New South Wales: Penrith Nepean Bridge Company Act 1851 15 Vic (NSW)

PenritH NEPEAN Brice Company. Preamble. Proprictors incorpo- rated by the name of * The Penrith Nepcan Bridge Company." 15° VIC. 1851. Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. An Act to incorporate a Company to be called " The Penrith Nepean Bridge Company" and to enable the said Company to erect and maintain a Bridge over the River Nepean at Penrith in direct continuation of the present line of the Great Western Road and to take Toll thereat for a term of years and for other purposes therein mentioned. [15th December, 1851.] HEREAS the very considerable traffic between the western part of this Colony and its shipping port is greatly impeded and delayed at the passage of the River Nepean at Penrith the only mode of transit being by the Government punt or ferry known as Emu Ferry and the tolls payable thereat are onerous and disproportioned to the convenience afforded to the public by the same And whereas the building and maintaining a bridge over the said river uniting the Great Western Road in a direct line across it would prevent such impediments and delays and the loss and inconvenience to the public consequent thereon and be a great public good and it is deemed right to grant encouragement to enterprising persons who may be desirous and willing to make and maintain such bridge by granting to them an Act of Incorporation And whereas the eastern bank of the said river at the point where the main public road diverges to the punt is com- prised in a grant by the Crown to Daniel Woodriff and it is necessary in erecting the said bridge that a portion containing seventy-eight feet in length from east to west and eighty feet in breadth from north to south of the said castern bank should be occupied by the eastern abut- ments of the same And whereas the public will be greatly benefited by the facility afforded by a bridge at the said spot and it is thercfore expedient to authorize the erection of such part of the bridge as may be required to he on the said eastern bank upon payment of reasonable compensation to the present proprietor thercof for the land to be occupied thereby Be it therefore enacted by His Excellency the Governor of New South Wales with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof That John Tindale James Ryan John Perry George Thomas Clarke John Mac Henry Alfred Cox Robert Fitzgerald Archibald Bell Cox Jeremiah Grant Edward Flood Edward King Cox John Lakeman Mortimer Andrew Kerr Henry Hall Henry Wilson Henry Whyte John Wallis Thomas Boulton Perry and all and every other person and corporation who shall hereafter hecome subscribers to the said undertaking and their several and respective successors executors administrators and assigns shall be and are united into a company for making building completing and maintaining a substantial bridge of a width not to be less than twenty-six feet at the spot on the river hank in the borough of Penrith where the road diverges at a right angle to descend to the present ferry to continue the line of the Great Western Road in the county of Cumberland on the east side of the River Nepean straight to the line of the Bathurst or Great Western Road on the opposite or west side of the same in the county of Cook and for that purpose shall he one hody corporate by the name and style of the Penrith Nepean Bridge Company and by that 1851. 15° VIC. 199 Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. that name shall have perpetual succession and a common. seal and by Seal. that name shall and may sue and be sued plead and be impleaded answer and be answered unto defend and be defended in all Courts and places whatsocver and the said company shall from time to timac FON 9 sue and be and at all times have full power and authority to constitute make by-laws. ordain and establish such by-laws regulations and ordinances as may be deemed necessary for the good rule and government of the said company Provided that such by-laws be not inconsistent herewith or with any laws in force in this Colony or repugnant to the laws of England. 2. And be it enacted That the capital stock of the company Capital divided into hereby established shall be six thousand pounds sterling and shall De shares of five pounds divided into twelve hundred shares of five pounds each and such shares shall be numbered beginning with number one and so on in regular arithmetical progression ascending whereof the common excess or difference shall always be one and every such share shall always be distinguished by the number to be applied to the same and the said shares shall be and are hereby vested in the persons hereinbefore named and in such other persons as shall take shares in the said company and their successors and their several and respective executors administrators and assigns and upon taking any share every subscriber shall pay to the manager or other proper officer of the said company the sum of two shillings and sixpence sterling for ever share which shall be so taken and shall pay the remaining amount of every such share to such person or persons and in such parts or proportions as the directors of the said company shall deem necessary and. from 5, 35 tor calls and . . D . . mt time to time call for and require Provided always that no such call amount of payment. shall exceed the sum of ten shillings for or in respect of any onc share and that no call or calls be made but at the distance of two months at the least from another and that notice of every such call shall be given in