Preamble, reciting Clause in Act 12 Geo. 1. c. 28.                                                                                Whereas by an Act passed in the twelfth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the First, intituled, An Act for the Improvement of his Majesty's Revenues of Customs, Excise, and Inland Duties, the Commissioners of those Revenues are respectively impowered and directed to cause all Tea, Coffee, Foreign Brandy, Rum or other Foreign exciseable Liquors, which shall be seized by any Officers of the Customs or Excise, after Condemnation, to be publickly sold to the best Bidder, at such Places as the said Commissioners shall think proper; and to allow the Officers making such Seizures, for their Encouragement, one third Part of the full Sum arising from the publick Sale of all such Tea, Coffee, Foreign Brandy, Rum or other exciseable Liquors, free from all Charges of Condemnation and Sale; and to cause the remaining Part of the Produce of such Sales, after paying the Reward to the Officer, and the Changes of Condemnation and Sale for such Seizures, to be paid into the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, in Lieu of his Majesty's Moiety, as was then practised: And whereas by several subsequent Acts of Parliament, one Moiety of all Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures, imposed by an Act relating to the Duties of Excise, or any other Duty under the Management of the Commissioners of that Revenue, is given to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety to him or them who shall discover, inform, or sue for the same; in pursuance of which Laws the Officers of Excise seizing any of the Commodities herein before enumerated, have been allowed a Moiety thereof; but the Provisions in those subsequent Laws, not extending to such Seizures when made by Officers of the Customs, they have hitherto been allowed only one Third of the Produce thereof, pursuant to the Directions of the before recited Act of the twelfth of George the First; and whereas the Power given by the said recited Act to the respective Commissioners of the Customs and Excise, to cause the Goods therein enumerated to be publickly sold, has been found very advantageous to the Revenue; and if the like Power was extended in general to all Sorts of Goods, it would prevent many Frauds and illicit Combinations practised by Bidders in the Court of Exchequer, to the great Detriment of the publick Revenue and the fair Trader: And whereas, it is highly reasonable and just, as well as of publick Utility, that the Officers of the Customs and Excise should have equal Encouragement to be vigilant in the Exertion of their Duty, to suppress the pernicious Practice of Smuggling ;’ To which End, May it therefore please your Majesty, that it may be enacted; And be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the first Day of May one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs, to cause all Ships, Vessels and Boats, and all Goods of what Kind soever they may be (excepting only such Vessels, Boats, and Goods, as are by Law liable to be burnt) which shall be seized by any Officers of the Customs, for unlawful Importation, or for Non-payment of Duties, or for any other Cause of Forfeiture, and condemned according to Law, to be sold publickly to the best Bidder, at such Places as the said Commissioners shall think proper; and all and every Officer who shall seize such Goods, shall, for his and their Encouragement, be allowed by the said Commissioners, one Moiety of the Net Produce arising by the Sale of such Seizure, after deducting the Charges of Condemnation and Sale from the Whole; and the said Commissioners shall cause the other Moiety thereof to be paid into the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, in lieu of his Majesty's Share thereof (excepting in those Cases which are otherwise provided for by this Act); any Law, Custom or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.

Vessels or Goods seized by the Officers of the Customs, to be publickly sold, after Condemnation, to the best Bidder, at such Places as the Commissioners of the Customs shall think proper.

One Moiety of the Produce to go to the said Officers; and the other to be paid into the Exchequer.

Officers to be allowed, after all Charges deducted, two third Parts of the Produce upon wrought Silks, Bengals, Stuffs mixed with Silk or Herba, of Persian or East Indian Manufacture, and Callicoes, seized and condemned in pursuance of Act 11, 12 W. 3. c. 10.                                                                                II. Provided always, and it is hereby declared and enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That after deducting the Charges of Condemnation and Sale from the gross Produce of all wrought Silks, Bengals, and Stuffs, mixed with Silk or Herba of the Manufacture of Persia, China, or East India, and all Callicoes, painted, dyed, printed or stained there, which shall be seized and condemned in pursuance of an Act passed in the eleventh and twelfth Years of the Reign of the late King William the Third, (intituled, An Act for the more effectual employing the Poor, by encouraging the Manufactures of this Kingdom) the said Commissioners of the Customs shall allow to the Officer or Officers who shall seize the same, two third Parts of such Net Produce, and cause the remaining third Part thereof to be paid into the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer; and that for all Wool, and any other of the Species of Goods enumerated in an Act passed in the twelfth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, (intituled, An Act for taking off the Duties upon Woollen and Bay Yarn imported from Ireland to England, and for the more effectual preventing the Exportation of Wool from Great Britain, and of Wool, and Wool manufactured, from Ireland to Foreign Parts) after deducting the Charges of Condemnation and Sale, the Remainder of the Produce shall be paid to the Officer who shall seize the same, in such Manner as by the said Act is directed; and that for all Tobacco, Tobacco Stalks and Snuff, which shall be burnt or destroyed in pursuance of an Act passed in the twenty-fourth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second (intituled, An Act for the more effectual securing the Duties upon Tobacco) the Officer or Officers seizing the same shall be paid in the Manner directed by that Act, three Pence for every Pound Weight of such Tobacco and Snuff, and one Penny for every Pound Weight of Tobacco Stalks; and that for such Tea as shall be burnt or otherwise destroyed by Order of the respective Commissioners of the Customs or Excise, pursuant to the Laws now in Being, the Officers making the Seizure shall be rewarded in such Manner as the said Commissioners shall think proper, such Reward not exceeding two Shillings and six Pence for each Pound Weight of such Tea, in lieu of all other Allowances; any Thing in this or any other Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

