Submarine Telegraph Act 1885
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1885 c. 49 |
| Year | 1885 |
Submarine Telegraph Act, 1885
(48 & 49 Vict.) CHAPTER 49.
An Act to carry into effect an International Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables.
[6th August 1885]
Be it enacted by the Queen'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:
1 Short title.
1. This Act may be cited as theSubmarine Telegraph Act, 1885.
2 Confirmation of Convention.
2. The Convention of the fourteenth of March one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four mentioned in the schedule to this Act as set forth in that schedule is hereby confirmed, and subject to the provisions of this Act the articles of such Convention (referred to in this Act as the Convention) shall be of the same force as if they were enacted in the body of this Act.
3 Punishment for violation of Article 2 of Convention.
(1)3. (1.) A person shall not unlawfully and wilfully, or by culpable negligence, break or injure any submarine cable to which the Convention for the time being applies, in such manner as might interrupt or obstruct in whole or in part telegraphic communication.
(2) (2.) Any person who acts or attempts to act in contravention of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction—
(a. ) if he acted wilfully, shall be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding five years, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years and to a fine either in lieu of or in addition to such penal servitude or imprisonment; and
(b. ) if he acted by culpable negligence, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, without hard labour, and to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds either in lieu of or in addition to such imprisonment.
(3) (3.) Where a person does any act with the object of preserving the life or limb of himself or of any other person, or of preserving the vessel to which he belongs or any other vessel, and takes all reasonable precautions to avoid injury to a submarine cable, such person shall not be deemed to have acted unlawfully and wilfully within the meaning of this section.
(4) (4.) A person shall not be deemed to have unlawfully and wilfully broken or injured any submarine cable, where in the bon fide attempt to repair another submarine cable injury has been done to such first-mentioned cable, or the same has been broken; but this shall not apply so as to exempt such person from any liability under this Act or otherwise to pay the cost of repairing such breakage or injury.
(5) (5.) Any person who within or (being a subject of Her Majesty) without Her Majesty's dominions in any manner procures, counsels, aids, abets, or is accessory to the commission of any offence under this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to be tried and punished for the offence as if he had been guilty as a principal.
4 Limitation of Article four of Convention.
4. Article four of the schedule to this Act shall not apply to that part of a cable which is laid in a depth of water exceeding one hundred fathoms; but nothing in the Convention or this Act shall take away, prejudice, or affect any right or remedy to which by law any party is or may be entitled otherwise than under the provisions of the Convention or this Act.
5 Application of law as to lights and signals for carrying into effect Articles five and six of Convention.
(1)5. (1.) It is hereby declared that the enactments of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1862 , and the enactments amending the same, touching regulations as to lights and to signals and for the avoiding of collisions, shall extend to authorise regulations for carrying into effect Articles five and six of the schedule to this Act, within as well as without the territorial waters of Her Majesty's dominions, and regulations may be made, applied, altered, and revoked, and the contravention thereof punished accordingly under the said enactments, and section six of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1883, shall extend to the enforcement of the said regulations as regards sea fishing boats within the limits of that Act.
(2) (2.) If any vessel engaged in the laying or repairing of a submarine cable to which the Convention for the time being applies, interferes contrary to the said regulations or articles with any vessel engaged in fishing, or if the operations of any vessel in connexion with any such submarine cable are wilfully delayed so as to interfere with sea fishing, the master of the vessel, or the owner thereof, if it appear that he was in fault, shall be deemed guilty of a breach of the said regulations and may be punished accordingly.
6 Powers of British and foreign officers.
(1)6. (1.) For the purpose of carrying into effect the Convention, a person commanding a ship of war of Her Majesty or of any foreign state for the time being bound by the Convention, or a ship specially commissioned for the purpose of the Convention by Her Majesty or by the government of such foreign state, may exercise and perform the powers and duties vested in and imposed on such officer by any article in the Schedule to this Act.
(2) (2.) If any person obstructs any such officer in such exercise or performance, or refuses or neglects to comply with any demand or direction lawfully made or given by him in pursuance of this Act, such person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two months, with or without hard labour.
(3) (3.) Any action, prosecution, or proceeding against any officer for any act done in pursuance or execution or intended execution of this Act, or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of this Act, shall not lie or be instituted unless it is commenced within twelve months next after the act, neglect, or default complained of.
(4) (4.) In any such action tender of amends before the action was commenced may, in lieu of or in addition to any other plea, be pleaded. If the action was commenced after such tender, or is proceeded with after payment into court of any money in satisfaction of the plaintiff's claim, and the plaintiff does not recover more than the sum tendered or paid, he shall not recover any costs incurred after such tender or payment, and the defendants shall be entitled to costs, to be taxed as between solicitor and client, as from the time of such tender or payment.
(5) (5.) Every such action shall be brought in one of Her Majesty's superior courts in the United Kingdom (which...
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