the New South Wales Government Gazette and in one or more of the newspapers published in the city of Sydney thirty days at the least before the day appointed for the payment of the same and on the demand of the holder of any share the company shall cause a certificate under the seal of the said company of the proprietorship of such share to be delivered to such shareholder and the same shall be according to the form in Schedule A to this Act annexed or to the like effect and that the said shares shall be and be deemed personal estate and trans- Share to be porsonal ferable and transmissible accordingly and that every such share shall ~~" entitle the holder thereof to a proportionate part of the profit and dividends of the said Company. , 3. And be it enacted That the said company shall as soon as Register of share. the same can be done cause the names additions and addresses of the "°° "0° "P's several proprictors of shares in the capital stock of the said company together with the number of shares to which they shall be respectively entitled and also the proper number by which every such share shall be distinguished and the amount of the subscriptions paid thercon to be fairly and distinctly entered in a register book to be kept in the office of the said company for that purpose and to be called "The Register of Sharcholders" to the end that each proprictor for the time being and his interest in the company may be known and that when and so often as any change of ownership in such shares shall take place by transfer or otherwise such change of ownership shall be duly entered in the said book. 4. And be it enacted That it shall be lawful for the proprictor Shares may be sold, of any share in the said undertaking and his executors or adminis- trators to sell and dispose of any share to which he shall be entitled therein subject to the provisions herein contained and the. form of conveyance of shares may be in the following words or to the like effect Form of conveyance. Evidence of property in shares. No share to be trans- ferred while in arrear, Company not bound to see to execution of trusts in respect of shares, 15° VIC. 1851. Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. effect varying the names and descriptions of the contracting partics as the case may require— «T of in consideration of * paid to me by of " do hereby bargain sell assign and transfer to the said " share (or shares as the case may be) " numbered of and in the Penrith Nepean " Bridge Company to hold unto the said " his executors administrators and assigns subject to the "same conditions as I held the same immediately hefore "the execution hereof And I the said "do hereby agree to accept and take the said share (or * shares) subject to the same rules orders restrictions and * conditions As witness our hands and seals the " day of in the year of our Lord one thousand " eight hundred and " and in every such case the said deed or conveyance being duly executed shall be delivered to the Secretary or other proper officer of the said company to be kept by him: and the said secretary or other proper officer shall enter a memorial of such transfer and sale for the use of the said company in a book to be kept for that purpose and shall endorse such entry on the conveyance and shall on demand deliver a new certificate to the purchaser and for every such entry together with such endorsement and certificate the company may demand any sum not exceeding two shillings and sixpence and on the request of the purchaser of any share an endorsement of such transfer shall be made on the certificate of such share instead of a new certificate being granted and such endorsement being signed by the secretary or other proper officer of the said company shall be considered in every respect the same asa new certificate and until such transfer shall be so delivered to the secretary or other proper officer as aforesaid the vendor of the share shall continue liable to the company for any calls that may be made upon such share and the purchaser or purchasers of the share shall not be entitled to receive any share of the profits of the said undertaking or to vote in respect of such share. 5. And be it enacted That a certificate of the proprietorship of any share in the said company under the seal of the said company as aforesaid shall be admitted in all Courts as prima facie evidence of the title of any shareholder his executors administrators or assigns to the share therein specified. 6. And be it enacted That no shareholder shall sell or transfer any share which he shall possess in the said company after any call shall have been made by the said directors for any sum or sums of money in respect of such share unless he at the time of such transfer shall have paid or discharged to the manager of the said company or to such other person as the directors shall authorize to receive the same the whole and entire sum of money which shall have been called for in respect of such share so to be sold and transferred. 7. And be it enacted That the said company shall not be bound to see to the execution of any trust implied or constructive to which any of the said shares may be subject and the receipt of the party in whose name any such share shall stand in the books of the said company or if it shall stand in the name of more parties than one the receipt of one of the parties named in the register of shareholders shall from time to time be a sufficient discharge to the said company for any dividend or other sum of money payable on account of any such share notwithstanding any such trusts to which such share may then be subject unless the said company shall have notice of such trusts and the said company shall not be bound to see to the application of the money paid upon such receipt. 