VPRS 13816 Private Bill Records

This series brings together records created by a range of records created by the Legislative Assembly to administer the process of considering private bills.Unlike public bills, which are proposed by Members of the Assembly for the presumed benefit of the general community, private bills relate to private individuals or organisations.There have been two broad classes of private bills. The first relates to charters and corporations and includes activities such as paving, lighting, etc of a city or town; incorporating or giving powers to a company; property held on trust for charitable or public purposes; Church or corporation property; ferry; gas works; erecting, improving or repairing markets or market places and the conferring of powers for corporations to sue and to be sued.The second broad class of private bills were generally presented by companies and relate to the making, maintaining, varying, extending or enlarging of any aqueduct, bridge, canal, dock, harbour, pier, port, railway, reservoir, sewer, street, tramway, tunnel, turnpike or other public carriage, road or water work.The original Standing Orders (i.e rules of procedure) for private bills in the Legislative Assembly were approved on 18 November 1857 and were amended from time to time. (Copies of these Orders can be located within this series.) In 1885 they were amended to allow for the private bill Standing Orders to be dispensed with, if necessary. Under Standing Orders private bills were introduced into the Assembly through the presentation of a petition and the payment of fees. Notices relating to the objects of the bill were deposited with the Clerk of the Assembly and were also published in the Government Gazette and two Melbourne newspapers. All private bills are automatically referred to a Committee once they have been read in the Assembly for a second time. (Records created by the Select Committees that considered these private bills can be found within VPRS 13580.)The private bills Standing Orders were repealed on 18 March 1981. The last private bill introduced to the Assembly by petition under these Standing Orders was the Bank of New South Wales Bill in 1926. Between 1926 and 1981, Standing Orders for private bills were usually dispensed with, and private bills were introduced into the Assembly without petition, and ruled to be treated as public bills. Some of these bills were referred to select committees for consideration after their introduction to Parliament, and they are included in this series. (Records created by Select Committees of the Assembly that considered public bills can be found within VPRS 11879.)The number and range of documents found in this series varies, however, the following documents will be found in this series for most sessions:Private Bill Registers which provide summary information about the bills considered by committees; Receipt of Documents Books which log fees and correspondence; Examination Books which record witnesses and details; General lists of petitions submitted and Minutes of the Proceedings of Examiners that considered the Bills. These minutes document proceedings for all of the private bills considered during a particular session.