Certain in

dentures and agreements, being sche

dules A., B. and C., confirmed and declared valid.

Agreements may be made for the use of the railroad

floor of the bridge by

other companies.

Use of railroad floor may be restricted.

as to the validity of the said indenture and agreements may be removed, and that the same may be declared legal, and it is expedient to grant the prayer of the said Petition:

Therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. The said indenture and agreement bearing date the first day of October, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, the said agreement bearing date the eighteenth day of January, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and the said agreement bearing date the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and which form respectively the Schedules A, B and C to this Act, are and each of them is hereby confirmed and declared to be and to have been legal and valid; and all and singular the provisions, stipulations, covenants and agreements, and all and singular other the matters in the said indenture and agreement set out in Schedule A to this Act, as amended and explained by the said agreements set out in Schedule B and C to this Act, shall be valid and binding upon each of the said Companies, and in favour of the said two Bridge Companies and of the said Railway Company respectively, and shall in all respects have the same force and effect as though the same were and every of them was expressly embodied in this Act.

2. It shall be lawful for the Great Western Railway Company to agree with any company, corporation, or persons using or proposing to use the said railroad floor of the said bridge and the approaches thereto, as to the amount of tolls, rates or other remuneration to be paid to the Great Western Railway Company for such use, and to commute the same at any fixed or variable amount, or for a payment or payments in gross or for recurrent payments at fixed or variable periods; and any agreement so entered into between the Great Western Railway Company and such other company, corporation or persons for the use of the said railroad floor and approaches, shall be legal, valid and binding; and under any such agreement, such Company, corporation or persons shall be entitled to the use of the said railroad floor and approaches according to the stipula tions and conditions of such agreement.

3. It shall be lawful for the Great Western Railway Company to confine the use of the said railroad floor of the said bridge to railway traffic, and at their option to transport upon and across the said railroad floor of the said bridge, with their own servants and motive power, the cars and traffic of all such companies, corporations and persons, as may use or

propose

propose to use the said railroad floor of the said bridge, and to agree with any such company, corporation or person, as to the amount of tolls, rates or other remuneration to be paid to the Great Western Railway Company for such service, and to commute the same at any fixed or variable amount, or for a payment or payments in gross, or for recurrent payments at fixed or variable periods.

tain Caña

4. The agreement entered into between the Erie and Agreement Niagara Railway Company, and the Canada Southern Rail- between cerway Company and the Great Western Railway Company, dian Railway dated the twentieth day of March, one thousand eight creat Companies hundred and seventy-five, and which forms Schedule D to Western, this Act, is hereby declared legal, valid and binding.

confirmed.

SCHEDULE A.

THIS INDENTURE, made and concluded this first day of October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fiftythree,

Between the Niagara Falls International Bridge Company and the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company jointly, party of the first part, and the Great Western Railway Comartay in Canada West, party of the second part.

WHEREAS, the parties of the first part are now constructing a Suspension Bridge across Niagara River, extending from the Village of Bellevue, in the State of New York, to the Village of Elgin, in Canada West, with two floors, the upper floor thereof being designed to pass railroad trains with locomotives, and the lower floor thereof for carriages, foot passengers and animals; the upper floor to have side walks for foot passengers, and gates to control the entrance upon the railroad floor and the side walks, and railing or lattice work on the inner margin of the side walks, so as to separate them from the railroad passway, and to have the entrance to the side walks separate from the entrance to the railway, in such a manner as to prevent foot passengers from going on to the railroad track:

And whereas, the parties of the first part are erecting said railroad bridge of such strength and stability, as to render it entirely safe and sufficient for the passage of heavy trains with locomotives, and purpose laying down rails with a gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches, one of five feet and six inches, and one of six feet, and to complete the whole at the earliest period which the safety of the structure will permit:

Now

NOW THIS INDENTURE witnesseth, that the said parties of the first part in consideration of the rents, covenants and agreements of the party of the second part hereinafter contained, covenant and agree to and with the party of the second part, that they will with all convenient speed complete the structure above mentioned, and submit the same to proper tests, and the inspection of the Hon. H. H. Killaly, and in case of his inability to act, or declining to do so, to some other engineer competent, to be mutually agreed upon between the parties; in the event of the parties being unable to agree upon an engineer, each party to appoint one, and the persons so appointed to select an umpire, who shall be satisfied of its capacity to carry engines, passenger and freight cars, at a moderate velocity, not exceeding five miles an hour; and when so finished and satisfactorily tested, to lease and let, and the said parties of the first part, do hereby lease and let to the said party of the second part, the railroad floor and structure, including all its supports, fixtures and gates, excepting the side walks and their gates, to be for their entire use and under their control, for, and during the continuance of their Charter, yielding and paying therefor, to the party of the first part the sum of forty-five thousand dollars for each year, payable half-yearly, on the first days of June and December, from and after the time the same shall be tested and approved as aforesaid.

