Railway Act 1889 (WA)
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ANNO QUINQUAGESIMO CE1ITIO
VICTORIZE REGIME
No. 1
An Act to make further provision for the Management
and Working of Railways.
[Assented to 13th August, 1889.
| the Legislative Council thereof, as follows :— | BE it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia | and its Dependencies, by and with the advice and consent of |
| Short title | 1. This Aet may be cited for all purposes as The Railway Act, |
1889.'
| Sections 35, 39, | 2. Whereas an Act passed by the Imperial Parliament in the |
| 37, and 38 of 24 |
| and 26 Vie., | Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth years of Her Majesty, intituled An |
| cap. 97 (Imperial | Act to consonaate and amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland |
| Act) to be in | |
| force | relating to Malicious Injuries to Property,' was inter alia adopted by The Criminal Law Consolidation Ordinance, 1865' ; And whereas it is expedient that the seventeenth section of The Railways Amendment |
| See.17 of 44 Vie., | Act, 1881,' be repealed : Be it enacted that the said seventeenth section |
| 17, repeated | be and is hereby repealed, and that sections thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight of the said first mentioned Act shall be and remain in full force and effect, which said sections are set forth in the Schedule hereto. |
53 VICTORI)E. No. 1 The Railway Act, 1889
3. None of the penalties provided by the said sections of the Exception as to Imperial Act in the Schedule to this Act contained shall apply to the tot:511)173=altatnled obstruction of a Railway by any horse, ass, sheep, swine, or other
beast, or cattle of any kind depasturing on land adjoining such Railway or part of such Railway not enclosed by a ` sufficient fence' within the meaning of the thirtieth section of The Cattle Trespass, Fencing, and Impounding Act, 1882;
4. When in or about any of the Railways, or any of the works or pliuiry to he
buildings connected with any of the Railways, or any building or place, Zeidr=asoenØe
whether open or enclosed, used in working such Railway, any of the Railway
following, accidents take place in the course of working any of the
Railways (that is to say) :-
(1) Any accident attended with loss of life or personal injury to
any person whomsoever ;
(2) Any collision where one of the trains is a passenger or
mixed passenger and goods train ;
(3) Any passenger train or any part of a passenger train acci-
dentally leaving the rails ;
(4) Any accident whatsoever which shall cause or be likely to
cause loss of life or personal injury ;
shall be fully reported to the Commissioner of Railways within twenty- four hours of its occurrence, and the Commissioner of Railways may then, if he deem fit, hold or cause to be held an inquiry. In the case of a private railway company, failure to report as aforesaid shall render such company liable to a penalty not exceeding Twenty pounds per diem so long as such failure shall continue.
5. Every inquiry which the Commissioner of Railways shall by Regulating
| this Act make or direct to be made shall be made in accordance with n rgsmbut „. | the following provisions :— | of Railways or |
| his substitute |
(1) The inquiry shall be made in public, before the Commissioner of Railways, or an officer appointed on his behalf, whose appointment shall be by writing, which shall specify all the matters referred to him.
(2) A week's notice at the least shall be given by the Commis-
sioner of Railways to the parties upon whose representa-
tion the Commissioner of Railways shall have directed the inquiry, of the time and place at which the inquiry is to be commenced.
(3) The inquiry shall be commenced at the time and place so appointed, and may be adjourned from time to time, as may be necessary, to such time or place as the Com- missioner of Railways, or the person holding the inquiry for him, shall think fit.
(4) The Commissioner of Railways or the officer appointed by him for this purpose shall by summons, on the appli- cation of any party interested in the inquiry, require the attendance, at a place and time to be mentioned in the summons, of any person to be examined as a witness before him, and every person summoned shall attend and answer all questions touching the matter to be
53 VICTORIJE. No. 1 The Railway Act, 1889
inquired into ; and any person who wilfully disobeys any such summons or refuses to answer any question put to him by the Commissioner of Railways, or the officer appointed by him for the purpose of such inquiry, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding Five pounds : Provided always, that no person shall be required to attend in obedience to any such summons unless the reasonable charges of his attendance shall have been paid or tendered to him, or unless he be in the employ- ment of the Railway.
