Chester Lighthouse. Act 1776
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1776 c. 61 |
| Year | 1776 |
(16 Geo. 3) CAP. LXI.
'W H E R E A S a considerable Trade is carried on from the Port ofChester to foreign Parts, and coastways; and a Number of Vessels, as well as his Majesty's Yacht, are frequently employed in conveying Passengers between Great Britain and Ireland : And whereas the Navigation of the said Port from the City of Chester to the Sea hath been much improved at a great Expence; notwithstanding which, in dark and tempestuous Nights, the same is still very difficult, precarious, and uncertain, and the Lives and Properties of many of his Majesty's Subjects have been lost: And whereas, if proper Lighthouses and Landmarks were erected at convenient Places within or near the said Port, and Buoys placed upon the Banks and Shoals leading into and in the said Port, and other Improvements made therein, the Navigation of the said Port would be rendered more safe, commodious, and certain, for all trading Ships and Vessels, and also for his Majesty's Ships of War: And whereas, by virtue of an Act of Parliament, made in the eighth Year of the Reign of our late Sovereign Queen Elizabeth (intituled ) the Master, Wardens, and Assistants, of theTrinity-house of Deptford Strond , in the County of Kent , are impowered to erect and set up such and so many Beacons, Marks and Signs, for the Sea, in such Places of the Sea-shore Uplands near the Sea-coasts, or Forelands of the Sea, only for Sea-marks, as to them shall seem meet; and by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain , bearing Date the eleventh Day of June , in the thirty-sixth Year of the Reign of the said late Queen, the Office of Beaconage and Buoyage, and the sole Right and Power of making, setting up, placing, continuing, renewing, and maintaining, of all Beacons, Buoys, Marks, and Signs, for the Sea, and all Fees, Profits, Advantages, Emoluments, Rights, and Appurtenances, due, payable, appertaining, or belonging thereto, or for or in respect thereof, are vested in them; and the said Corporation have consented that the Lighthouses, Buoys, Marks, and Signs for the Sea, herein after authorised to be erected and placed, shall and may be erected, placed, and maintained, according to the Directions of this Act;' 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 passing of this Act, the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, of the City ofChester , for the Time being, the Commander of his Majesty's Yacht for the Time being, the Pilot of his Majesty's Yacht for the Time being, the Collector and Surveyor of the Port of Chester for the Time being, and also every other Person for the Time being resident in the City of Chester , or in the County of Chester or Flint , who shall, in his own Right, or in the Right of his Wife, be seised of a real Estate of the annual Value of one hundred Pounds, or possessed of a personal Estate to the Amount or Value of two thousand Pounds, shall be, and are hereby constituted and appointed Trustees for putting in Execution all and every the Trusts, Powers, and Authorities, given and granted in and by this Act; and that no Person or Persons, not being qualified as aforesaid, shall be capable of acting as a Trustee in the Execution of this Act.
II Trustees to be sworn as to their Qualifications.
II. Provided, That no Person or Persons (except the said Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen of the City ofChester for the Time being, the Commander of his Majesty's Yacht for the Time being, the Pilot of his Majesty's Yacht for the Time being, or the Collector or Surveyor of the Port of Chester for the Time being) shall act as a Trustee or Trustees under this Act in any Case (except in administering the Oath to any other of the said Trustees) until he or they shall have first taken and subscribed the following Oath, before any three or more of the said Trustees, who are hereby authorised and impowered to administer the same to any other of the said Trustees; to wit.
'IA. B . do swear, That I truly and bona fide am, in my own Right, or in the Right of my Wife, seised of a real Estate of the annual Value of one hundred Pounds, or possessed of a personal Estate to the Amount or Value of two thousand Pounds.
So help me G O D.'
