Port of London Act 1908
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1908 c. 68 |
Port of London Act, 1908
(8 Edw. 7.) 68.
An Act to provide for the improvement and better administration of the Port of London, and for purposes incidental thereto.
[21st December 1908]
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, as follows:
Establishment of Port of London Authority.
1 Establishment of Port of London Authority.
(1) An authority (in this Act referred to as the Port Authority) shall be established for the purpose of administering, preserving, and improving the port of London and otherwise for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Port Authority shall be a body corporate by the name of the Port of London Authority, with a common seal, having power to acquire and hold land for the purposes of this Act without licence in mortmain.
(3) The Port Authority shall consist of a chairman and vice-chairman and other members elected and appointed in manner provided by this Act.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, the chairman and vice-chairman shall be appointed by the Port Authority; the person to be appointed to either such office may, but need not, be an elected or appointed member.
(5) Subject to the provisions of this section, the number of elected members shall be eighteen, of whom seventeen shall be elected by payers of dues, wharfingers, and owners of river craft, and one shall be elected by wharfingers.
(6) Subject to the provisions of this section, the number of the appointed members shall be ten, appointed as follows:—
| By the Admiralty | 1 | |
| By the Board of Trade | 2 |
By the London County Council (being members of the Council) |
2 | |
By the London County Council (not being members of the Council) |
2 | |
By the Corporation (being a member of the Corporation) |
1 | |
By the Corporation (not being a member of the Corporation) |
1 | |
| By the Trinity House | 1 |
(7) With a view to providing for the representation of labour on the Port Authority, one of the members of the Port Authority appointed by the Board of Trade shall be appointed by the Board after consultation with such organisations representative of labour as the Board think best qualified to advise them upon the matter, and one of the members of the Port Authority appointed by the London County Council shall be appointed by the council after consultation with such organisations representative of labour as the council think best qualified to advise them upon the matter.
(8) Until the time fixed by this Act for the first retirement of members, two at least of the members of the Port Authority shall be persons of experience in dock management, and, if in order to enable this requirement to be observed it is necessary to do so, the Board of Trade may appoint one or two additional appointed members.
(9) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Port Authority may pay to the chairman, vice-chairman, and chairman of any committee, or to any of them, such salaries or salary as the Port Authority may determine.
(10) Subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions contained in the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and proceedings of the Port Authority and the election and appointment of members.
(11) The first elected members, instead of being elected as provided by this Act, shall be appointed by the Board of Trade after consultation with such persons and bodies having knowledge and experience of trade or shipping in the Port of London as the Board may think fit, and the first chairman shall, if the Board think fit, be appointed by the Board, and shall, if appointed by the Board, be paid such salary (if any) as the Board may determine.
and Facilities.
and Facilities.
2 General duties of Port Authority as to improvement of accommodation and facilities.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Port Authority, as soon as may be after the appointed day, to take into consideration the state of the river and the accommodation and facilities afforded in the Port of London, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, to take such steps as they may consider necessary for the improvement thereof.
(2) For the purposes aforesaid the Port Authority may, subject to the provisions of this Act, do all or any of the following things:—
(a ) carry on the undertaking of any dock company transferred to the Port Authority by this Act;
(b ) acquire and carry on any undertaking affording or intended to afford accommodation or facilities for the loading, unloading or warehousing of goods in the Port of London;
(c ) construct, equip, maintain, or manage any docks, quays, wharves, jetties, locks, or piers, and buildings, railways, and other works in connexion therewith;
(d ) exercise any other powers conferred on or transferred to the Port Authority by or under this Act.
3 Transfer to Port Authority of undertakings of dock companies.
(1) As from the appointed day the undertakings of the London and India Docks Company, the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, and the Millwall Dock Company (which companies are in this Act referred to as dock companies) shall be transferred to and vest in the Port Authority, and the Port Authority shall issue to those companies, or as they may direct, as consideration for their undertakings the following amounts of port stock created under this Act—
(a ) in the case of the London and India Docks Company, seven million nine hundred and seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and seventy-six pounds of A port stock and nine million eight hundred and ninety-three thousand eight hundred and thirty-five pounds of B port stock:
(b ) in the case of the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, five hundred and twenty-two thousand pounds of A port stock and two million three hundred and eighty-eight thousand four hundred and eighty-five pounds of B port stock:
(c ) in the case of the Millwall Dock Company, six hundred and fifty-one thousand two hundred and seventy-six pounds of A port stock and nine hundred and twenty-eight thousand five hundred and four pounds of B port stock.
(2) The stocks so issued shall be substituted for the existing debenture and other stocks of the dock companies in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act, and on such substitutions being effected the existing debenture and other stocks of those companies shall be cancelled:
Provided that no interest shall accrue due on any such existing stock in respect of any period after the appointed day, but the port stock issued in substitution therefor shall carry interest as from the appointed day.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any order of the Board of Trade made under this section, on the transfer of any such undertaking the Port Authority shall hold the undertaking, and may exercise all the rights, powers, and privileges of the company, and shall, to the exclusion of the company, be subject to all the duties, obligations, and liabilities of the company (other than those in respect of the debenture stock of the company) under the Acts, whether local or general, and other provisions relating to or affecting the company, and to all other duties, liabilities, and obligations of the company existing at the appointed day, in like manner as if they were the company.
(4) The Board of Trade may make such orders as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the transfers to be effected and enabling the Port Authority to carry on the undertakings when transferred.
4 Power to purchase undertakings.
(1) It shall be lawful for the Port Authority and the owners of any undertaking affording or intended to afford accommodation or facilities for the loading, unloading, or warehousing of goods in the Port of London with the consent of the Board of Trade to enter into and carry into effect an agreement for the transfer of the undertaking to the Port Authority, and the Board of Trade may, on the application of the Port Authority or the owners, make such orders as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the agreement to be carried into effect, and any such order may (amongst other things) provide, if the owners are a company, for the redemption and payment off of any debentures or debenture stock of the company, and for the dissolution of the company, and, if the whole or any part of the consideration under the agreement consists of port stock, as to the period within which provision is to be made for the redemption of that port stock.
(2) If the Port Authority desire to purchase any such undertaking but are unable to come to an agreement with the owners of the undertaking, it shall be lawful for the Port Authority to promote a Bill in Parliament for the purpose.'
5 Power to Port Authority to enter into agreements with London County Council as to transfer of piers, &c.
5. The Port Authority and the London County Council may enter into and carry into effect agreements for or with respect to the acquisition by or transfer to the Port Authority, on such terms and conditions as maybe agreed, of any piers and landing place belonging, to or held by the said council, together with the powers of making byelaws, appointing tolls, rates, or charges, and of levying and enforcing the same, and with all other rights, powers, and authorities vested in or exerciseable by the said council in respect of such piers and landing places, and, upon such acquisition or transfer, all the...
To continue reading
Request your trial