Singleton Gas Act of 1884 No sga (NSW)

An Act to enable Alexander Munro to erect Gas-works in the Borough of Singleton and to regulate the establishment and carrying out of Gas-works in Singleton aforesaid and to regulate the sale supply and quality of the Gas to be supplied and for other purposes. [16th May, 1884?.]

W H E R E A S it is expedient that the Borough of Singleton in the

Colony of N e w South "Wales should he supplied and lighted

with gas A n d whereas Alexander Munro of Greenwood Singleton here­ inafter designated the promoter desires to establish and carry out works
for such purposes and other purposes incidental thereto in the said

borough A n d whereas the Munic ipa l Council of the said borough have at the request of the promoter and in consideration of the benefits to arise from the establishment and carrying out of such works consented to thevest ingin the said promoter of all necessary powers and authorities so far as the rights and interests of the said Municipal Council are concerned Be it therefore enacted b y the Queen's M o s t Excel lent Majesty b y and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of N e w South Wales in Parliament assembled and b y the authority of the same as follows : —

1. The promoter is hereby authorized and empowered by himself his servants contractors agents and workmen from time to t ime to make erect sink lay place fit maintain and repair such retorts gasometers meters receivers cisterns engines machines cuts drains sewers watercourses pipes reservoirs buildings and other work's and devices of such construction and in such manner as the promoter shall think necessary or proper for the purpose; of carrying out the operations of the promoter in respect of and incidental to the making and supplying of gas in conformity with this A c t and also for all such purposes to open and break up the soil and pavement of the several streets and bridges within the limits of the borough and suburbs aforesaid and to open and break up any sewers drains or tunnels within or under such streets and bridges and to erect posts pillars lamps lamp- irons and other apparatus in or upon the same streets and bridges or against any wall or walls erected on or adjoining to any o f them and to dig and sink trenches and drains and to lay mains and pipes and put stop-cocks siphons plugs or branches from such mains or pipes in under across or along such streets and bridges and also with such consent as hereinafter mentioned to do the like in under across or along any private roads ways lanes passages buildings and places and from time to time to cut stop remove alter repair replace and relay such main-pipes stop-cocks siphons plugs branches or other apparatus Provided always that nothing in this section contained shall be deemed to authorise the promoter his servants contractors agents or workmen to enter into or upon any private lands buildings or places for any of the purposes aforesaid or to carry out thereon any work authorised by

thereof but the promoter may at any reasonable t ime b y himself his servants agents or workmen enter upon any land or place wherein any pipe has already been laid down or placed in pursuance of this A c t and repair or alter the existing pipe or lay or place any new pipe in its stead A n d provided also that the promoter shall give forty-eight hours '

this A c t wi thout the previous consent in writing of the occupiers

hours ' notice in -writing to the Counci l Clerk of the Borough prior to the opening or breaking up as aforesaid of any street road pavement sewer drain or tunnel within the said Borough .

2. I t shall be lawful for the promoter to contract with any

person for supplying with gas any such person or any street way lane passage manufactory shop warehouse publ ic or private house building

or place and for such purpose from time to t ime to lay down carry fit

up connect and furnish any pipe branch or burner lamp meter or other apparatus f rom or in connect ion with any main pipe or to lay

down any new main which for such purposes may be required and to

let any such apparatus for hire for such sum as may be agreed upon which sum may be recovered in like manner as any rent or remunera­ tion for the supply of gas Provided always that in all cases where damage may be done by the promoter his agent workmen or others in the course of laying on or removing apparatus the said damage shall be made good at the expense of the promoter and in case he shall delay within a reasonable t ime to make good such damage the owner or

occupier of such premises may make good the same and recover the
expense thereof f rom the promoter in the same manner as is herein provided for the recovery of any sum of money payable under the provisions of this A c t Provided also that if any owner or occupier of any bui lding tenement or place or any person acting for h im shall refuse reasonable access in pursuance of the provisions of this or the sixteenth section of this A c t to the contractors agents workmen or servants of the promoter for the purpose of removing any such pipe burner meter or