1851. 15° VIC. 201 Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. 8. And be it enacted That the several persons who have sub- subscribers to the seribed or who shall hereafter subseribe any money towards the said soe tiroa te pao undertaking or their legal representatives respectively shall pay tlic appointed by the sums respectively so subscribed or such portions thercof as shall from Airectors. time to time be called for by the directors of the said company at such times and places as shall be appointed by the said directors and with respect to the provisions in this Act contained for enforcing the payment of calls the word "shareholder" shall extend to and include Term * shareholder" the personal representatives of such sharcholder. includes represen ta- 9. And be it enacted That it shall be lawful for the dirctors Power to make of the said company from time to time to make such calls of moncy {eters and oblige. upon the several sharcholders in respect of the amount of capital tion to pay. subscribed or owing by them respectively as they shall deem neces- sary provided that thirty days notice at the least be given of cach and every such call and that successive calls be not made at less than the prescribed interval of two months as aforesaid and that no call exceed the prescribed amount aforesaid and that every shareholder shall be liable to pay the amount of the calls so made in respect of the shares held by him to the persons and at the times and places from time to time appointed by the said company or the directors thereof. 10. And be it enacted That if before or on the day appointed Interest to be pait for such payment any shareholder shall not pay the amount of any wre cals. call to which he is liable every such sharcholder shall be liable to pay interest for the same at the rate of seven pounds per centum per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment. : 11. And be it enacted That it shall be lawful for the said com- Power to receive pany if they think fit to receive from any of the shareholders who shall {yea to" be willing to advance the same all or any part of the moncys duc upon their respective shares beyond the sums actually called for. 12. And be it enacted That if at any time appointed by the Power to sue defeuts- said company or the directors thereof for the payment of any call any "6 °™"""°""™ shareholder shall fail to pay the amount of such eall to which he shall be lable it shall be lawful for the said company to sue such share- holder for the amount thereof in any Court of law or equity having competent jurisdiction and to recover the same with interest as afore- said from the day on which such call was payable. 13. And be it enacted That the production of the register of Register of the sharcholders required to be kept in the office of the said company shal aera aa evidence. be prima facie evidence of such defendant's being a sharcholder and of the number and amount of his shares. 14, And be it enacted That if any shareholder shall fail to pay Shares in arrear may any call payable by him together with interest if any shall have accrued °° *!ret Peet duc thercon the directors of the said company at any time after the expiration of two months from the day appointed for payment of such eall may if they shall think fit declare the share in respect of which such default shall have been made forfcited and that whether the said company shall have sued for the amount of such call or not. 15. And be it enacted That before declaring any share forfeited Twenty-one days the directors of the said company shall cause notice of their intention Bt? '¢ be given to declare such share to be forfeited to be left at or transmitted by declare ehare post to the usual or last known place of abode of the person appearing forieted. by the register of sharcholders required to be kept in the office of the said company to be the proprictor of such share and if the holder of any such share shall be beyond the limits of this Colony or if his or their usual or last place of abode be not known to the said dircetors or if the interest in any share shall be known to the said directors to have become transmitted otherwise than by transfer and so the address 2c . of Forfeited shares may be sold. Evidence of propric- torship in purchaser of forfeited shares. No more shares to be sold than are sufficient to pay off arrears and expenses. On payment of arrears before sale shares to revert to the party. On payment of £3,000 company authorized to com- mence work. Power to company to construct a bridge on land described in 15° VIC. 1851. Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. . of the party to whom the said share may for the time being belong shall not be known to the said directors the said directors shall give public notice of such intention in the New South Wales Government Gazette and also in one or more of the newspapers published in the city of Sydney and the several notices aforesaid shall be given twenty- one days at least before the said directors shall make such declaration of forfeiture. 