PREFACE,

A SMALLER edition of this collection of Acts

was published in 1874, under the title of The General Acts relating to the Supply of Gas and Water. It has long since been out of print, but the official duties of the compiler have hitherto prevented the publication of another edition.

In the interval, the limits of the subject have been greatly extended by the granting to local authorities, under various Public Health and other Acts, of powers for the municipal supply of gas and water, and, in addition to the numerous enactments relating to this important part of the subject, a variety of others of miscellaneous application have been added, including the following, viz. :

1. Those providing for :

(a) The regulation, by means of a sliding scale, of the amount of dividend payable to gas shareholders in accordance with the price charged for gas.

(b) The sale of new shares or stock of gas companies by auction or tender, or, at market prices, to gas consumers and employees of such companies, and the use of any amounts of premium obtained thereby for expenditure as capital without the payment of any dividend thereon.

(c) The improvement of the conduct of gas testing in London.

(d) The extension, in London, of the system of

laying pipes in subways.

2. Those for more effectually securing a proper and sufficient supply of water, including those pro

viding for mutual supply, by metropolitan water companies, in cases of emergency.

3. Those contained in the Alkali Acts and other Acts for the regulation of manufactories, having for their object :

(a) The abatement of nuisance caused by the discharge of smoke and of noxious and offensive gases. (b) The prevention of the pollution of rivers and

streams.

4. Those for varying the local authorities for the administration of the several Acts.

This edition includes all the general enactments in force in all parts of the United Kingdom, as applicable to both companies and local authorities, and as amended up to the present time, relating not only to the main subject of the work, but also to all subjects intimately connected therewith, a special feature being the inclusion. of the provisions as to the laying of gas and water pipes, both underground and in subways, contained in various Acts relating to the management of the metropolis, and those providing for the prevention of or for protection against damage to such pipes generally, either from disturbance or breakage by underground works or by heavy road locomotives, or from electrolytic action through the supply of energy for electric lighting or electric traction.

The volume is divided into two Parts. Part I. consists of Acts of more or less general application, and Part II. contains clauses relating to the supply and testing of gas in London, taken from private Acts of the metro

politan gas companies extending from 1868 to 1902, including those embodying, in their earliest as well as their latest forms, the provisions as to the sliding scale and the sale of shares or stock already alluded to. Part II. is followed by six appendices, comprising sundry rules, regulations and bye-laws made in pursuance of or in relation to several of the Acts.

The Acts are arranged in the order in which they were passed, so that any Act of which the name and date are known can be easily found in its position, according to its name and date as given at the top of the page, without the necessity of a reference to the tables of contents, except, perhaps, in a few instances where several of the Acts were passed in the same session. By the adoption of the chronological order of arrangement, a view is also obtained of the gradual development of the legislation on the subjects of the various Acts, and in the Index the same order is adhered to in cases in which several Acts are referred to under the headings.

Having regard to the provision contained in the eighth section of the Interpretation Act, 1889, viz., "Every、 section of an Act shall have effect as a substantive enactment, without introductory words," such words are omitted wherever they can be dispensed with. Where, however, they are expressly repealed, a reference to the repeal is given.

The notes printed between the sections and at the bottoms of the pages contain references to repealing and amending enactments as well as to many additional or corresponding provisions. They also point out short titles of Acts, changes in local authorities, and other matters in relation to the text which have appeared to be of interest. They do not, however, deal with legal views, interpretations, or decisions, nor with any such questions as are usually referred to legal advisers, the

work being intended for use and ready reference in the ordinary course of business. Such notes are, however, the result of considerable research, and will, it is hoped, be of assistance to those who may refer to them.

For facility of reference, three tables of contents are given, arranged respectively in chronological, alphabetical, and subject-matter order, the last-mentioned showing at a glance what Acts or enactments are applicable to the various matters dealt with.

The index is a very full one, and the references therein are to the sections of the Acts as well as to the pages on which they appear, the object having been to save the expenditure of time and trouble in searching for the provision required after the page on which it is printed has been found.

A feature of the work is the inclusion of interpretations of terms used, not only in complete Acts, but also in extracts therefrom; and, for the further elucidation of the text, many interpretations from the Interpretation Act, 1889, are also included.

It may be added that, if the important Bill now before Parliament on the subject of the supply of water to London should be passed, the compiler proposes to publish it as a supplement, uniform with the present work.

LONDON, October, 1902.