Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/645

 by the owners of the towing-paths, and of the locks, weirs, &amp;c. and for raising the necessary sums for cleansing and scouring such parts of the river as may require it; and in order to remedy which, the act appoints as commissioners all persons having landed property of the value of £100 per annum, in any of the counties through which the river passes, with the addition of many public functionaries, including the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, the Heads of Colleges at Oxford, &amp;c. with powers to fix the rates to be paid by barges or other vessels passing through any lock, provided that such rate be not less than any now taken under authority of any preceding act of parliament, or more than four-pence per ton at any one lock; and also the rate of carriage of all sorts of goods to be taken by the owners of such barges or other vessels.

The act divides the navigation into six districts; the first district from the city of London to Staines Bridge; the second from Staines Bridge to Boulter's Lock; the third from Boulter's Lock to Maple Durham; the fourth from Maple Durham to Shillingford; the fifth from Shillingford to Oxford; and the sixth from Oxford to Cricklade.

The commissioners are authorized to borrow the sum of £50,000 by mortgage of the tolls and rates which they may collect, or by granting annuities; in the latter case the annuity not to exceed £10 per cent, per annum.

The act of 1774, entitled, 'An Act more effectually to improve and complete the Navigation qf the River Thames, westward of London Bridge, within the liberties of the city of London, and to prevent any Vessel or Barge from being moored in Taplow Mill Stream, in the county of Bucks,' repeals that portion of the last act which gives the commissioners therein appointed control over the first district of the river, between the city of London and Staines Bridge, and vests in the corporation of London, as conservators of the Thames, the same powers which had been previously given to such commissioners, and empowers the corporation to expend the sum of £10,000 in improving the navigation of that part of the river westward of London Bridge, within the jurisdiction of the city of London, for which they are not to receive any tolls from persons navigating the river.