The Queen against The Great North of England Railway Company
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 12 June 1846 |
| Date | 12 June 1846 |
| Court | Court of the Queen's Bench |
English Reports Citation: 115 E.R. 1294
QUEEN'S BENCH
S. C. 2 Cox, C. C. 70; 16 L. J. M. C. 16; 10 Jur. 750. Discussed, Whitfield v. South Eastern Railway, 1858, El. Bl. & El. 121. See Pharmaceutical Society v. London and Provincial Supply Association, 1879-80, 4 Q. B. D. 320; 5 Q. B. D. 310; 5 App. Cas. 857. Adopted, R. v. Tyler, [1891] 2 Q. B. 593.
the queen against the great north of england railway company. Friday, June 12th, 1846. A corporation aggregate maybe indicted for a misfeasance. As, an incorporated railway company, for cutting through and obstructing a highway by works performed in a course not conformable to the powers conferred on the company by Act of Parliament. [S. C. 2 Cox, C. C. 70 ; 16 L. J. M. C. 16 ; 10 Jur. 750. Discussed, Whiifield v. South Eastern Railway, 1858, El. Bl. & El. 121. See Pharmaceutical Society v. London and Prwindal Supply Association, 1879-80, 4 Q. B. D. 320; 5 Q. B. D. 310 ; 5 App. Cas. 857. Adopted, B. v. Tyler, [1891] 2 Q. B. 593.] Indictment. The first count charged that, before and at the time of the committing of the offences, &c., to wit 3d July 1838, there was, and from thence hitherto bath been, and still is, to wit at the township of Hurworth, in the county of Durham, a certain common and public Queen's highway, leading from the village of Hurworth, in the county of Durham, unto Croft Bridge, also in the said county, used by and for all the liege subjects, &c., on foot, and with their horses, &c., and carriages, to go, return, &c., at their free will and [316] pleasure: and 'that the Great North of England Railway Company (a), on the said 3d day, &c., with force and arms, at the (5) Lord Denman C.J., Patteson and Williams Js. (a) Stat. 6 & 7 W. 4, c. ev., local and personal, public, "for making a railway from near the river Tyne to or near the river Tees, to be called 'The Great North of England Railway,' in the county of Durham," by sect. 1, incorporates the company by the name and style of " The Great North of England Railway Company." Sect. 11 authorises the company, "for the purposes and subject to the provisions and restrictions of this Act," to enter lands, &c., and, among other powers, to construct in, upon, across, under or over the railway, or in, upon, across, under, or over any lands, &c., roads, &c., such inclined planes, &c., bridges, &c., cuttings, &c., aa they shall think proper; and also to divert or alter the course of any rivers, &c., roads or ways, or to raise or sink any such rivers, &c., roads or ways. Sect. 73 prescribes the width, ascent, &c., of any bridge erected for carrying any public carriage road over the railway. Stat. 7 W. 4 & 1 Viet. c. cii., local and personal, public, "to enable 'The Great North of England Railway Company' to extend the line of their railway, and to make two branches therefrom; and for other purposes relating thereto," gives power to extend the railway, and enacts that all the powera, &c., regulations, &c., of the former Act (except such as are expressly repealed, &c.) shall extend to this Act, and the 9 Q. B. 317. THE QUEEN V. THE GREAT NORTH OF ENGLAND ELY. CO. 1295 township, &o., unlawfully and injuriously did out through, dig up and subvert, and did cause to be cut through, &c., great part of the said highway, to wit forty yards, &c. of the said highway, and then and there, unlawfully and injuriously, did dig and make, and did cause to be dug and made, across the said highway, a certain cut and trench to wit, a cut and trench of great length, &c., to wit of the length, &c., and then and there, unlawfully and injuriously, did remove, take and carry away, and did cause to be removed, &c. from and out of the said cut and trench, divers large quantities of earth, &c., to wit, one hundred tons, &c., and then and there, unlawfully and injuriously, did oast, Jay down, &c., and did cause to be cast, laid down, [317] &c., divers large quantities of bricks, stones and lime, to wit 100 loads, &c. in and upon the said highway ; and the same part of the said highway so cut through, &c., and the said cut and trench so dug, &e., and the said bricks, &c., so cast, laid down, &c., as aforesaid, with force and arms then and there, unlawfully and injuriously, did keep, maintain and continue for a long space of time then next following, to wit, &c. By means of which said seTeral premises the said highway, on the said 3d day, &c., and for and during all the time aforesaid, became and was obstructed and stopped up, so that the liege, &c., on, &c. and for and during all the time aforesaid, could not go, return, &c., as they ought, &c.: to the great damage and common nuisance of all Her Majesty's liege...
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