[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]
	Statutes of Northern Ireland
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Statutes of Northern Ireland >> URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/ta1878104.txt

[New search] [Help]

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - LONG TITLE

An Act to make further provision respecting the Post Office
Telegraphs.{1}
[16th August 1878]
Short title.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 1

1. This Act may be cited as the Telegraph Act, 1878.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 2
Definitions.

2. In the construction of this Act, unless there is something
inconsistent in the context, words and expressions shall have the
same meanings as in the Telegraph Act, 1863, and in addition
thereto

The expressions "street" and "public road" shall respectively include
any highway:

The expression "Act of Parliament" means any Act of Parliament
whether public general, local and personal, or private, and includes
the order confirmed by any such Act, and includes a certificate
granted by the Board of Trade under the Railways Construction
Facilities Act, 1864:

The expression "Telegraph Acts" includes the Telegraph Act, 1863, the
Telegraph Act Amendment Act, 1866, the Telegraph Act, 1868, the
Telegraph Act, 1869, the Telegraph Act, 1870, this Act and any Acts
or parts of Acts incorporated with such Acts or referred to
therein, any or either of them; and such several Acts may be cited
together as the Telegraphs Acts 1863 to 1878:

The expression "undertaking" means the works or undertaking of
whatever nature the execution of which is authorised by an Act of
Parliament as above defined:

The expression "undertakers" means the parties, whether company,
commissioners, trustees, corporations, or private persons, empowered by
an Act of Parliament as above defined to execute an undertaking,
and any lessee or tenant thereof:

The expression "agents" includes contractors, and also the officers,
engineers, workmen, or servants, as well of the [Post Office],
undertakers, bodies or persons, as of [its] or their contractors:

The expression "telegraphic line" means telegraphs, posts, and any
work (within the meaning of the Telegraph Act, 1863) and also any
cables, apparatus, pneumatic or other tube, pipe, or thing whatsoever
used for the purpose of transmitting telegraphic messages or
maintaining telegraphic communication, and includes any portion of a
telegraphic line as defined by this Act:

The expressions "alteration," "alter," and "altering" in respect of a
telegraphic line, include the substitution of any new line or
portion of a line, either in the same place or in some other
place, also any removal of or other dealing with any telegraphic
line or any part of such line.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 3
Amendment of 1863 c.112 as to consents.

3. Where any body or person (within the meaning of the Telegraph
Act, 1863,) having power under the said Act to give or withhold
their consent to the [Post Office] placing telegraphs and posts
(within the meaning of the said Act) in, under, upon, along, over,
or across a street or public road, or any estuary or branch of
the sea, or the shore or bed of any tidal water, or where any
proprietors, lessees, directors, or persons having the control of any
railway or canal (within the meaning of the said Act), and having
power under the said Act to give or withhold a consent to the
[Post Office] placing telegraphs and posts under, in, upon, along,
or across such railway or canal, fail within twenty-one days after
being required to do so by the [Post Office] to give their
consent, or attach to their consent any terms, conditions, or
stipulations to which the [Post Office] objects, or withdraw a
consent, a difference shall be deemed to have arisen between the
[Post Office] and such body or person, proprietors, lessees,
directors, or persons (as the case may be), and that difference
shall be determined in manner hereinafter provided; and the authority
by whom the difference is to be determined may, if after hearing
all parties concerned they think it just, give their consent either
unconditionally or subject to such pecuniary or other terms,
conditions, and stipulations as they may think just; and that
consent shall for all purposes be of the same effect as if it
were a consent given under the Telegraph Act, 1863, to the [Post
Office] by such body or person, proprietors, lessees, directors, or
persons.[

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 4
Differences generally to be determined by a county court subject to
appeal to High Court.

4. Where

(a)any difference arises under this Act or the Telegraph Act, 1863,
between the [Post Office] and any body or person having any power,
jurisdiction, or control over or relating to a street or public
road, or having power under the last mentioned Act to give or
withhold a consent to the placing of telegraphs and posts in,
under, upon, along, over, or across a street or public road; or

(b)any other difference arises under this Act, except a difference
between the [Post Office] and any body or person having any right,
power, jurisdiction, or authority in, over, or relating to any
estuary, or branch of the sea, or the shore, or bed of any tidal
water;

Provided that an appeal shall lie to the High Court from any
determination under this section of a county court and any such
appeal shall be by way of re-hearing before a single judge who
shall be designated from time to time by the Lord Chief Justice.