And if any Person hereby deemed unqualified or incapable to act, shall nevertheless presume to act contrary to the true Intent and Meaning hereof, every such Person shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of one hundred Pounds to any Person or Persons who shall inform or sue for the same, to be recovered in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record atWestminster , by Action of Debt, or on the Case, Suit, Bill, Plaint, or Information, wherein no Essoin, Protection, or Wager of Law, or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed; and such Person acting as a Trustee, so sued or prosecuted in respect of his Qualification, shall prove, upon the Trial of the Suit or Cause, that he is duly qualified as herein before is directed, or otherwise shall pay the said Sum of one hundred Pounds, without any other Proof or Evidence on the Part of the Plaintiff or Prosecutor than that such Person hath acted as a Trustee in the Execution of this Act.
III First General Meeting of Trustees.
III. And be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the first General Meeting of the Trustees for putting this Act into Execution shall be held at the Town-hall in the City ofChester , within two Months next after the passings of this Act; and that a Notice, signed by three of the said Trustees, signifying the Day and Hours of such Meeting, shall be inserted in theChester Newspaper at least ten Days before such Meeting; and that four General Meetings shall be held every Year for the future upon the Daysfollowing; (that is to say) Upon the firstTuesday in January , the first Tuesday in April , the first Tuesday in July , and the first Tuesday in October , at the Hour of Eleven of the Clock in the Forenoon, at such Place within the said City of Chester (and not elsewhere), as the said Trustees, or any five of them, at each preceding Meeting shall appoint; and the said Trustees shall have power to adjourn such Quarterly Meetings from Time to Time, and to such other Time and Place as Occasionshall require; and that any five of the said Trustees, attending at any of those Adjournments, shall be considered as a Committee, and are hereby impowered to act and transact Business in all Cases for any of the Purposes in this Act mentioned, except such particular Business, Matters and Things, as are herein after mentioned and described to be transacted at the General Quarterly Meetings: And if at any Meetingappointed to be held by virtue of this Act there shall not be present a sufficient Number of Trustees to act or to adjourn to another Day, the Trustee or Trustees then present, or the Clerk to the said Trustees for the Time being, shall from Time to Time, as often as such Case shall so happen, by giving ten Days previous Notice in Writing, to be inserted in theChester Newspapers, or fixed upon the most public Place of the Custom-house and Exchange in Chester , appoint another Meeting to be held at the Place where the last Meeting was appointed to be held; and that such Meeting so appointed shall be considered as an Adjournment; and all Orders and Determinations of the said Trustees in the Execution of this Act, shall be made at Meetings to be held in pursuance of this Act, and not otherwise; and that no Order or Determination shall be made, unless the Majority of the Trustees present at a Meeting shall concur therein, such Majority not being less than the Number of Trustees by this Act authorised to make any such Order or Determination; and that every Meeting of the Trustees by virtue of this Act shall be public; any thing in this Act contained to the contrary thereof in any wife notwithstanding.
IV Trustees not to act till they have taken the following.
IV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no Person shall act as a Trustee in any Case in the Execution of this Act (except in administering the Oath to any other of the said Trustees) until he shall have taken and subscribed the Oath following before any three or more of the said Trustees, who are hereby authorised and impowered to administer the same to any other of the said Trustees; to wit,
'IA. B . do swear, That I will truly and impartially, according to the best of my Skill and Judgment, execute and perform the Powers and Authorities vested in me by virtue of an Act made in the sixteenth Year of the Reign of King George the Third, for erecting a Lighthouse or Lighthouses and Landmarks in or near the Port of Chester, and for placing Buoys upon the Banks and Shoals leading into and in the said Port; and for regulating of Pilots and Persons towing or tracking of Vessels to and from the City of Chester; and for fixing the Rates payable for the same respectively .'
V Trustees may act as Justices;
V. Provided always, That such of the said Trustees who are or shall be in the Commission of the Peace for the said County ofChester , or for the County of Flint , and also the Mayor and Justices of the Peace for the said City of Chester and County of the same City, shall and may, and they...
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