apparatus placed or introduced into any such building tenement or place
b y the promoter or shall prevent or obstruct such removal then the
said owner occupier or person acting for h im shall immediately make payment to the promoter for such pipe burner meter or apparatus and in default of his so doing within three days after demand thereof made at the same building tenement or place or the residence of the party it shall be lawful for the promoter to make complaint thereof before any Justice of the Peace who may cause to be issued a summons to the person so making default calling on h im to show cause before the nearest Court of Petty Sessions to where the building tenement or place is situated why he refuses to pay such demand and thereupon the said Court shall proceed to the adjudication and enforcement of such demand in the manner hereinafter set forth A n d if any person shall place or lay any pipe to communica te with any main-pipe meter or other apparatus already laid placed or erected b y the said

promoter or shall use additional burners or burners of larger dimen­	sions or of other kind or description than that he has contracted
with the promoter to use or shall keep the gas supplied by him burning for a longer t ime than he has contracted to pay for or shall supply any person with any of the gas supplied to h im by the promoter Without his consent in writing first obtained or if any person shall wantonly or maliciously hinder or interrupt the contractors workmen agents or servants of the promoter in legally doing or performing any of the A c t s aforesaid or in exercising the powers and authorities
b y this A c t given or if any person shall wilfully negligently or
accidentally do or cause to be done any injury or damage to any of the buildings machinery pipes burners lamps meters or apparatus o f the promoter or remove the same or cause a waste or improper use of gas supplied b y the promoter it shall be lawful for the promoter to make a complaint thereof before any Justice of the Peace who may cause to be issued a summons to the person so offending to appear
before the Court o f Petty Sessions nearest to the place where such offence shall be commit ted and being thereof lawfully convicted such
person shall forfeit and pay to the promoter any sum not exceeding

five

live pounds over and above all damages done and over and above all

costs such sum to be ascertained b y such Court and to be enforced b y distress and all proceedings under this A c t not herein expressly pro­ vided for shall be regulated and conducted in accordance with the Ac t s in force for the t ime being respecting summary proceedings before Justices o f the Peace and the provisions of such Ac t s shall so far as the same are applicable be enforced and observed in all proceedings under this A c t not herein expressly provided.

3 . N o pipe burner lamp meter or other apparatus of the pro­ moter being set up in any building tenement or place shall be subject to distress for rent or shall be taken in execut ion under any process or proceeding of any Court of L a w or Equi ty or under any proceedings in insolvency save so far as any process or proceedings against the promoter are concerned.

4. W h e n and so often as the promoter his servants contractors agents or workmen shall have opened broken up or removed the soil or pavement of any street or bridge as aforesaid or shall have opened

or broken up any sewers drains or tunnels within or under any such

streets or bridges the promoter shall make all reasonable dispatch

in performance of the work to be done and shall on complet ion of such work forthwith carry away all rubbish and waste or surplus material and reinstate such pavement stone or other material and render such street or bridge and every such sewer drain and tunnel within or under the same as nearly as possible in the same condition as it was in previously to the disturbance thereof and during the con­ tinuance of such work and until such reinstatement the promoter shall set up sufficient barriers and keep lights burning at night in order to prevent accidents A n d also when and so often as any gas pitch waste tar waste l iquid or other things shall escape or flow from any pipe receivers or drain being part of or incidental to the works to be erected under this .Vet so as to contaminate the air or any stream spring or other watercourse or body of water natural or artificial and render the same unhealthy or offensive or unfit for use it shall be lawful for any person to give notice thereof in writing to the promoter w h o shall immediately take the most speedy and effectual measures to prevent or remedy the same and if the promoter shall make default in any of the matters so required by h im to be performed it shall be lawful for any person to lodge complaint thereof before any Justice of the Peace who may summon the promoter before the nearest Court