the other Third to be paid into the Exchequer, and upon Wool, and other Goods enumerated Act 12 Geo. 2. c. 21. the Produce after all Charges ;
and upon Tobacco and Snuffs burnt, &c. pursuant to Act 24 Geo. 2. c. 41. 3 d. per 1b. and for Tobacco Stalks, 1 d. per 1b.

and for Tea
not exceeding 2s. 6d. per 1b.
Where the Produce of any Seizure shall not answer the Expences of Condemnation and Sale, or a Verdict be given for the Claimant, the Charges to be paid out of any Branch of the Revenue applicable to Incidents.                                                                                III. Provided also, and it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if the Produce of any particular Seizure, sold in pursuance of this Act, shall not be sufficient to answer the Expences of Condemnation and Sale; or if upon the Trial of any Seizure, a Verdict shall be given for the Claimant, and the Ship or Goods shall not be condemned; in either of those Cases, it shall and may be lawful for the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs, to order the Charges attending the seizing and prosecuting such Ship or Goods, to be paid out of any Branch of the Revenue of the Customs which is by Law applicable to the Payment of Incidents; any Thing in this or any other Act of Parliament to the contrary notwithstanding.

The King to direct, by Order of Council, or Proclamation, how the Share of such Seizures as shall be made by Vessels in his Service, shall be divided amongst the Officers and Men.                                                                                ‘IV. And whereas for the more effectual Prevention of the infamous Practice of Smuggling, it may be necessary to employ several of the Ships and Vessels of War belonging to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, on the Coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the other Dominions and Colonies belonging to the Crown of Great Britain ;’ Therefore for the better Encouragement of all the Officers and Seamen employed in such Service to do their Duty therein; Be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and for his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, to direct and appoint the Moiety herein before mentioned, or any other Part of all and every the Seizure and Seizures that shall be made by such Officers or Seamen respectively, so employed as aforesaid, to be divided amongst all such Officers and Seamen of such Ship or Vessel of War, who shall make any such Seizure as aforesaid, in such Proportions, and in such Manner as his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall think fit to order and direct, by any Order or Orders of Council, or by any Proclamation or Proclamations to be made or issued, from time to time, for that Purpose; and such Moiety, or other Part of the said Seizure or Seizures, shall be so paid and divided to and amongst all the Officers and Seamen of such Ship or Vessel of War accordingly.

Where any Foreign Brandy, Attack, Rum, or other Spirits, not being for the Ship's Use, shall be imported, &c. in any Vessel of 50 Tons, or under, the same, together with the Vessel and Furniture, shall be forfeited ;                                                                                ‘V. And whereas the Laws already made to prevent the clandestine importing and landing of Foreign Brandy, Rum, Strong Waters or other Spirits, Tea, Tobacco, Tobacco Stalks and Snuff, in small Vessels, which hover upon the Coasts of this Kingdom, have been found insufficient for that Purpose ;’ Be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the first Day of June one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, if any Foreign Brandy, Arrack, Rum, Strong Waters or Spirits of any Kind whatsoever, shall be imported or brought into Great Britain, or into any Port, Harbour, Haven or Creek thereof, in any Ship, Vessel, or Boat, of the Burthen of fifty Tons, or under (except only for the Use of the Seamen then belonging to and on Board such Ship, Vessel or Boat, not exceeding two Gallons for every such Seaman) every such Ship, Vessel or Boat, with all her Tackle, Furniture and Apparel, and also all such Brandy, Arrack, Rum, Strong Waters or Spirits, or the Value thereof, shall be forfeited and lost; and where any Brandy, Arrack, Rum, Strong Waters or other Spirits, or any Tea, Tobacco, Tobacco Stalks or Stems stript from the Leaf, or Snuff, is or are liable to Forfeiture, by Virtue of an Act made in the ninth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, An Act for indemnifying Persons who have been guilty of Offences against the Laws made for securing the Revenue of Customs and Excise, and for enforcing those Laws for the future; and by another Act made in the twenty-fourth Year of the Reign of his said late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, An Act for the more effectual securing the Duties upon Tobacco; or either of them, for being found on Board any such Ship or Vessel at Anchor, or hovering within the Limits of any of the Ports of this Kingdom, or within two Leagues of the Shore, as is particularly expressed in those Acts: It is hereby further enacted, That in every such Case the Ship or Vessel on Board of which such Goods shall be so found, with all her Tackle, Furniture and Apparel, shall also be forfeited and lost, provided such Ship or Vessel doth not exceed the Burthen of fifty Tons.