(5) The Commissioner of Railways or the officer appointed by him to make the inquiry may and shall administer an oath, or an affirmation where an affirmation in lieu of an oath would be admitted in a Court of Justice, to any person tendered or summoned as a witness on the inquiry : And any person who upon oath or affirmation wilfully gives false evidence before the Commissioner of Railways, or the officer appointed by him, shall be guilty of perjury.
(6) The Commissioner of Railways or the officer appointed by him as aforesaid shall have, for the purpose of such inquiry, all the powers of a Court of Summary Juris- diction when acting as a Court in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction, and in addition thereto the follow- ing powers, namely:
(a) Power to enter and inspect any place or building, the entry and inspection whereof appears to him requisite for the said purpose.
(b) Power to require and enforce the production of all books, papers, and documents which he may consider necessary for the said purpose.
| Commissioner to | 6. The Commissioner of Railways shall, after such inquiry shall the causes of the accident and all the circumstances attending the. same, and making any observations thereon as to him shall seem fit on the evidence or on any matter arising out of such inquiry. | ||
| report to the |
| ||
| Governor |
| Definition of | 7. The word Railway ' in this Act shall apply to all railways, |
| `Raihvey ' | branch railways and extensions, and steam tramways, throughout the Colony, whether vested or not in the said Commissioner. |
F. NAPIER BROOKE,
GOVERNOR.
SCHEDULE
INJURIES TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES AND TELEGRAPHS
Placing wood, 35. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously put, place, cast, or throw dm., on Railway upon or across any Railway any wood, stone, or other matter or thing, or shall with intent to
| obstruct or over- | unlawfully and maliciously take up, remove, or displace any rail, sleeper, or other |
| throw any | matter or thing belonging to any Railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously |
| engine, da. | turn, move, or divert any points or other machinery belonging to any Railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously make or show, hide or remove, any signal or light |
VICTORI.a. No. 1
The Railway Act, 1889
upon or near to any Railway, or shall unlawfully and maliciously do or cause to be done any other matter or thing, with intent, in any of the cases aforesaid, to obstruct, upset, overthrow, injure, or destroy any engine, tender, carriage, or truck using such Railway, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be kept in penal servitude for life or for any term not less than three years,—or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and, if a male under the age of sixteen, with or without whipping.
36. Whosoever, by any unlawful act, or by any wilful omission or neglect, obstructing
shall obstruct or cause to be obstructed any engine or carriage using any Railway, engines or
or shall aid or assist therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted carriages on
thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be imprisoned for any IthilwaYs
term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.
37. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously cut, break, throw down, Injuries to
| matter or thing whatsoever, being part of or being used or employed in or about oche telegraphs | destroy, injure, or remove any battery, machinery, wire, cable, post, or other electric or mug- |
| any electric or magnetic telegraph, or in the working thereof, or shall unlawfully and maliciously prevent or obstruct in any manner whatsoever the sending, con- veyance, or delivery of any communication by any such telegraph, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the Court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour ; Provided that if it shall appear to any justice, on the examination of any person charged with any offence against this section, that it is not expedient to the ends of justice that the same should be prosecuted by indictment, the justice may proceed summarily to hear and determine the same, and the offender shall, on conviction thereof, at the discretion of the Justice, either be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months, or else shall forfeit and pay such sum of money not exceeding Ten pounds as to the Justice shall seem meet. |
38. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously, by any overt act, attempt to Attempt to injure
commit any of the offences in the last preceding section mentioned, shall, on such telegraphs
conviction thereof before a Justice of the Peace, at the discretion of the Justice,
either be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be
imprisoned only, or to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for any term not
exceeding three months, or else shall forfeit and pay such sum of money not
exceeding Ten pounds as to the Justice shall seem meet.
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