16. And be it enacted That after such forfeiture as aforesaid it shall be lawful for the said directors to sell the forfeited share or shares either by public auction or private contract and if there be more than one forfeited share then either separately or together as to them shall seem fit and any shareholder may purchase any forfeited share so sold as aforesaid and the receipt of the officer of the said com- pany authorized by the directors to receive payment of the price of such share shall constitute a good title to such share and a certificate of proprietorship shall be delivered to such purchaser and thereupon he shall be deemed the holder of such share discharged from all calls made prior to such purchase and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money nor shall his title to such share be affected by an irregularity in the proceedings in reference to such sale. 17. And be it enacted That the said company shall not scll or transfer more of the shares of any such defaulter than shall be suffi- cient as nearly as can be ascertained at the time of such sale to pay the arrears then due from such defaulter on account of any calls together with the interest payable in respect thereof and the expense attending such sale and declaration of forfeiture and if the money pro- duced by the sale of any such forfeited share be more than sufficient to pay all arrears of calls and interest thereon due at the time of such sale and the expenses attending the declaration of forfeiture and sale thereof with the proof thereof and the certificate of proprietorship to the purchaser the surplus shall on demand be paid to the defaulter. 18. And be it enacted That if payment of such arrears of call and interest and expenses be made before any shares so forfeited and vested in the said company shall have been sold as aforesaid such share shall revert to the party to whom the same belonged before such forfeiture in such manner as if such call had been duly paid. 19. And be it enacted That so soon as the capital stock of the said company shall have been actually subscribed for and the sum of three thousand pounds paid up and not before it shall be lawful for the said company and they are hereby authorized and empowered by themselves their agents deputies officers and workmen to construct and build or cause to be constructed built and completed a good substantial bridge not less than twenty-six feet wide over the River Nepean from the spot where the road diverges at a right angle to descend to the present ferry on the eastern bank of the said river in a direct line across to the western bank continuing thereby the Great Western Road in a straight line to Emu Plains in the county of Cook and to dig and make proper foundations in the said river or on the banks thereof and to cut remove and carry away all roots of trees beds of gravel sand mud or other impediment whatsoever which may in any way interrupt or hinder the erecting or completing the said bridge and generally to do and execute all and every other act matter and thing required and necessary convenient.or useful for erecting building preserving protecting and repairing the said bridge and the course or channel of the said river and making such proper embankments ways and approaches thereto as may be required according to the true intent and meaning of this Act. 20. And be it enacted That it shall be lawful for the said com- pany their agents deputies officers and workmen to make construct and 1851. 15° VIC. 203 Penrith Nepean Bridge Company. and build whatever portion of the said bridge or the road to or over Schedule B the the same shall require to be on the land and within the lines described Property of Daniel in the Schedule hereto annexed marked B the property of one Danicl James Woodriff but so that the said road and part of the bridge shall not occupy in «ny part thereof a greater space in breadth than eighty feet including the abutments supports and foundations thereof Pro- vided always that the said bridge shall be constructed and brought into use within the term of three years from the passing of this Act. 21. And be it enacted That the ground and soil of the said Site of such portion portion of land so required for the purposes of the said bridge and of Set he osted contained within the lines so set out in the Schedule aforesaid tegether without conveyance. with such right of ingress upon the adjacent land as shall be necessary for the erecting constr ucting and building the said bridge and for the repair thereof shall be vested by virtue of this Act and without the necessity of any deed of conveyance of the land in the said company for the purpose of the said bridge and roadway for their usc and the use of their servants agents deputics and workmen subject to the provisoes hereinbefore contained. 22. Provided nevertheless and be it enacted That the said com- Compensation to be pany shall pay to the said Daniel James Woodriff at the rate of twenty (itp eanenyuees pounds per acre for such land of the said Daniel James Woodrilf as acre. the said bridge and roadway including the supports embankments abutments and foundations thereof shall occupy but in ease the said Danicl James Woodriff shall deem the said price or compensation insufficient it shall be lawful for him within the space of twenty-four calendar months from the passing of this Act to apply to His Ex- celleney the Governor to appoint and he shall thereupon appoint accordingly Commissioncrs to inquire into and assess the same in like manner as is enacted and directed in the case of a road through private property proclaimed by the Government under and by virtue of an Act of the Governor and Legislative Council passed in the fourth year of the reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth intituled "An