and in like Manner, where any Spirits, Tea, Tobacco Tobacco Stalks, or Snuff, are liable to Forfeiture by Act 9 Geo. 2. c. 35. or Act 24 Geo. 2. c. 41.

the Vessel on Board which the same shall be found, if under 50 Tons, shall be forfeited, with her Apparel;
and the Vessels, &c. seized and condemned, are to be disposed of, as Vessels of 40 Tons or under forfeited for importing Foreign Brandy, &c.                                                                                VI. And it is hereby further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That every Ship or Vessel forfeited by this Act, shall be seized and prosecuted, and after Condemnation be burnt, destroyed, or used in his Majesty's Service by the Officers of the Customs or Excise, and the Tackle, Furniture and Apparel, disposed of and divided, and the Tonnage, ascertained in the same Manner as is directed by the Laws now in Force, with respect to Vessels of forty Tons or under forfeited for importing Foreign Brandy or other Spirits.

No Writ of Delivery to be issued out of the Exchequer for any such Vessel, unless the Officer delay proceeding to Trial and Condemnation 3 Terms, and Security be given in Double the Value, to return the Vessel upon Condemnation.                                                                                VII. And it is also further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Writ of Delivery shall be granted out of the Court of Exchequer, for any Ship, Vessel or Boat, that is liable to be burnt, destroyed, or used in his Majesty's Service by virtue of this Act, or any other Act relating to the Customs or Excise, unless the Officer seizing the same shall delay proceeding to the Trial and Condemnation thereof for the Space of three Terms; and in that Case, not without good Security being given in double the appraised Value of such Ship, Vessel or Boat, to return the same upon Condemnation, in order to be burnt, destroyed, or used in his Majesty's Service according to Law.

Clauses in Act 8 Annæ.                                                                                VIII. And whereas by an Act passed in the eighth Year of the Reign of her late Majesty Queen Anne for granting to her Majesty new Duties of Excise, and upon several imported Commodities; and by another Act passed in the fifteenth and sixteenth Years of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, for further regulating the Plantation Trade, and several other Purposes; It is amongst other Things enacted, That every Person, upon Entry of any Claim in the Court where any prohibited or uncustomed Goods, or any Ship, Vessel or Boat, shall be prosecuted, shall be obliged to give Security, in the Penalty of thirty Pounds, to answer and pay the Costs occasioned by such Claim; and in Default of giving such Security within the Time limited by the Course of that Court for entering such Claim, such Goods, Ships, Vessels or Boats shall be recovered: And whereas many Persons have, from the Smallness of the Penalty, been induced to enter groundless Claims in fictitious Names, with a View to put the Officers of the Revenue to vexatious Trouble and Delay, as well as to deter them from prosecuting Seizures legally made, by putting them to an extraordinary Expence, often times more than the Value of the Goods seized, which tends very much to the Prejudice of the publick Revenue, and to the Discouragement of the Officers thereof in the Execution of their Duty :’ To remedy therefore this Inconvenience for the future, Be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the first Day of May one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, every Person, upon Entry of any Claim in the Court where any Goods, Ships, Vessels or Boats, shall be prosecuted, shall be obliged to give Security, in the Penalty of sixty Pounds, to answer and pay the Costs occasioned by such Claim; and in Default of giving such Security within the Time limited by the Course of that Court for entering Claims, such Goods, Ships, Vessels or Boats, shall be adjudged to be forfeited, and shall be condemned; any Thing in the before recited Acts, or any other Acts of Parliament, to the contrary notwithstanding.

and 15 & 16 Geo. 2. c. 31.
Claimant, upon entering his claim, to give fecurity in 6ol. to pay costs;
and a Default thereof, the goods and vessel to be condemned.

