clearing system, of, from, and against all action and actions, suit and suits, proceeding and proceedings, of any sort, costs, charges, damages, and expenses, to which they or any or either of them may in any way be subjected, as members or member of the committee, by reason of anything which they or he may bonâ fide do or omit to do, whether such deed or omission be within their powers or not. Committee may sue for balances or sums due. Form of action for the recovery or sums. XIV. And be it enacted, That the committee may, by action of debt in the name of their secretary, recover from any company any balance or sum which such committee shall decide to be payable by such company, whether to any other company or on account of the clearing system, and whether such company be still at the time of such decision or has then ceased to be a party to the clearing system, and whether such sum or balance shall or shall not have been previously ascertained by the secretary to be payable. XV. And be it enacted, That the declaration for the recovery of such balances of such sum or balance may be in the form or to the effect of the form given in the schedule (A) to this act annexed, and that the directions contained in the said schedule for the use of the same shall be taken as part of this act. Evidence. Plea. XVI. And be it enacted, That if the defendants in such action shall plead that they never were indebted, then, on proof that the committee decided the sum in question to be payable by the defendants, and that the defendants were either at the time of such decision or at some previous time a party to the clearing system, and in the latter case, upon further proof that such sum was decided to be payable in respect of some transactions, matters, or expenses which happened or were sustained whilst the defendants were parties to the clearing system, the plaintiff shall be entitled to a verdict on that plea. XVII. And be it enacted, That the defendants in such action may plead any matter showing that they have since the time of the decision discharged the sum or balance so decided to be |