the promoter within a reasonable t ime to be named by such Court and	of Petty Sessions and on proof of such default the said Court of Petty Sessions shall order and direct that the said matters shall be done b y
in default of compliance with such order any Justice of the Peace on
proof of such default on the part of the promoter and on proof that
the complainant or any other person has performed the said work so to be done and of the costs charges and expenses attending the same shall issue a distress warrant against the goods and chattels of the promoter for any amount not exceeding the said charges and expenses and the cost of prosecuting such complaint to be paid to the person performing the said work as aforesaid.
5. The price for the gas shall at no time exceed thirteen shillings and sixpence per thousand cubic feet and the gas supplied shall be absolutely free from sulphuretted hydrogen and shall be of such min imum quality as to produce from an Argand burner having fifteen holes and a seven-inch ch imney consuming five cubic feet of gas per hour a l ight equal in intensity to the light produced by fifteen sperm candles of six in the pound burning one hundred and twenty grains per hour.

C.

6. The promoter shall within twelve months after receiving not ice from the Borough Counci l put up at some testing place to be provided by the said Council within the Borough suitable apparatus

for the purposes fol lowing : —

(1.) For testing the illuminating power of the gas supplied.
(2.) For testing the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen in the gas

supplied The said apparatus shall be in accordance with the Schedule hereunto annexed and shall at all times be kept and maintained in good repair and working order b y the promoter.

7. The Borough Council may from time to t ime appoint a competent and impartial person to be gas examiner to test the gas at the testing place w h o shall test the illuminating power and purity of the gas supplied on any or every day and the promoter may be repre­ sented at the testing if he shall think fit but shall not be entitled either b y himself or his representative to interfere in the testing.

8. The gas examiner shall on the day immediately fol lowing

that on which the testing was made by h im deliver to the Borough

Counci l a report of such testing and shall deliver a copy thereof to the

promoter and such report shall be receivable in evidence.

9. A n y gas examiner appointed b y the Borough Council shall be
paid a salary not exceeding one hundred pounds per annum which shall

be paid one moiety b y the Counci l and the other moiety by the promoter.

10. N o meter shall be used for ascertaining the quantity of gas
sold by the promoter unless the same shall have its measuring capacity

at one revolution or complete action of the meter and also the quantity per hour it is intended to measure in cub ic feet or multiples or decimal parts of a cubic foo t denominated or marked on the outside thereof in legible letters or figures and shall have been tested and stamped as correct b y the English Warden o f Standards.

11 . A n inspector of meters may f rom time to t ime be ap­

pointed b y the Borough Council and the said inspector shall at all times when authorized b y the Council on the application and at the expense of any consumer of gas supplied by the promoter be entitled to inspect and test the meters erected b y the promoter in the premises

of the person making such request after giving forty-eight hours'

notice o f such intended inspection to the promoter and before such inspection the person requiring the same shall deposit in the hands of the Inspector all moneys due or appearing to be due by such person to the promoter on account delivered and in case such deposit shall he in excess of the sum found to be due to the promoter such excess shall be

returned to the consumer.

12. N o meter which shall have been fixed b y the promoter for

use before the expiration of one year of the t ime when this A c t comes into operation shall be al lowed to remain in use after the expiration of

five years f rom that t ime unless it shall have been tested and stamped
as by this A c t directed and no meter once tested and stamped under the provisions of this A c t shall be allowed to remain in use for more than five years f rom the t ime when it shall have been last so stamped unless and until it shall have been retested and restamped in manner aforesaid and whenever the promoter shall knowingly al low any meter to be used in contravention of this section he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding forty shillings for every such offence.

13. After the expiration of one year f rom the t ime when this

A c t comes into operation the legal standard or unit or measure for the sale of the promoter 's gas b y meter shall be the cubic foot containing sixty-two and three hundred and twenty-one thousandths (62 - 321) pounds avoirdupois weight of distilled or rain water weighed in air at the temperature of s ixty-two degrees of Fahrenheit 's thermometer the barometer being at thirty inches.