Clauses in Act 5 Geo. 1. c.11.                                                                                ‘IX. And whereas, by certain Clauses in an Act made in the fifth Year of the Reign of his late Majesty King George the First, intituled, An Act against clandestine Running of uncustomed Goods, and for the more effectual preventing of Frauds relating to the Customs; (which Clauses have been continued by several subsequent Acts) It was declared and enacted, That where any Ship or Vessel of the Burthen of fifty Tons, or under, laden with customable or prohibited Goods, should be found hovering on the Coasts of this Kingdom, within the Limits of any Port, and not proceeding on her Voyage for Foreign Parts, or to some other Port of this Kingdom, Wind and Weather permitting, it should and might be lawful to and for any Officer or Officers of his Majesty's Customs, to go on Board every such Ship or Vessel, and to take an Account of the Lading, and to demand and take Security from the Master, or other Person having or taking the Charge or Command of such Ship or Vessel in that Voyage, by his own Bond by him to be entered into unto his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, in such Sum or Sums of Money as should be treble the Value of such Foreign Goods then on Board, with Condition that such Ship or Vessel, as soon as Wind and Weather and the State and Condition of such Ship or Vessel permitted, should and would proceed regularly on such Voyage, and should land such Foreign Goods in and at some Foreign Port or Ports; and if such Master, or other Person having or taking the Charge or Command of such Ship or Vessel, should, upon such Demand, refuse to enter into such Bond, or having entered into such Bond, should not depart or proceed regularly on such Voyage as soon as Wind and Weather and the State and Condition of such Ship or Vessel should permit, unless otherwise suffered to make a longer Stay by the Collector, or other Principal Officer in his Absence, of such Port where such Ship or Vessel should be, not exceeding twenty Days, then, and in either of the said Cases, all the Foreign Goods so on Board such Ship or Vessel, should and might by any Officer or Officers of the Customs, by Direction of the Collector, or other Principal Officer as aforesaid, be taken out of and from such Ship or Vessel, and forthwith brought on Shore and secured; and in case the said Goods were customable, the Customs and other Duties should be paid for the same: And as concerning Wool, or any prohibited Goods, or other Goods liable to Forfeiture, which might be found on Board such Ships or Vessels at the Time of their unlading as aforesaid, the same were thereby declared to be subject to Forfeiture, and the Officers of the Customs should and might prosecute the same, as also the Ship or Vessel, in case she should be liable to Condemnation, as in the Manner therein after mentioned; and that after such Goods were so taken out of such Ship or Vessel, and brought on Shore and secured by such Officer or Officers, such Bonds so to be given as aforesaid, should be void and delivered up, without any Fee or Reward for taking or delivering up the same; and such Bond, not being otherwise, discharged, should, on a proper Certificate, returned under the Common Seal of the Chief Magistrate in any Place or Places beyond the Seas, or under the Hands and Seals of two known British Merchants upon the Place, that such Goods were there landed, or upon Proof by credible Persons, that such Goods were taken by the Enemies, or perished in the Seas (the Examination and Proof thereof being left to the Judgment of the Commissioners of the Customs) should be vacated and discharged: And whereas the extending of the said Clauses to the rest of his Majesty's Dominions, may be a Means of preventing illicit Trade ;’ Be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the first Day of July one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three, the said Clauses, and every Part of them, shall be extended to all Ships and Vessels of the Burthen of fifty Tons or under, which shall be found hovering on the Coasts of Ireland, or any other of his Majesty's Dominions or Territories belonging to the Crown of Great Britain; and shall be of equal Force in every Respect, in regard to all such Ships and Vessels found hovering on any of the Coasts aforesaid, as such Clauses now are, or shall be construed to be, in regard to any Ships or Vessels hovering on the Coasts of this Kingdom; and all Offences which shall be committed against the said Clauses, or any Part of them, on the Coasts of Ireland, shall be tried, and the Penalties and Forfeitures thereby incurred shall be prosecuted for and recovered, in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record in Dublin in the said Kingdom; and all Offences which shall be committed against the said Clauses, or any Part of them, on the Coasts of any other of his Majesty's Dominions or Territories (except this Kingdom) shall be tried, and the Penalties and Forfeitures thereby incurred shall be prosecuted for and recovered, in any Court of Admiralty, in the Dominion or Territory on the Coast whereof such Offence shall be committed (which Court of Admiralty is hereby authorized, impowered and required to proceed to hear, and determine the same) or in any Court of Record in such Dominion or Territory, at the Election of the Informer or Prosecutor, according to the Course and Method used and practised there in Prosecutions for Offences against penal Laws relating to the Customs or Excise; and such Penalties and Forfeitures so recovered there, shall be divided and applied in such and the same Manner as Penalties and Forfeitures recovered in Great Britain for the like Offences are, or in Pursuance of this Act may be, directed to be divided and applied.

