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58
LEGISLATION.
PORT OF LONDON ACT, 1908.
The Port of London Act, 1908, became law during the year.
Clause 7 provides that as from the appointed day (March 31st, 1909) there
shall be transferred to the Port Authority all rights, powers, and duties of the
Conservators of the River Thames in respect of the River Thames below the
landward limit of the Port of London.
Also all enactments relating to the Conservators (except those regulating
the funds and accounts of and borrowing by the Conservators) shall have
effect as if references to the Port Authority were substituted for references to
the Conservators.
This means that practically the Thames Conservancy Act of 1894 will be
administered by the new Port Authority in the Thames below Teddington
Lock.
This Act contains many sections dealing with pollution of the River
Thames.
These are :—
Section 90, which defines " tributary of the Thames " as including
" the whole and every part of any and every river stream watercourse
" cut dock canal channel and water being within all or any of the
" several counties of Gloucester Wilts Oxon Bucks Berks Hants
" Surrey Middlesex Herts Essex and Kent and administrative county of
" London and being within the catchment area of the Thames and
" communicating either directly or indirectly with the Thames except as
" follows :—
" (1) So much as is more than three miles from the Thames of
" every river stream watercourse cut dock canal channel and water
" which first communicates whether directly or indirectly with the
" Thames at a point eastward of the western boundary of the county
" of London ;
" (2) So much of the River Lee as is above the south boundary
" stones in the Lee Conservancy Act 1868 mentioned ;
" (3) Every river stream watercourse cut dock canal channel and
" water which is within the catchment area of so much of the River
" Lee as is above the said stones ; and
" (4) Every cut dock and canal belonging to any of the dock
" companies established under the authority of Parliament at the
" port of London or to any other company established under such
" authority and owning any docks within that port."