(3) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, for the
first reference to a county court there shall be substituted a
reference to the county court having jurisdiction within the district
in which the difference has arisen; for the reference to the Lord
Chief Justice there shall be substituted a reference to the Lord
Chief Justice of Northern Ireland; ...].

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 5
General provisions as to arbitration.

5. ... any difference between the [Post Office] and any body or
person having any right of property or other right, or any power,
jurisdiction, or authority in, over, or relating to any estuary,
branch of the sea, or the shore or bed of any tidal water shall
be referred to and determined by the Board of Trade.

...

Power of Post Office to establish telegraphic lines on certain
undertakings authorised by special Act of Parliament.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 6

6. Where an Act of Parliament passed after the first day of
January one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight authorises the
construction of any of the following undertakings, namely, any
railway, canal, tramway other than street tramways, highway, bridge,
railway, or river embankment, subway, aqueduct over or across a
river, dock, harbour, or pier, it shall be lawful for the [Post
Office], by [itself] or [its] agents, to place and maintain
telegraphic lines in, under, upon, along, over, or across such
undertaking, and from time to time to alter the same; and [it] may
from time to time, by [itself] or [its] agents, enter upon any
land or works of the undertakers for the purpose of placing,
maintaining, or altering any telegraphic line in pursuance of this
section, or of examining or repairing any line so placed, and may
there remain for such reasonable time, and execute and do all such
works and things, as may be necessary or convenient for the
purposes aforesaid, but shall not interfere with the traffic along
or user of the undertaking, subject to the following conditions:

(1)In placing, maintaining, or altering such telegraphic lines no
obstruction shall be caused to the traffic along or the user of
such undertaking:

(2)The [Post Office] shall not less than one month before [it]
places any telegraphic line, give to the undertakers a notice
specifying the course and position of the proposed telegraphic lines,
and if within one month after such notice the undertakers object to
the course or position specified in the notice, and do not agree
with the [Post Office] on some other course or position, a
difference shall be deemed to have arisen between the [Post Office]
and the undertakers:

(3)If any damage or injury be caused or any stoppage or delay be
occasioned to the works of the undertaking by the placing, repair,
or maintenance of such telegraphic lines, the [Post Office] shall at
[its] own expense make good such damage or injury, and shall
indemnify the undertakers against any expense to which they may be
put by reason of any such damage, injury, stoppage, or delay;

(4)If the undertakers shall incur any additional expense by or in
consequence of the repair or maintenance of such telegraphic lines,
the [Post Office] shall from time to time pay to the undertakers
the amount of such additional expense.

This section shall apply to the several railways over which powers
were conferred upon the [Post Office] by the local Acts mentioned
in the schedule to this Act, and to the undertakers empowered by
such local Acts respectively.

Provided, that so far as relates to any railways belonging to or
leased or worked by any of the railway companies mentioned in
section nine, or in the schedule of the Telegraph Act, 1868, the
powers of constructing, altering, or maintaining telegraphic lines by
the [Post Office] shall not be exercised if and so long as the
said companies respectively are able and willing themselves to
construct, alter, and maintain such telegraphic lines, and such
construction, maintenance, and repair shall be upon the terms and
conditions in the said Act or the agreements thereunder declared:
Provided also, that this section shall not affect any agreement
between any undertakers and the Postmaster General.

If any difference arises between the [Post Office] and any
undertakers in relation to the exercise of any power under this
section, that difference shall be determined in manner provided by
this Act.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 7
Provision as to work which involves alteration in telegraphic line.

