The Optical Magic Lantern Journal (September 1898)

The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. 131 Proposed New Railway By-laws as to Cylinders. OrFricE-Mape Law as Aqarnst STatuTE Law. By T. BOLAS, F.C.S., F.I.C. A\ HERE was a time when all laws ry affecting the rights and liberty of i) Englishmen had to be openly dis cussed in both houses of Parliament, duly passed, and then approved by the Monarch before they were considered valid; but all this is now changed, Parliament having largely delegated its power of law making to local bodies and corporations. I am not now going to enquire how far such delegation may be unconstitutional, and all such by-laws (or bye-laws as some prefer to spell it) are consequently invalid; but they hold good as far as the ordinary police court magistrate is concerned. When fully contested in the superior courts they are in many, or most cases, declared invalid or ultra vires, but this is a poor consolation to those who do not wish to spend their money in ruinous litigation. One of the by-laws of the new code now before the Board of Trade is calculated to affect lanternists very considerably, as it is so worded as to make it a criminal offence (penalty £5) to bring a gas cylinder within the approach to a railway station without having first obtained a written consent from some representative of the railway owners. The exact wording of the by-law is as follows :— “15. for the prevention of accident or injury therefrom.” (£5 penalty provided for by the 1st by-law). Although the wording of this by-law is loose, slovenly, ambiguous, redundant, and also deficient, there can be no doubt that it is intended to cover the ordinary cylinder of compressed gas, whether oxygen or hydrogen, ' and that it would do so by the ruling of any ; court; and this in spite of recondite views as to “inflammable,” ‘explosive,’ or ‘ corrosive.”’ The punctuation of the words following ‘ any cylinder, tube, or receptacle’ is such that ‘inflammable,’ ‘explosive,’ ‘‘corrosive gas,” ‘‘ spirit,” and “liquid,” may, if the by-law is read literally, be regarded each as the name of a separate class of substance which must not be brought into the approach of a station without written authority. So ill-drafted is the by-law that the compressed oxygen cylinder, which was evidently intended, is but doubtfully included if one reads the by-law quite literally ; while to bring in a penny bottle of ink not intended for the personal use of the passenger undoubtedly carries the penalty of £5 if the by-law is read literally. The authority of the railway owners to make by-laws rests on three Acts of Parliament, passed in 1840, 1845, and 1889 respectively, but i the authority is only given on condition that the place, or cause to be placed, or have in or ; upon any carriage or vehicle using the railway, or into, in or upon the Company’s premises, or any approach to any station of the Company, any loaded fire-arm, loaded gun, or loaded weapon of any kind; nor shall any person, except by permission in writing of an officer of the Company duly authorised in that behalf, take into, or place, or caused to be placed, in or upon any such carriage or vehicle as aforesaid, or into, in, or upon any part of the Company’s | premises, or of any approach to any station of the Company, any cylinder, tube or receptacle, containing any inflammable, explosive, or corrosive gas, spirit, or liquid. But nothing in this by-law shall apply to small quantities of spirit or liquid carried for the personal uge of such person, and not for the purpose of trade or business, provided that all due precautions are taken by-law must not be ‘‘repugnant’’ to the statutory law. ‘‘Repugnant”’ is a sufficiently vague term, but “fichting against,’ or ‘tending against,” is a reasonable interpretation, and one which No person shall take into, or ; Should really render nearly all of the proposed by-laws null and void, even if the Board of Trade should sanction them; but a by-law which ought to be really null and void by reason of its nature, is not effectively so until declared void in an action or appeal before a high court. It is, however, important to remember that the | Board of Trade may at any time, and without : notice. disallow a railway by-law. Those who may be affected by the proposed by-laws (and not only passengers as passengers are adversely affected, but also hotel proprietors, cabmen, and some other classes), should at any rate strive to secure a measure of publicity for this very crude attempt at office-made legislation. Newspaper discussion and _ requisitions to Members of Parliament to bring the matter forward are obvious methods; but should the by-laws be allowed by the Board of Trade, and be published or acted on by the railway owners, one course will be to make the matter an item at the next general election, and to do all