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COMPIEGNE — CONCARNEAU

equivalent being given to him; and, as the money for such compensation must come from Parliament, the practical result is that the seizure can only be effected under legislative authority. An action for illegal interference with the property of the subject is not maintainable against officials of the Crown or Government sued in their official capacity or as an official body. But Crown or Government officials may be sued in their individual capacity for such interference, even if they acted with the authority of the Government (cp. Raleigh v. Goschen, 1898, 1 Ch. 73; 67 L. J. Ch. 59). Lands Clauses Acts.—Down to 1845 every Act authorizing the purchase of lands had, in addition to a number of common form clauses, a variety of special clauses framed with a view to meeting the particular circumstances with which it dealt. In 1845, however, a statute based on the recommendations of a select committee, appointed in the preceding year, was passed; the object being to diminish the bulk of the special Acts, and to introduce uniformity into Private Bill legislation by classifying the common form clauses, embodying them in general statutes, and enabling them to be incorporated into the special statutes by reference. The statute by which this change was initiated was the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845; and the policy has been continued by a series of later statutes which, together with the Act of 1845, are now grouped under the generic title of “ The Lands Clauses Acts.” The public purposes for which lands are taken are threefold. Certain public departments, such as the War Office and the Admiralty, may acquire lands for national purposes. Local authorities are enabled to exercise similar powers for an enormous variety of municipal purposes, e.g., the housing of the working classes, the improvement of towns, elementary and technical education. Lastly, the promoters of public undertakings of a commercial character, such as railways and harbours, carry on their operations under statutes in which the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts are incorporated. Lands may be taken under the Lands Clauses Acts either by agreement or compulsorily. The first step in the proceedings is a “ notice to treat,” or intimation by the promoters of their readiness to purchase the land, coupled with a demand for particulars as to the estate and the interests in it. The landowner on whom the notice is served may meet it by agreeing to sell, and the terms may then be settled by consent of the parties themselves, or by arbitration, if they decide to have recourse to that mode of adjusting the difficulty. If the property claimed is a house, or other building or manufactory, the owner has a statutory right to require the promoters by a counternotice to take the whole, even although a part would serve their purpose. This rule, however, is, in modern Acts, often modified by special clauses. On receipt of the counter-notice the promoters must either assent to the requirement contained in it, or abandon their notice to treat. On the other hand, if the landowner fails within twenty-one days after receipt of the notice to treat to give the particulars which it requires, the promoters may proceed to exercise their compulsory powers and obtain assessment of the compensation to be paid. As a general rule, it is a condition precedent to the exercise of these powers by a company that the capital of the undertaking should be fully subscribed. Compensation, under the Lands Clauses Acts, is assessed in four different modes :—(1) by justices, where the claim does not exceed £50, or a claimant who has no greater interest than that of a tenant for a year, or from year to year, is required to give up possession before the expiration of his tenancy; (2) by arbitration (a) when the claim exceeds £50, and the claimant desires arbitration, and the

interest is not a yearly tenancy, (6) when the amount has been ascertained by a surveyor, and the claimant is dissatisfied, (c) when superfluous lands are to be sold, and the parties and the promoters cannot agree as to the price; lands become “ superfluous ” if taken compulsorily on an erroneous estimate of the area needed, or if part only was needed and the owner compelled the promoters under the power above mentioned to take the whole, or in cases of abandonment; (3) by a jury, when the claim exceeds £50, and (a) the claimant does not signify his desire for arbitration, or no award has been made within the prescribed time, or (b) the claimant applies in writing for trial by jury; (4) by surveyors, nominated by justices, where the owner is under disability, or does not appear at the appointed time, or the claim is in respect of commonable rights, and a committee has not been appointed to treat with the promoters. Promoters are not allowed without consent of the owner to enter upon lands which are the subject of proceedings under the Lands Clauses Acts, except for the purpose of making a survey, unless they have executed a statutory bond and made a deposit, at the Law Courts Branch of the Bank of England, as security for the performance of the conditions of the bond. Measure of Value.—(1) Where land is taken, the basis on which compensation is assessed is the commercial value of the land to the owner at the date of the notice to treat. Potential value may be taken into account, and also goodwill of the property in a business. This rule, however, excludes any consideration of the principle of “ betterment,” according to which promoters would be allowed to set off against an owner’s claim for compensation any Better enhancement of the value of his land by the use meat. of the land taken by the promoters. Statutory recognition has been given to this principle in some of the American states and in some British colonies {e.g., Victoria, &c.); and in England public bodies have been empowered in local Acts to recoup themselves for their outlay by receiving from the owners of premises and lands part of the enhanced value created by local improvements. [See Browne and Allan, Compensation, 1896, pp. 121, 683; and the report of a select committee of the House of Lords on the subject, ib. p. 684 ; and the London County Council (Tower Bridge, Southern Approach) Act, 1894. ously affected ” by the works of the promoters, compensation is payable for loss or damage resulting from any act, legalized by the promoters’ statutory powers, which would otherwise have been actionable, or caused by the execution (not the use) of the works authorized by the undertaking. Authorities.—Balfour Browne and Allan. Compensation. London, 1896. — Cripps. Compensation, 4th edition. London, 1900.—Lloyd. Compensation (6th edition by Brooks). London, 1895. 1885 (vol. i.), 1887 (vol. ii.).—Bouvier. Law Dictionary, edited by Rawle. London and Boston, U.S.A., 1897.—Lewis. Eminent Domain. Chicago, 1888.—Mills. Eminent Domain, 2nd edition. St Louis, 1888. (a. W. R.) Compiegne, chief town of arrondissement, department of Oise, France, 37 miles east of Beauvais, on railway from Paris. The famous castle of Compffigne now serves as a museum, and contains an important collection of Cambodian and Gallo-Roman antiquities. A monument to Joan of Arc was erected in 1880. In the vicinity are important sugar-mills. Population (1881), 11,116 ; (1891), 11,877; (1896), 12,380; (1901), 16,503. Compressed Air. See Power, Transmission op (Pneumatic). Concarneau, a seaport and railway station,