7. Where any work proposed to be done in the execution of an
undertaking authorised by an Act of Parliament involves or is likely
to involve an alteration either temporarily or permanently in any
telegraphic line of the [Post Office], and provision is not
otherwise made by enactment, agreement or otherwise with respect to
such alteration or to giving notice to the [Post Office] thereof or
to the expenses of or incidental thereto, the following enactments
shall apply:

(1)The undertakers or their agents shall give to the [Post Office]
not less than seven nor more than fourteen days previous notice of
the time and place at which the work will be begun and the nature
of the alteration required:

(2)Before the expiration of seven days after the notice is given
the [Post Office] may give the undertakers or their agents a
counter-notice either stating [its] intention [itself] to make, or
requiring the undertakers to make under the supervision and to the
satisfaction of [itself] or [its] agents, such alteration in the
telegraphic line as [it] deems necessary or expedient to be made in
consequence of the propose work:

(3)If the [Post Office] by [its] counter-notice states that it is
[its] intention [itself] to make such alteration, it shall be lawful
for such [Post Office] by [itself] or [its] agents to make the
same, and the undertakers or their agents shall pay to the [Post
Office] all the expenses incurred by [it] of and incidental thereto,
and the amount of any loss or damage sustained by [it] in
consequence thereof:

(4)If the [Post Office] by [its] counter-notice requires the
undertakers or their agents to make such alteration, the undertakers
or their agents shall, at their own expense, make the same under
the supervision and to the reasonable satisfaction of the [Post
Office] or [its] agents, and the said undertakers shall pay to the
[Post Office] all the expenses incurred by [it] of and incidental
to such supervision, also the amount of any loss or damage
sustained by [it] in consequence of the alteration:

(5)If the [Post Office] fails to give a counter-notice, or if
having undertaken [itself] to make the alteration [it] or [its]
agents should fail to make within a reasonable time the alteration,
the undertakers or their agents may themselves make the alteration
to the reasonable satisfaction of the [Post Office] or [its] agents:

(6)If any undertakers or their agents fail to serve on the [Post
Office] such notice as is required by this section with respect to
any work, or begin to do the work specified in a notice served
under this section before the expiration of seven days after the
notice is given, they shall be liable to pay a fine not exceeding
ten pounds for every day during which they continue such work
without the sanction in writing of the [Post Office], and the [Post
Office] may at the expense of the undertakers remove such work:

(7)If any undertakers or their agents fail to comply with the
reasonable requirements of the [Post Office] or [its] agents under
this section, they shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten
pounds for every day during which such failure continues, or if the
telegraphic communication is interrupted, not exceeding fifty pounds
for every day on which such interruption continues:

(8)Provided, that nothing in this section shall subject any
undertakers or their agents to a fine for omitting to comply with
any requirements of the [Post Office] or [its] agents, or for
executing without previous notice any work if they satisfy the court
having cognizance of the case that any such requirement was
unreasonable or that the immediate execution of the work was
required to avoid an accident, or otherwise was a work of
emergency, and that they forthwith served on the postmaster or
sub-postmaster of the postal telegraph office nearest to the place
where the work was done a notice of the execution thereof, stating
the reason for executing the same without previous notice.

And where under section eight of the Telegraph Act, 1863, any body
to or by whom any such pipe as in that section mentioned belongs
or is used require that the position of any telegraphic line, of
the [Post Office], or any part thereof should be altered, the
enactments of the present section shall apply, and for such purposes
any such body shall be deemed to be "undertakers".

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 8
Compensation and fine for injury to telegraphic line of the Post
Office and for interruption to telegraphic communication.

8. Where any undertakers, body, or person, by themselves or by
their agents, destroy or injure any telegraphic line of the [Post
Office], such undertakers, body, or person shall not only be liable
to pay to the [Post Office] such expenses (if any) as [it] may
incur in making good the said destruction or injury, but also, if
the telegraphic communication is carelessly or wilfully interrupted,
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds per day for
every day during which such interruption continues.

Where the undertakers, body, or person liable to pay such daily
fine as aforesaid to the [Post Office] are not authorised to
execute such works as may be required for remedying the
interruption, the interruption shall be deemed to continue either for
the time during which it actually continues or for such less time
as in the opinion of the court having cognizance of the case would
have been sufficient for remedying the interruption by the [Post
Office].

