1903 Nova Scotia Chapter 121 - An Act to enable the Municipality of Colchester to borrow money to pay for the Right-of-way of the North Colchester Branch of the Midland Railway Company, Limited

1903 Nova Scotia Chapter 121 - An Act to enable the Municipality of Colchester to borrow money to pay for the Right-of-way of the North Colchester Branch of the Midland Railway Company, Limited

An Act was approved by the Nova Scotia legislature on April 11th 1903 to allow the municipality of Colchester to borrow money to damages for private land taken for the proposed North Colchester Branch of the Midland Railway Company. The proposed branch would run from Truro to Tatamagouche or Brule on the Northumberland Strait.

The money was to be paid only to the railway company after the line was complete and in operation. Thus the railway had to pay for the lands and any damages up front, as construction progressed, not take the land for free and have some government pay the landowners and tenants at some later date.

Summaries of the various sections of the act are just below, while digital images of the three pages of the act from the statute books in the Archives of Nova Scotia are shown at the bottom of this page.

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Summary of Chapter 121 Acts of 1903.

Whereas the municipal council of Colchester County agreed to pay for private lands required for a right of way for a railway from Truro to Tatamgouche or Brule;

Therefore be it enacted:

Section 1 gives the county of Colchester the power to borrow the money needed to pay for the lands and damages for construction of the railway, terminals, sidings, stations, wharves and depots.

Section 2 requires the loans to be repaid within thirty years, made using debentures in one hundred dollar amounts (or multiples of one hundred dollars) bearing interest of four percent per year, payable half-yearly.

Section 3 requires the county to pay the cost of the interest and the principal falling due each year.

Section 4 requires the county to apportion the costs of the lands and damages to each of its districts, including the town of Truro, in proportion to the benefit each district derives from the railway. The costs for each district were to be assessed in the tax rates for each district. Arbitrators were to be appointed if the county and the town of Truro or the districts disagreed over the proportions alloted to each.

Section 5 required the county to deposit the proceeds of the debentures in a bank and disburse them only for the purpose of paying the railway damages.

Section 6 required the county to pay the money only to the Midland Railway Company after the railway had been completed and in operation. Thus the Midland had to purchase the lands or pay damages up front, and be reimbursed later, contrary to earlier similar acts which had the municipality pay each landowner, not the company.

Section 7 required the county to arrange its financing of a sinking fund to pay the debentures.

Section 8 said the provisions of the Municipal Debentures Act of 1902 applied as far as were consistent with this act.

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Reference Tag

Please use this citation when referring to this page: 1903 Nova Scotia Chapter 121 - An Act to enable the Municipality of Colchester to borrow money to pay for the Right-of-way of the North Colchester Branch of the Midland Railway Company, Limited

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Digital copy of the Act:

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