The recited Clauses, respecting customable or prohibited Goods on Board Vessels of 50 Tons or under, found hovering on the Coast of Britain, extended to all such like Vessels found hovering on any of the Coasts of Ireland; and the said Offences to be tried, and Penalties recovered, in any of the four Courts in Dublin. Offences in other Parts, to be prosecuted in the Court of Admiralty, or other Court of Record of the Place ;
and the Forfeitures to be divided and applied as those in Great Britain.


[Preamble recites 2 & 3 Vict. c. 61; 9 & 10 Vict. c. 86; 37 & 38 Vict. c. 60, as to care and conservancy of River Shannon, and that part of the duties of such care and conservancy consists in the maintenance of certain piers and other works in the estuary of the River Shannon below the city of Limerick (which said piers and works are mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act, and are in this Act referred to as “the said piers”).]

Short titles.                                                                                1. This Act may be cited as the Shannon Act, 1885; and the Shannon Acts of 1839 and 1846, and the Shannon Act, 1874, and this Act may be together cited as the Shannon Acts, 1839 to 1885.

2 & 3 Vict. c. 61.
9 & 10 Vict. c. 86.
37 & 38 Vict. c. 60.
Power to Public Works Commissioners to transfer maintenance of piers on estuary of Shannon.  2. (1.) The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland (herein-after referred to as “the Commissioners of Works”) shall have power from time to time upon such conditions as, with the consent of the Treasury, they may think fit, and subject to the provisions of this Act,
41 & 42 Vict. c. 52.
(a.) By order to commit the maintenance of any one or more of the said piers to any trustees, not less than five in number, willing to undertake the same upon the terms herein-after mentioned; and
(b.) By order to direct that any one or more of the said piers shall become the public property of the county, or of the urban or rural sanitary district within the meaning of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, in which such pier or piers is or are situate, and that the maintenance of such pier or piers shall be committed to the grand jury of the said county, or to the sanitary authority of the said urban or rural sanitary district, or to any properly constituted harbour authority within the meaning of this Act, as the case may be; provided the said county, sanitary, or harbour authority consent to accept the same upon the terms herein-after mentioned.
(2.) From the date of any such order as aforesaid taking effect in manner herein-after mentioned, or any later date specified in that behalf in such order, and subject to the terms of the order and the provisions of this Act, all property of every description, and all powers, rights, and duties of the Commissioners of Works in relation to any one or more of the said piers, whereof the maintenance is committed by such order to the local authority, harbour authority, or trustees therein in that behalf mentioned, (which said local authority, harbour authority, or trustees is or are in this Act referred to as a “pier authority”) shall cease to be vested in, and to be exercised and performed by, and to attach to the Commissioners of Works, and shall devolve upon such pier authority.

Considerations previous to order affecting piers.                                            3. Before making an order under this Act affecting any one or more of the said piers, the Commissioners of Works shall take into consideration the interests of the district or districts benefited by such pier or piers, and of the classes and persons making use thereof, and shall reasonably satisfy themselves that the duties to be committed to any pier authority by such order will be effectively discharged by them, with a due regard for all such interests as aforesaid.

Regulations as to making and validity of order.                                              4. With respect to the making of an order by the Commissioners of Works under this Act and the validity thereof, the following regulations shall have effect; that is to say,
(1.) The Commissioners of Works shall prepare a draft order, and shall specify therein—
(a.) The pier or piers, whereof the maintenance is proposed to be committed by such order to a local authority, harbour authority, or trustees, and the local authority, harbour authority, or trustees, and the local authority, harbour authority, or trustees to whom it is proposed to commit such maintenance, and the mode of supplying from time to time any vacancy caused by the death or incapacity or refusal to act of any such trustee; and
(b.) All property of every description, and all powers, rights, duties, interests, and liabilities proposed to be vested in and conferred and imposed on such local authority, harbour authority, or trustees; and
(c.) Any other matters which the Commissioners of Works, with the consent of the Treasury, may think fit to insert in such order;
but before making any such order the said Commissioners shall undertake any works which may appear to them necessary for repairing the structure of the pier or piers to which the order relates:
(2.) The Commissioners of Works shall cause the said draft order to be published in such manner as they think best adapted for the purpose of making it known to all persons interested, and shall hear and consider any objections to such draft order which may be made to them in writing within such time, being not less than thirty days from the date of the first publication thereof, as they may by notice published as aforesaid specify:
(3.) Having considered all such objections as aforesaid, the Commissioners of Works shall send the order as finally settled by them to the Treasury, and the Treasury, if they approve thereof (whether with or without modifications), shall cause the same, with such modifications (if any) as they think fit, as soon as possible to be laid upon the table of both Houses of Parliament:
(4.) The order shall be of no validity until it has lain for forty days on the table of both Houses of Parliament; and if during the said forty days either House of Parliament passes a resolution against such order the same shall be void, but if during the said period of forty days no such resolution is passed, the order shall at the expiration of the said period be valid and take effect:
(5.) The passing of a resolution by either House of Parliament against such order shall not prejudice the making of any subsequent order in pursuance of this Act in relation to the same subject-matter or any part thereof.

