Mar. 12.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 729

the Taupiri Coal-mines (Limited), of Auckland, the equitable owners thereof, have made a written request that the same be vested in them under the powers conferred by the said Act:

And whereas the Governor is satisfied that all outstanding claims of the King or any other person against the said Taupiri Coal-mines (Limited) in respect of the construction of the said branch railway are fully satisfied, and that there is no doubt or dispute about the ownership of such railway:

Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the said Act, and by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby declare that on the date of the gazetting hereof the said Taupiri Branch Railway, and the land whereon the said branch railway is constructed, as more particularly described in the Schedule hereto, shall become vested in the said Taupiri Coal-mines (Limited), subject to the provisions of the said Act; and that the following regulations shall apply to the management and working of the said railway, namely:—

REGULATIONS.

1. The maximum rates to be charged by the company for the conveyance of passengers or goods on the company’s line shall be as follows:—

s. d.
Passengers, each .. .. .. 0 6
Minerals, per ton .. .. .. 1 9
Timber, per 100 superficial feet .. .. 0 3
Other goods, per ton .. .. .. 4 0
Goods of Class F, per truck .. .. 2 6

2. The Minister for Railways (hereinafter called “the Minister”) may at any time request the company to run such trains for the conveyance of goods or passengers as he may deem necessary, and in the event of the company failing to run the trains the Minister shall have power to work the line and run such trains as he may deem necessary for the carrying-on of the traffic.

3. The provisions of sections 227 to 230 of “The Public Works Act, 1894,” shall apply to the maintenance, working, and management of the company’s line.

4. The company shall be allowed to connect its line with the Government main line at the Kimihia Station, in such manner, for such term, and subject to such conditions as may be approved by the Minister under the provisions of “The Government Railways Act, 1900,” relating to branch lines and sidings, the company to provide a siding on its own line outside the Kimihia Station.

5. The portion of the proposed branch line from the point of connection with the Auckland–Poro-o-tarao line of railway to the boundary of the Government railway land shall be maintained by the Minister.

6. The extension of the company’s branch line beyond the Government railway boundary shall be constructed and laid by the company, with such grades and curves in such manner and position as the Minister shall approve; and the branch line shall be so constructed as to give the Government railways standard clearances for walls, doorways, and platforms for trucks moved on the branch line, and particulars of all structures must be submitted to the Minister before they are erected, in order that these provisions may be complied with. The company shall maintain such extension in good order and condition to the satisfaction of the Minister. Any Railway officer may inspect the extension at any time, and the company shall carry out the repairs or alterations specified in any written notice duly served on them by authority of the Minister within the time specified in such notice, and the Minister may suspend the traffic until the specified work is satisfactorily completed.

7. The company shall be bound by and observe all the by-laws, rules, and regulations with regard to the working of traffic on branch lines in general or on this branch line in particular which the Minister may from time to time impose, or which may be in force, or may hereafter be put in force, on the Government railways, and shall pay all proper tariffs, demurrage, and other charges which may from time to time be in force on the Government railways. The company shall also, at their own cost, load and unload into and from railway-trucks all and every description of goods and materials which may be required to be conveyed by railway from or which may be delivered by railway at the branch line, and the company shall be liable for all damages or loss which may occur to the Minister through their neglect to observe this provision. The company’s officers and servants shall at all times obey the orders of the officers and servants of the Minister in respect to all operations and duties carried on by the said company’s officers or servants within the limits of the Government railway, and the company shall not employ any person within the limits of the Government railway who, in the opinion of the Minister, is unfit or undesirable to be employed. No works or appliances of any kind shall be constructed or placed within the limits of the Government railway without the consent and approval of the Minister is first given.

8. If the company shall refuse or neglect to observe the by-laws, rules, and regulations which the Minister may from time to time impose, or which may be in force on the Government railways, or commit any wilful breach of these regulations, the Minister may suspend the traffic upon the branch line, or close or remove the connection of the branch line with the main line, and all rights of access to the main line and the use of the portion of the branch line running over the Government railway land shall thereupon cease, and the company shall not have any claim for compensation or damages of any nature whatsoever on account of such suspension of the traffic, or closing, or removal, or on account of any action arising therefrom.

9. The Minister shall be at liberty to close or remove the connection of the branch line with the main line at any time that he may think fit after the expiration of three calendar months from the date of his leaving or sending through the post, addressed to the manager or secretary of the company at the registered office of the company, a notice in writing of his intention in this behalf.

10. The company shall not be entitled to any compensation or payment whatsoever from the Minister or the Government of the colony for any damage caused to buildings, erections, or machinery contiguous to the branch line, notwithstanding that such damage may have been directly caused by sparks from any Government railway-engine.

11. The Minister alone shall have the right of admitting others than the company to the privilege of using any portion of the branch line on Government railway land.

12. All rails, permanent-way material, machinery, or property of any kind whatsoever used in connection with or forming part of the branch line on Government railway land which is the property of the company shall, upon the closing of the same, whether from lapse of time or any other reason, remain the property of the company, and the company shall be at liberty to remove the same, but so as not to damage the Government railway line or works.

13. All railway wagons, tarpaulins, or other railway plant or rolling-stock the property of the Minister which for the time being shall be borrowed or hired by, or be in the custody of, the company shall be returned by the company in good order and condition; and in the case of loss or damage by fire, or from any other cause whatsoever, of any such wagons, tarpaulins, or railway plant or rolling-stock whilst in the custody or control of the company, the amount of such damage or loss shall be made good by them on demand made by the Minister in writing, and if such amount be not paid within twenty-one days after any such demand the same may be recovered from the company as and for liquidated damages.

14. Any rights granted in accordance with these regulations shall not be transferable, except with the consent of the Minister.

15. Should any dispute arise as to the intention or meaning of these regulations, the matter shall be referred to the Minister, and his decision, final or interim, shall be binding on all parties.

16. Trucks from the Government line for the company’s line shall be placed in the company’s siding at Kimihia by the Government engine, and trucks from the company’s line for the Government line shall be placed in the Government siding by the company’s engine.

17. The company shall pay to the Minister a charge of 1d. per ton for all Government trucks used to convey goods of Classes P and Q from and to the branch line to and from stations on the Government line, in addition to the classified or local rates for the haulage of such traffic over the Government lines.

18. For trucks used for local traffic the company shall pay to the Minister a rental of 1s. per four-wheeled truck per day or part of a day for the first day, and 5s. per truck per day or part of a day for each day or fraction thereof after the first day. A day will be computed at twenty-four hours from the time the vehicles are placed in the company’s siding at Kimihia. Bogie trucks will be charged double rate. Trucks used for through traffic shall be allowed to stand six working-hours on the company’s line for loading or discharging, after which the company shall pay to the Minister a demurrage charge of 5s. per four-wheel truck per day or part of a day; bogie trucks double rate.

———

SCHEDULE.

ALL that branch line of railway, from a point near the 62¼-mile peg on the Kaipara–Waikato Railway to a point in the Auckland University College Reserve fronting Lake Kimihia, in the Parish of Taupiri, commonly known as the Taupiri Branch Railway, the centre line of which is described in the Schedule to a Proclamation dated the 8th day of March, 1886, and published in the New Zealand Gazette, No. 13, of the 11th March, 1886, the total length thereof being 2 miles 19 chains or thereabouts: save and except that portion of the said Taupiri Branch Railway, about 5 chains in length, which at the com-