And the said parties of the second part, covenant and agree to and with the parties of the first part, that they will forever hereafter, during the continuance of their charter, except as hereinafter mentioned, yield and pay to the parties of the first part, forty-five thousand dollars rent in each year, payable half-yearly on the first days of June and December, and keep the said floor, railway tracks, and all structures and approaches appertaining to the same and so rented, in good order, repair and condition, except the foot walks and the gates approaching the same,-accidents arising from defect in the strength or structure of said bridge, and accidents by fire also, excepted. And it is expressly understood that the strength and stability of the structure for railway purposes as herein stated and described, shall be at the risk of the said parties of the first part, and that the conditions herein imposed upon the parties of the second part, to keep the said floor in repair shall not apply to the cables, nor any other part of the bridge, affecting or pertaining to its stability as a railway structure.

The parties of the second part may from time to time, and as often as they may deem necessary, at their own cost and charges, (provided the bridge should be reported on as safe,) require that the said bridge or any part of the same be examined and reported upon by competent engineers, which engineers, if not mutually agreed upon, shall be selected,

one

one by each party, and the two so selected shall choose a third; and should the said engineers or a majority of them on examination, report that the said bridge cannot with safety be used for railroad purposes, then the rent hereby reserved shall cease from such time as said engineers shall decide the same to be unsafe, until the said bridge shall be strengthened and made safe, and be so determined by com petent engineers selected and chosen in the manner above described, and when so determined the rent shall be again resumed, and that during the period such rent shall cease and be discontinued. All the passengers, baggage, freight, &c., of the parties of the second part crossing said bridge, shall be subject to such reasonable rates of toll as shall be agreed upon between the parties. And if at any time hereafter the rent herein reserved or any part thereof, shall be unpaid or remain due and unpaid to the parties of the first part, for the space of thirty days after the same ought to be paid, the parties of the first part shall be at liberty to end this lease, and re-enter and take possession of the structure and all its approaches and appendages, or may at their option suffer this Indenture to continue in force and proceed by action to recover arrears of rent. But nothing in this clause shall be construed to prevent the parties of the first part from proceeding by action or otherwise to recover arrears of rent at any time when due, and in case of re-entry they shall not be prevented from prosecuting for arrears that may remain due at the time of such re-entry.

For the purpose of making this covenant and agreement more explicit and better understood, the following explanations, provisions and stipulations are to become part of this agreement, and each of the parties hereto covenant and agree to the same as follows:

Article First. The lower or carriage way of the bridge and its approaches, and the sidewalks of the upper railroad floor and their approaches, are to be under the control and for the use of the parties of the first part, but are not to be used in any manner to the hindrance of free and uncontrolled use of the railroad floor and its approaches by the parties of the second part for railroad purposes.

Second. The upper railroad floor of the bridge and structure, including all support, fixtures and gates, excepting the side walks and their gates and approaches, are to be under the control and for the use of the parties of the second part for railroad purposes; said support and fixtures properly belonging to, and sustaining the upper structure thereof.

Third. The possession and use of said railroad structure by the parties of the second part, is to carry with it the exclusive right to extend to other companies and persons,

the

the privilege of crossing said railroad bridge with locomotives, trains and cars carrying passengers and freight, on such terms as they may agree to, subject, however, to the conditions and restrictions prescribed in this Indenture to the parties of the second part.

Fourth. It is understood that the privilege hereby conveyed to the parties of the second part, is for the purpose of passing locomotives and cars with freight and passengers, in the prosecution of legitimate railroad business, and that they are not to afford the means to any other person or persons, except railroad passengers of crossing or evading the payment of toll to the parties of the first part.

Fifth. The parties of the second part to be responsible to the parties of the first part, that the companies or individuals to whom they shall underlet, shall keep within the restrictions and conditions contained in this Indenture; and the parties of the second part shall have all the profits accruing therefrom.

Sixth. As it is believed that many of the railroad passengers will prefer walking over said bridge, or going in omnibuses or other carriages, to passing over in the cars, the parties of the first part agree to permit them so to pass over their upper side walks and lower floor free, on their producing tickets from the Railroad Company, showing that they are regular railroad passengers, and have come from, or are going a distance of at least five miles east or west, to or from the bridge; but this permission is not to prevent the parties of the first part from charging the regular tolls upon the omnibuses or carriages carrying such railroad passengers. The meaning of this article is, that the parties of the second part shall not carry passengers who are only passing from one side of the river to the other, and that they, and those to whom they underlet, shall not carry passengers over said bridge, nor give tickets to passengers, to pass the bridge who have not come, or are going, at least five miles to or from the bridge, and shall not give tickets to, nor carry persons who intend merely to pass the bridge, and are not thus travelling in their cars; but shall at all times adopt such reasonable regulations as may be necessary to prevent such evasions of the rights of the parties of the first part, to take tolls from all except legitimate railway passengers. And if at any time the agents or employés of the parties of the second part, or those to whom they shall underlet, shall in any manner collude with persons to afford them the means of evading the rights of the parties of the first part, to take tolls; the parties of the second part, or those exercising the right under them, shall, on such collusion or evasion. being made known to them, dismiss such agents or employés.

Seventh.