Power to pier authority to purchase land.                                                    5. (1.) A pier authority shall be bound to maintain and keep in sufficient order and repair the pier or piers so committed to them, and shall have power, subject to the provisions of this Act and of the order committing to them the maintenance of any one or more of the said piers, from time to time to purchase or take on lease or otherwise acquire any lands required by them for the purpose of such maintenance, and shall be empowered to improve and keep in sufficient order the approaches to any pier named in the First Schedule to this Act.

(2.) With a view to the purchase of lands by a pier authority, the Lands Clauses Acts shall, so far as they are applicable, be incorporated with this Act, with the exception of the provisions of those Acts which relate to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement; and, in construing the said Lands Clauses Acts for the purpose of this Act, this Act and the order committing to such authority such maintenance as aforesaid shall together constitute the “special Act,” and the pier authority shall be the “promoters of the undertaking.”

Power to levy tolls for use of piers.                                                        6. A pier authority shall have power to levy tolls in respect of the several matters mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act, at such rates, not exceeding the rates mentioned in the said schedule or any other rates mentioned in a schedule to the order, as they from time to time determine; provided that such tolls shall not at any time without the consent of the Treasury be charged in respect of any one of the said piers at higher rates than the rates at which they were charged at the time when the maintenance of such pier was committed to a pier authority in pursuance of this Act.

Application of tolls, &c.                                                                    7. All tolls levied by a pier authority to whom the maintenance of any of the said piers or the improvement of the approaches thereunto has been committed in pursuance of this Act, and all moneys otherwise accruing to such authority in pursuance of this Act, shall be held by such authority on trust to dispose thereof in defraying the expenses of and attending such maintenance or improvement of the approaches thereunto, and in repayment of any loan or loans raised by such authority in pursuance of this Act, with the interest thereon; and any surplus from time to time arising shall be applied in reduction of such of the rates fixed in respect of the said tolls as such authority may from time to time think it expedient to reduce; and any surplus from time to time remaining after such reduction of rates as aforesaid shall, in the case of a pier authority being a local authority, be the property of the county or sanitary district (as the case may be), and, in any other case be disposed of in such manner as Parliament may direct.

Power to local authority to levy special rate.                                               8. Where a pier authority are a local authority within the meaning of this Act, and the moneys at any time available for payment of the expenses incurred by such authority in the maintenance of any of the said piers, or for payment of any sums due in respect of a loan raised by such authority in pursuance of this Act, are insufficient for payment of such expenses or sums, then—
41 & 42 Vict. c. 52.
(1.) if such pier authority are the grand jury of a county, such grand jury may present any amount so from time to time required to supply the deficiency, such amount to be raised off the county at large, or off any one or more of the baronies or half baronies in the county; and such amount on being presented shall be applotted, raised, and levied accordingly; provided that a presentment made in pursuance of this section shall be subject to the like proceedings at presentment sessions, and otherwise, as other grand jury presentments; and
(2.) if such pier authority are an urban or rural sanitary authority within the meaning of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, such authority may make a special rate for the purpose of supplying the deficiency; and such authority, if an urban authority, shall have all such powers for making and levying such special rate, and all provisions shall be applicable in respect thereof, as in the case of any rate authorised to be made by such urban authority for the general purposes of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878; and if such authority are a rural authority, the amount required for supplying the said deficiency shall be deemed to be special expenses within the meaning of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, and sections two hundred and thirty-two and two hundred and thirty-three of that Act shall apply accordingly.

Provided that an applotment or applotments or a rate or rates made by any local authority for the purposes of this Act shall not in any year exceed sixpence in the pound.

Power to pier authority to borrow.                                                           9. (1.) Subject to the provisions of an order committing the maintenance of any of the said piers to a pier authority, such pier authority may from time to time, with the sanction of the Commissioners of Works, borrow at interest any sum required for any works which such authority are authorised to execute in pursuance of such order, and for that purpose may mortgage the tolls leviable by them under this Act and also (in case such authority are a local authority) any rate which they are by this Act authorised to make, and the mortgagees of any such mortgage may enforce the payment of any arrears of principal and interest due thereon by the appointment of a receiver.

