Drainage (Ireland) Act 1842

Penalty on Persons depositing Gravel, &c. so as to obstruct the Navigation or free Passage of the Water in the Rivers, &c. improved under this Act.

CXXXIV. And be it enacted, That if any Person shall throw or deposit any Ballast, Gravel, or other Matter or Thing, so as to interrupt or obstruct the free Passage of Water through, or the Navigation of any of the Rivers, Streams, Watercourses, or any of the Cuts, Sluices, or Canals, which shall have been improved by the said Commissioners under this Act, or shall, without the Consent of the said Commissioners, lay any Ballast, Gravel, Stones, Dirt, Rubbish, Lime, Timbers, or Clay on any of the Banks, Locks, or Trackways of any of the Rivers, Drains, Canals, or Side Cuts aforesaid, or if any Person shall maliciously open any Lock, Sluice, Dam, Gate, or Watercourse belonging to the said Navigation or Drainage, or shall so leave any of the same open after any Boat has passed, or otherwise maliciously mis-spend or waste the Water of the said Navigation, or shall raise any Wall, Building, or other Obstruction in said Drams, Canals, Rivers or Streams, without the Consent in Writing of the Commissioners, such Person being convicted of any of the Offences aforesaid before any Justice or Justices of the Peace of the County where such Offence shall be committed, or of any adjoining County, by the Oath of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, shall be fined by such Justice or Justices a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds, to be levied in such Manner as is herein-after directed with respect to the levying any Fine imposed by any Justice or Justices, and all such Walls, Buildings, or other Obstructions may be forthwith pulled down and removed by the said Commissioners, or any Person or Persons duly authorized by them, and the Materials of such Walls, Buildings, or Obstructions may be sold by order of the said Commissioners to defray Costs of their Removal.