14. I f any person shall forge or counterfeit or cause or procure to he forged or counterfeited or knowingly act or assist in the forging

or counterfeiting any stamp which may hereafter he used for the
stamping of any meter under this A c t every person so offending shall
for every such offence he liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds

or less than ten pounds and if any person shall knowingly sell utter

or dispose of let lenel or expose for sale any meter with such forged

stamp thereon every person so offending shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds or loss than forty shillings and all meters having forged or counterfeited stamps thereon shall be forfeited and destroyed.

15. A l l gas supplied b y the promoter shall except in case of

accident be supplied at such pressure as to balance from midnight to sunset a co lumn of water not less than six-tenths of an inch in height and to balance from sunset to midnight a column of water not less
than one inch in height.

16. I t shall be lawful for the promoter to cu to f f and takeaway

the supply of gas from the building tenement or other place of every person or body making default in payment after giving twenty-four hours' notice to the occupier and thenceforth to discontinue the supply of gas contracted for with the promoter b y such person or body anelto enter by himself his agents or workmen into such building tenement
or place between the hours of nine in the forenoon and four in the after­ noon and remove and carry away any pipe burners lamp meter or other

apparatus the property of the promoter and the promoter shall have the

like powers with regard to cutt ing off taking away and discontinuing the supply o f gas in the case of the building tenement or place of any person who shall have been lawfully convic ted as hereinbefore provided of any fraudulent injury to any meter or apparatus on such premises or f rauelulcnt use of the gas of the promoter A n d in case any person who shall contract with flu; promoter or agree to take or shall take or use the gas of the promoter in any building tenement or place or otherwise shall refuse or neglect to pay the sum or sums of money then due under his or their contract for the same to the promoter according to the terms and stipulations thereof it shall be lawful for the promoter to make a complaint of such refusal or neglect before any Justice of the Peace who may cause to be issued a summons to the party so refusing

or neglect ing calling on h im or them to show cause before the Court of

Pet ty Sessions in the police elistrict in which such building tenement

or place is situated or such user took place w h y he or they refuses or

refuse to pay such sum or sums and thereupon the said Court shall
proceed to the adjudication of the said complaint and enforcement of

the said demanel and costs charges and expenses incurred in the prose­ cution thereof by distress and sale of the goods and chattels o f the person so refusing or neglect ing to pay.

17. The clerk engineer or other officer duly appointed for such purpose by the promoter may at all reasonable times enter any build­ ing tenement or place l ighted with gas supplied b y the promoter in order to inspect the pipes burners lamps meters or other apparatus of

or connected with the works of the promoter to regulate the supply of

gas or to ascertain the quantity of gas consumed or supplied and if any person shall hinder any such officer as aforesaid f rom so entering

or making such inspection as aforesaid at any reasonable time such

person shall for every such offence forfeit and pay to the promoter a sum of money not exceeding five pounds to be awarded and recovered
b y the promoter in like manner as the penalties aforesaid.

18. A n y person may appeal f rom the judgment or convict ion of

any Court of Petty Sessions under this A c t in the form and manner
set forth in the A c t fifth Wi l l i am the Fourth number twenty-two.

19. Nothing in this A c t contained shall be construed to prevent

any person from indicting or otherwise proceeding either civil ly or

criminally against the promoter for nuisance or otherwise in respect

of the works or means used or employed hy the promoter in exercising the privileges hereby conferred or to prevent the promoter or any per­ son from recovering any sum of money or otherwise proceeding in any Court of competent jurisdiction but the promoter or any person to w h o m any penalty or sum of money may b y the provisions of this A c t be awarded may elect either t o proceed in manner in this A c t provided

or to proceed for damages or otherwise in any Court o f competent

jurisdiction nor shall anything herein contained limit or in any manner affect the right of any municipali ty or of any other person or Company hereafter empowered by the Legislature to supply gas to the said Borough of Singleton or other place or to exercise any power which it may be deemed expedient or necessary to grant for that purpose.