10 & 11 Vict. c. 16.
(2.) For the purpose of any such loan the provisions of the Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847, with respect to the mortgages to be executed by the Commissioners shall, so far as such provisions are applicable and are not inconsistent with this Act or the said order, be incorporated with this Act; and in the construction of the said provisions for the purposes of such incorporation the “special Act” shall be deemed to be this Act and the said order, and the “Commissioners” shall be the pier authority, and the “clerk to the Commissioners” shall be the pier authority or any person appointed by the pier authority, and the word “rates” shall include any tolls leviable under this Act.
(3.) A pier authority being a grand jury may also (subject to the limit herein-before imposed on the amount of any applotments to be made in any year for the purposes of this Act) present any sum, to be raised off the county at large or off any one or more of the baronies or half baronies in the county, for the purpose of obtaining a loan in pursuance of this Act, and the enactments for the time being in force with respect to the presenting of moneys by grand juries for the purpose of obtaining loans for public works, and with respect to the making and repayment of such loans, shall be applicable to any such presentment, and to the making of any loan on the security thereof, and to the repayment of any such loan.

Power to Commissioners to lend to pier authority.                                            10. The Commissioners of Works may, with the consent of the Treasury, make any loan to a pier authority acting in pursuance of any powers of borrowing conferred by this Act, on the security of any tolls leviable under this Act, and (if they think it expedient) of any presentment or rate which such authority (if a local authority) is authorised by this Act to make, and without requiring any further or other security, such loan to be repaid within a period not exceeding fifty years, and to bear interest at the rate of three and a half per centum per annum, or such other rate as may in the judgment of the Treasury be necessary in order to enable the loan to be made without loss to the Exchequer:
Provided that in determining the time when a loan under this section shall be repayable, the Commissioners of Works shall have regard to the probable duration and continuing utility of the works in respect of which the same is required.

Incorporation of certain provisions of 10 & 11 Vict c. 27.                                   11. In the application of this Act in the case of any pier authority there shall be incorporated with this Act the following provisions and sections of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act, 1847, so far as those provisions and sections are applicable to and not inconsistent with or modified by this Act or the order committing the maintenance of any one or more of the said piers to such authority as aforesaid; that is to say,
(1.) Section twenty-eight, relating to the exemption of certain vessels, persons, and things, from the liability to be charged with rates and to be regulated and controlled under the said Act or the special Act; and
(2.) The provisions with respect to the collection and recovery of rates, excepting sections thirty-five and thirty-six; and
(3.) Sections seventy-four, seventy-five, and seventy-six, relating to the liability for any damage done, and the recovery of the amount of such damage; and
(4.) The provisions with respect to the byelaws to be made by the undertakers; and
(5.) The provisions with respect to the recovery of damages not specially provided for, and of penalties, and to the determination of any other matter referred to justices:
and in the construction of the said provisions and sections for the purpose of such incorporation, the “special Act” shall be deemed to be this Act and the said order; and the “harbour, dock, or pier” shall be the pier or piers whereof the maintenance is committed by the said order to such pier authority as aforesaid; and the “undertakers” shall be the said pier authority; and the word “rate” shall include any such toll as is mentioned in this Act.

Prohibition of undue preference in use of piers.                                             12. A pier authority shall not show any undue preference to any person in relation to the use of any of the said piers whereof the maintenance has been committed to such authority, but every person shall be entitled to the use thereof on the same terms on which any other person would be so entitled under similar circumstances.

Accounts and audit.                                                                          13. Accounts of the receipts and expenditure of a pier authority shall be made up in such form and to such day or days in every year as may be appointed by the Local Government Board. Such accounts shall be audited by such auditor of the accounts relating to the relief of the poor as the Local Government Board appoint for the purpose; and such auditor shall have the like powers and be subject to the like obligations, and any person aggrieved by the decision of such auditor shall have the like rights and remedies, as are provided in the case of an audit under section two hundred and forty-eight of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878; and a pier authority shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be a public body within the meaning of section six of the Local Government Board (Ireland) Act, 1872.

41 & 42 Vict. c. 52.
35 & 36 Vict. c. 69.
Report to Local Government Board.                                                            14. Every pier authority shall make an annual report, in such form and at such time as the Local Government Board may from time to time direct, of all works executed and of all sums received and expended by them in pursuance of this Act during the preceding year, and shall send a copy thereof to the Local Government Board, and shall publish such report or an abstract thereof in some local newspaper circulating in the district.

