Ferries Act, 1878

The Ferries Act, 1878 regulates public and private ferries -- including bridges of boats, pontoons and temporary bridges (Section 3) -- and, per Section 1, currently applies only to the Punjab and the former North-West Frontier Province, not the whole country. Section 4 lets the appropriate government declare which ferries are 'public ferries', establish new ones where needed, redefine or discontinue existing ones, and even take over a private ferry and convert it into a public one; Section 5 provides for compensation to be assessed by the district Magistrate when a private ferry is taken over this way.

Day-to-day superintendence of a public ferry normally rests with the district Magistrate or an officer appointed for the purpose (Section 6), though this responsibility can instead be handed to a municipality (Section 7) or to a District Council or Local Board (Section 7A). Section 8 allows the tolls of a public ferry to be leased out by public auction, generally for up to five years with the Commissioner's approval, or for other terms with government sanction; the lessee must follow the rules for running the ferry and can be required to post security. Sections 9-11 cover recovering arrears from a defaulting lessee, cancelling a lease, and surrender of a lease.

Section 13 bars a private ferry from operating within two miles of a public ferry without official sanction. Sections 15-18 require published tables of tolls, direct that toll and rent revenue forms part of the province's general revenue, and allow tolls to be 'compounded' (paid as a lump sum arrangement) in some cases. Sections 21 through 31, covered only by their headings in this extract, deal with a range of offences and criminal procedure -- breach of the toll-table rules, taking unauthorised tolls, causing delay, breaching rules made under Sections 12 and 19, rash navigation, and summary trial procedures, including a power to arrest without a warrant -- but the specific text, including any fine amounts, is not part of the material reviewed for this summary and should be checked directly.

Section 33 lets the district Magistrate, in an emergency, take possession of boats or ferry equipment to transport government officers, troops, or their property, paying compensation for the use. Section 34 bars civil courts from hearing disputes over the amount of compensation payable under the Act, and Section 35 lets the appropriate government delegate its powers under the Act to Commissioners, district Magistrates, or other officers.

This is a very old, geographically narrow colonial-era law (1878), amended repeatedly through 1886, 1937, 1949, 1960, 1975 and 1981. Given its age, narrow geographic scope, and the extensive amendment history visible in the footnotes, its current applicability and any specific penalty figures should be verified against the official text before being relied on.