20. Provided always that if within two years after the passing

of this A c t the promoter shall not supply at a price agreed upon by the

promoter and the Borough of Singleton or if no such price shall be or have been agreed upon then at a reasonable price gas of a good quality and in sufficient quantity to light the roads and streets in Singleton and all houses and buildings situate therein or if the promoter shall after the said period o f two years fail so to supply gas for any period exceed­ ing twenty days then and in either of such cases all the powers hereby vested in the promoter shall thereupon cease and determine.

21. I f it shall be proved to the satisfaction of any two Justices

of the Peace in Petty Sessions assembled that the promoter or any of his officers have been guilty of any default under this A c t not other­ wise provided for under this A c t they shall be liable for each and every such default to a penalty not exceeding five pounds to be recovered in a summary way.
22. The fol lowing words and expressions shall in this A c t have the respective meanings hereby assigned to them unless there be some­ thing in the context repugnant to such construction The word " p r o m o t e r " shall mean the said Alexander Munro his representatives or assigns owners for the t ime-being of the Singleton Gas-works The expression " Singleton Gas-Avorks " shall mean the gas-Avorks and the Avorks connected thereAvith b y this A c t authorized to be constructed The Avord " s t r e e t " shall include any square court or alley highway lane road thoroughfare or other passage or place Avithin the limits of this A c t The expression " Bo rough " shall comprise all lands ly ing

Avithin the limits o f the Borough of Singleton.

23. Noth ing contained in this A c t shall prevent the said Gas- Avorks being brought under the provisions of any general A c t Avhich may be passed b y the Parliament of N C A V South Wales applying equally to Companies engaged in the manufacture of gas in the said Colony Avith reference to the manufacture and sale of gas nor entitle the said promoter to compensation from the publ ic revenue by reason,

of the provisions of such general A c t for the purpose aforesaid being

made applicable to and binding upon the said promoter.

24. This A c t may be cited as the " Singleton Gas A c t of 1881 . "

SCHEDULE

S C H E D U L E .

PART I .

1. Regulations in respect of testing apparatus.

(o) The apparatus for testing the illuminating power of the gas shall consist of

the most improved form of photometer known together with a proper meter minute clock governor pressure gauge and balance The burner to be used for testing the gas shall be an Argand burner having fifteen holes and a seven-inch chimney The candles used for testing the gas shall be sperm candles of six to the pound and two candles shall

be used together.

2. The apparatus.

(J) For testing the presence in the gas of sulphuretted hydrogen A glass vessel
containing a strip of bibulous paper moistened with a solution of acetate of lead con­

taining sixty grains of crystallized acetate of lead dissolved in one fluid ounce of water.

PART II.

1. Rules as to mode of testing gas.

(u) Mode of testing for illuminating power The gas in the photometer is to be,

lighted at least fifteen minutes before the testings begin and it is to be kept continually

burning from the beginning to the end of the tests.

Each testing shall include ten observations of the photometer inado at intervals

of a minute.

The consumption of gas is to be carefully adjusted to five cubic feet per hour.
The candles are to be lighted at least ten minutes before beginning each testing

so as to arrive at their normal rate of burning which is shown when the wick is slightly bent and the tip glowing The standard rate of consumption for the candles shall bo one hundred and twenty grains each per hour Before and after making each set of ten observations of the photometer the gas examiner shall weigh the candles and if combus­ tion shall have been more or less per candle than one hundred and twenty grains per hour he shall make and record the calculations requisite to neutralize the effects of this

difference The average of each set of ten observations is to be taken as representing

the illuminating power of that testing.

2. Mode of tcstina.

(b) For sulphuretted hydrogen The gas shall bo passed through the glass vessel containing the strip of bibulous paper moistened with the solution of acetate of lead for a period of three miuutes or such longer period as may be prescribed and if any dis­

coloration of the test paper is found to have taken place this is held to be conclusive as

to the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen in the gas.