Maintenance of piers in case of default by pier authority.                                   15.—(1.) If at any time it appears to the Lord Lieutenant that any one or more of the said piers is or are not maintained in a proper state of repair by any pier authority to whom the maintenance thereof has been committed in pursuance of this Act, the Lord Lieutenant may, if he thinks fit, signify the same to the Treasury, and the Treasury may thereupon, if they think fit, authorise the Commissioners of Works to execute any works which they may consider necessary for the purpose of putting such pier or piers as aforesaid in a proper state of repair, and to advance out of any moneys for the time being in their hands for the purpose of loans any sum or sums necessary for such works; and for the purpose of executing such works the Commissioners of Works shall be invested with all the powers of the pier authority.

(2.) Any sum or sums so advanced by the Commissioners of Works, together with interest thereon at the rate of three and a half per centum per annum, or such other rate as may in the judgment of the Treasury be necessary in order to enable such advance to be made without loss to the Exchequer, shall be repaid by the pier authority out of any moneys in their hands for the purpose of the maintenance of such pier or piers as aforesaid, and shall be a charge upon all tolls levied by such authority until the whole amount due in respect of the advance has been repaid; and such charge shall have priority over all other sums payable by such authority in respect of such maintenance, except any sums payable in respect of expenses incurred previous to the date of the said advance by the Commissioners of Works; and for the recovery of the said advance and the interest thereon, the Commissioners of Works shall have the like rights and remedies as if the sum or sums advanced had been borrowed by the pier authority in pursuance of this Act on the security of a mortgage of the said tolls.

Saving of certain rights.                                                                    16. Nothing in this Act shall extend to abridge or prejudicially affect any right, power, jurisdiction, or privilege of the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

Definitions.                                                                                17. In this Act the following words and expressions shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there be something in the context repugnant thereto; that is to say,
41 & 42 Vict. c. 52.
8 & 9 Vict. c. 18.
“Local Government Board” means the Local Government Board for Ireland:
“Harbour authority” includes all persons or bodies of persons, corporate or unincorporate, being proprietors of or intrusted with the duty, or invested with the power of constructing, improving, managing, maintaining, or lighting any harbour, or any works in or at which vessels can obtain shelter, or ship and unship goods or passengers in the River Shannon or Fergus:
“Local authority” means the grand jury of a county or any urban or rural sanitary authority within the meaning of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878:
“County” means a county at large, also a county of a city, a county of a town and city, and a city or town and county:
“Grand jury” includes the town council of any borough to whom the powers of a grand jury with respect to the presentment of public money have been transferred:
“Lands Clauses Acts” means the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, and the Acts amending the same, so far as respects Ireland.

SCHEDULES.
Preamble.

THE FIRST SCHEDULE.
Clare Castle Pier, County Clare.
Kilrush Pier, County Clare.
Kildysart Pier (Cahiran), County Clare.
Querin Pier, County Clare.
Kilteery Pier, County Limerick.
Foynes Harbour, County Limerick.
Saleen (Ballylongford) Pier, County Kerry.

THE SECOND SCHEDULE.
Sect. 6 .
I.—Quayage.
On Craft Trading in the River Shannon.                                                                      Rates for entering Pier.

1.                                                                                2.

For first week.                                                                                For any time after first week.

Open boats, turf boats, and decked vessels under 20 tons burden.                                            3d. per diem - -                               3d. per diem.

Decked vessels of 20 tons and under 50 tons register, or 50 tons burden when not registered.                1s. ” - -                                      6d. ”

Vessels of 50 tons register or burden and under 100 tons register.                                          2s. ” - -                                      1s. ”

Vessels of 100 tons register and upwards.                                                                   3s. ” - -                                      1s. 6d. ”

On Vessels arriving from or departing to any Port in the United Kingdom, outside the Shannon.               3d. per ton register for a period of 14 days.  ½d. per ton for every subsequent week or part of a week.

On Vessels arriving from or departing to any Foreign or Colonial Port.                                      5d. per ton register for a period of 14 days.  Ditto.

Vessels arriving for the purpose of shelter to pay only the rates per diem or per ton as per column No. 2.

II.—Wharfage.
For loading or landing.  Turf, lime, limestone, building stone, flags, sand, gravel, ballast, marl, seaweed, and manures.

Ditto - -                Timber, coal, iron ores and minerals, corn, meal, malt, flour, potatoes, hay, straw, and all goods not elsewhere enumerated.  1½d. per ton.

Ditto - -                Pigs or sheep - - - -                                                                                6d. per score.

Ditto - -                Horses or cattle - - - -                                                                                1d. per head.