The [Post Office] may, instead of taking proceedings for the
recovery of such daily fine as aforesaid, proceed for the recovery
of a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, to which the undertakers,
body, or person shall be liable on summary conviction.

An act done to a telegraphic line in the course of work undertaken
by any undertakers, body, or person in the legal exercise of a
right shall not be deemed to be wilful destruction of or injury to
such telegraphic line, if due notice of the intended exercise of
such right has been given to the [Post Office], that is to say,
the notice required to be given in pursuance of any Act of
Parliament or agreement, or where there is no Act of Parliament or
agreement requiring such notice, fourteen clear days notice.

This section shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in
derogation of any other power or means which the [Post Office] may
have of recovering damages in respect of any such destruction or
injury as in this section mentioned under any other Act of
Parliament or at common law or otherwise, provided that [it] shall
not proceed under this Act and under any other Act or law in
respect of the same destruction or injury.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 9
Penalty for obstruction.

9. Where any undertakers, body, or person or their agents obstruct
the [Post Office] or [its] agents in placing, maintaining, altering,
examining, or repairing any telegraphic line in pursuance of this
Act, or of any consent given in pursuance of this Act, or in
supervising or directing any alteration in any telegraphic line made
by any undertakers or their agents in pursuance of this Act, such
undertakers, bodies, or persons and agents respectively shall for
every act of obstruction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten
pounds, or in case such obstruction continues, ten pounds for every
day during which the same continues.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 10
Prosecution of offences.

10. All fines and penalties under any of the Telegraph Acts may be
recovered by the [Post Office] in manner provided by the Summary
Jurisdiction Acts before a court of summary jurisdiction, and for
the purposes of this Act

Subs.(1) rep. by SLR 1894; subs.(2) rep. by 1962 c.39 s.30(2)(a)
sch.4 Pt.IV

All fines and penalties recovered in pursuance of any of the
Telegraph Acts shall be paid into the Exchequer.

S.11 rep. by SLR 1894; 1947 c.44 s.39 sch.2; SI 1949/1836 (I.
p.1261)

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 12
Printing, authentication, and service of notices and other documents.

12. A notice under this Act may be in writing or print, or partly
in writing and partly in print.

...

Where a notice is given by any undertakers, body, or person, the
notice shall be sufficiently authenticated if purporting to be signed
by the chairman, secretary, clerk, or other officer of such
undertakers, body, or person.

...

A notice required to be given under this Act to any undertakers or
body may be given by leaving the same at or by forwarding the
same by post to the office, or where there is more than one
office the principal office of such undertakers or body in a letter
addressed to such undertakers or body, or to their chairman,
secretary, clerk or other officer.

A notice required to be given under this Act to any person may be
given by delivering the same to such person or by leaving the same
at or forwarding the same by post in a letter addressed to such
person at his usual or last known place of abode.

Where a notice is forwarded by post it shall be deemed to have
been given at the time when the letter containing the same would
be delivered in the ordinary course of post, and in proving the
giving thereof it shall be sufficient to prove that the same was
properly addressed and put into the post.

The expression "notice" in this section shall be deemed to include
a counter-notice.

TELEGRAPH ACT 1878 - SECT 13
Saving existing rights.

13. Nothing in this Act contained shall vary or prejudicially affect
the rights or obligations subsisting at the time of the passing of
this Act, of any Railway or Canal Company, or of the Postmaster
General respectively, under the provisions of the Telegraphs Acts,
1868 and 1869, or under any deed, agreement, or award made between
any Railway or Canal Company and the Postmaster General, whether
confirmed by or made in pursuance of the Telegraph Acts; and in
regard to all railways and canals now existing or authorised, the
provisions of the Telegraph Acts, 1868 and 1869, shall not be
affected by this Act ...: Provided always, that, notwithstanding the
incorporation of the Telegraph Act, 1863, with the Telegraph Act,
1868, the provisions of the Telegraph Act, 1863, shall not be
deemed to be provisions of the Telegraph Acts, 1868 and 1869, or
either of those Acts, within the meaning of this section, or any
part thereof. 




BAILII:
Copyright Policy |
Disclaimers |
Privacy Policy |
Feedback |
Donate to BAILII

URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/ta1878104.txt