The Proprietors of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, - Plaintiffs in Error; Charles Barrett, - Defendant in Error
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 04 September 1844 |
| Date | 04 September 1844 |
| Court | House of Lords |
English Reports Citation: 8 E.R. 1225
House of Lords
Mews' Dig. iii. 458; xiii. 883, 898, 1923. S.C. 8 Scott N.R. 641; 7 Man. and Gr. 870; 3 Man. and Gr. 956; 2 Man. and Gr. 134. Adopted on point as to construction of Acts levying charges, in Medway Navigation v. Brock, 1876, 33 L.T. 851; Pryce v. Monmouthshire Canal and Ry. Co., 1879, 4 A.C. 205; and cf. A.G. v. Beech, 1899, 68 L.J. Q.B. 133; Styles v. Middle Temple (Treasurer), 1899, 68 L.J. Q.B. 161.
Act of Parliament - Construction of "Exportation," and "Port" - Cumulative Charge.
[590] THE PROPRIETORS OF THE STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY,- Plaintiffs in Error; CHARLES BARRETT,-Defendant in Error [March 26, Sept. 4, 1844]. [Mews' Dig. iii. 458; xiii. 883, 898,1923. S.C. 8 Scott N.R. 641; 7 Man. and Gr. 870; 3 Man. and Gr. 956; 2 Man. and Gr. 134. Adopted on point as to construction of Acts levying charges, in Medway Navigation v. Brock, 1876, 33 L.T. 851; Pryce v. Monmouthshire Canal and By. Co., 1879, 4 A.C. 205; and cf. A.*G. v. Beech, 1899, 68 L.J. Q.B. 133 ; Styles v. Middle Temple (Treasurer), 1899, 68 L.J. Q.B. 161.] Act of Parliament-Construction of " Exportation," and " Port "- Cumulative Charge. The words " shipped for exportation " are not necessarily restricted to an exportation to foreign countries, but may mean exportation in its widest sense; that is, a carrying out of port. A Railway Act empowered the proprietors to levy on all coals carried along any part of their line, such sum as they should direct, " not exceeding the sum of 4d. per ton per mile." It then went on thus: " And for all coal which shall be shipped on board any vessel, etc. in the port of Stockton-upon-Tees aforesaid, for the purpose of exportation, such sum as the said proprietors shall appoint, not exceeding the sum of one-halfpenny per ton per mile: "- Held, that with respect to coals shipped for exportation, this was not a cumulative but a substituted toll. Held also, that the words " the port of Stockton-upon-Tees aforesaid," meant the whole port of that name, and was not restricted to the port of the town of Stockton-upon-Tees; that there was not such an ambiguity in the enacting part of the Act as to compel a reference to the preamble of it; and that the word " aforesaid " did not limit the expression to the port of the town as described in that preamble. Another Act, passed on the same subject, after reciting the former Act, and also reciting that the proprietors had been at great expense in forming inclined planes on the line of railway, authorized them to demand, " for all articles, etc. for which a tonnage is hereinbefore directed to be paid, which shall pass any inclined plane upon the said railway, such sum as the said proprietors shall appoint, not exceeding the sum of Is. per ton :"- Held, that this was a cumulative charge. Clauses in Acts empowering companies to levy a charge upon the public, as in Railway Acts for example, must, where the meaning is doubtful, be construed favourably for the public. This was an action for money had and received, originally brought in the Court of Common Pleas, to recover three sums of money, which the plaintiff there, Charles Barrett, alleged had been unlawfully received [591] by the defendants as tolls on the carriage of certain coals carried on the line of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, of which they were the proprietors. The cause was tried before Mr. Justice Vaughan at the London sittings after Michaelmas Term 1837, when a verdict was taken for the plaintiff. The facts found were afterwards turned into a special verdict, for the purpose of obtaining the opinion of the Court on the several Acts of Parliament, under H.L. vm. 1225 39a XI CLABK & FINNELLY, 591 STOCKTON & DARLINGTON RY. V. BARRETT [1844] the provisions of which the money now sought to be recovered had been demanded and received. The defendants were incorporated by an Act passed in the 2d Geo. 4, c. 44,* for * The preamble to the 2 G. 4, c. 44, is as follows:-" Whereas the making and maintaining of a railway or tram-road, for the passage of waggons and other carriages from the river Tees, at or near Stockton, in the county of Durham, to Witton Park Colliery, in the township of Witton, in the said county of Durham, with five collateral branches from the said railway or tram-road; one of them commencing, etc. and terminating, etc.; another, etc.; and the other of such collateral branches commencing at or near the river Tees, and terminating at or near the south-west end of the town of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the said county of Durham, -will be of great public utility, by facilitating the conveyance of coal, iron, lime, corn, and other commodities from the interior of the county of Durham, to the town of Darlington, and the town and port of Stockton, and towards and into the North Biding of the said county of York, and also the conveyance of merchandize and other commodities from the said town and port of Stockton to the said town of Darlington, and into the interior of the said county of Durham, and will materially assist the agricultural interest, as well as the general traffic of that part of the country, and tend to the improvement of the estates in the vicinity of the said railways or tram-roads." The 62d section was in these terms :-" And in consideration of the great charge and expense which the said proprietors must incur and sustain in making and maintaining the said railways or tram-roads, and other the works hereby authorized to be made and maintained; Be it further enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for the said proprietors, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, to ask, demand, take, recover and receive, to and for the use and benefit of the said proprietors, for the tonnage of all goods, wares and merchandizes, and other things, which shall be carried or conveyed upon the said railways or tram-roads, or upon any part thereof, the rates, tolls and duties hereinafter mentioned, that is to say: " For all limestone, materials for the repair of turnpike-roads or highways, and all dung, compost, and all sorts of manure, except lime, which shall be carried or conveyed upon the said railways or tram-roads, such sum as the said proprietors shall from time to time direct or appoint, not exceeding the sum of 4d. per ton per mile. " For all coal, coke, culm, cinders, stone, marl, sand, lime, clay, ironstone, and other minerals, building-stone, pitching and paving stone, bricks, tiles, slates, and all gross and unmanufactured articles and building materials, such sum as the said proprietors shall from time to time direct and appoint, not exceeding the sum of 4d. . per ton per mile. " For all lead in pigs or sheets, bar-iron, waggon-tire, timber, staves, and deals, and all other goods, commodities, wares and merchandizes, such sum as the said proprietors shall from time to time direct and appoint, not exceeding the sum of 6d. per ton per mile. " For all the articles, matters and things for which a tonnage is hereinbefore directed to be paid, which shall pass the inclined planes upon the said railways or tram-roads, such sum as the said proprietors shall appoint, not exceeding the sum of Is. per ton. " And for all coal which shall be shipped on board of any vessel or vessels in the port of Stockton-upon-Tees aforesaid, for the purpose of exportation, such sum as the said proprietors shall appoint, not exceeding the sum of one-halfpenny per ton per mile." The 21st section of the 4 Geo. 4, c. 33, after reciting the previous Act, proceeds thus : " And whereas, by the said recited Act, the said proprietors were authorized and empowered from time to time, and at all times thereafter, to ask, demand, sue for, recover, and receive for the tonnage of all articles, matters, and things for which, a tonnage duty is therein directed to be paid, which should pass the inclined planes upon the said railways or tram-roads, such sum as the said proprietors...
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