United Kingdom House of Lords Decisions

Subject_Private Legislation Procedure — Provisional Order — Petition Deposited against Order and not Formally Withdrawn — No Appearance for Objectors — Procedure — General Orders No. 146. Headnote:

No. 146 of the General Orders provides, inter alia, as follows:—… “In any case where all petitions duly presented to the Secretary for Scotland in terms of General Orders, against the provisional order which has been referred to commissioners for local inquiry, have been withdrawn by requisition as aforesaid before commissioners have opened the inquiry into such draft provisional order, the draft provisional order shall be deemed to be withdrawn from inquiry before commissioners unless the Secretary for Scotland, in terms of the principal Act, thinks inquiry necessary, although there is no opposition, and directs such inquiry to proceed.”

When the Rothesay Tramways (Extension) Provisional Order was called before the Commission it was intimated that a petition had been deposited against a particular part of the Order. The part of the Order petitioned against had been withdrawn, but the petition had not been formally withdrawn. No one appeared for the objecting petitioners.

The agent for the promoters proposed, having regard to the provisions of No. 146 of the General Orders, to put a witness in the box to formally prove the preamble.

Mr Lorimer, Clerk to the Commission, explained as follows:—“The position we are in is this, that we have no information that there has been a requisition withdrawing the last petition against the Rothesay Order, and so far as the Commission are concerned it stands. When this case is called now, as I take it to be called, it stands, so far as is known, as an opposed Provisional Order.”

A witness was put into the box to formally prove the preamble, and the clauses of the Order were then formally considered and approved by the Commissioners.

Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, Chairman, reported to the Secretary for Scotland on behalf of the Commissioners that when the inquiry was opened into the Order no petitioners against it appeared. “The Commissioners accordingly examined the allegations of the preamble and found the same to be true and the preamble proved, and they went through the Order and made amendments thereon.”