In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.[2] From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.[2]
By the early 19th century, British customs law, relating to trade, navigation, the import and export of goods, and the collection of customs revenue, had become increasingly intricate and difficult to navigate due to the large number of acts passed that had accumulated over many years. This complexity posed challenges for both commerce and law enforcement. The preamble of the act acknowledged that the existing system had become an impediment to trade and the "Ends of Justice".[3]
In 1810, the Lords of the Treasury asked Nicholas Jickling to produce a Digest of the Laws of the Customs, which was published in 1815, numbering 1,375 pages from the earliest period to 53 Geo. 3.[4] This Digest was continuously published to bring the state of the law up to date to the end of every session. In 1814, the Commission of Public Records published their 14th Report, recommending consolidation of the statute law.
By a letter dated 9 August 1823, Secretary to the Treasury, John Charles HerriesMP, asked J. D. Hume, Controller of the Port of London, to "undertake the preparation of a general law, or set of laws, for the consolidation of the customs of the United Kingdom".[4]
The original plan for the consolidation was outlined in a letter dated November 18, 1824, from Mr. Herries, Secretary of the Treasury, to the Customs Commissioners, proposing:[4] The plan proposed a two-pronged approach:
Specific repeal: Identifying and listing specific acts and parts of acts to be repealed, ensuring their removal from the statute book.
General description: Implementing a general repeal clause to address any potential omissions and provide legal clarity.
Despite the intention to create a new legal code that would supersede all previous customs laws, with a declaration that no law predating the new code would remain in force, the general repeal clause was withdrawn, the operation of the repeal of the enumerated acts was postponed for six months and full implementation of the new consolidated code was deferred to a future date.[4]
On 15 April 1825, the Committee on Customs and Excise Consolidation Acts reported and resolved that it was "expedient to repeal the several Laws relating to the Customs now in force; and to consolidate the various enactments therein contained."[5]
In 1826, eleven customs acts were passed to consolidate to all practical purposes the whole statute law of the customs by repealing the numerous existing customs statutes and replace them with new, more clearly written laws.[4] The acts simplified tariff schedules, to make it easier for traders to understand duties, revised penalties for customs offences to ensure fair and consistent enforcement and introduced standardised procedures for customs declarations, to reduce administrative burdens and increase efficiency at ports.
Section 1 of the act provided that the short title of the act is "The Merchant Shipping Repeal Act, 1854".[8]
Section 2 of the act provided that the interpretation of terms in the Merchant Shipping Act (17 & 18 Vict. c. 104) act be incorporated into the act.[8]
Section 4 of the act repealed 48 acts or part of acts, listed in Schedule (A.) to the act, with some safeguards and exceptions for actions done before the commencement of the act.[8]
Section 7 of the act allowed the Board of Trade to pay for the expenses of life boats out of the Mercantile Marine Fund, immediately from the passing of the act.[8]
Section 9 of the act provided that wages from seamen or apprentices received before 1 January 1852 be applied as if they had been received under the Merchant Shipping Act (17 & 18 Vict. c. 104).[8]
Section Four, the first proviso, section five, section seven from "and this" to the end of that section, section eight from "and whereas" to the end of that section, section nine, section ten from "and this" to the end of that section, section twelve from "and this" to the end of that section and section fourteen were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 66).
In 1894, the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 60) was passed, which further consolidated merchant shipping law and repealed section 16 of the act.
Section 4 of the act repealed 48 acts, listed in the schedule to the act, to take effect at the same time as the Merchant Shipping Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 104).[d][8] The section provided exceptions for:
Any Provisions contained in the Act of the Seventh Year of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, Chapter Seventy-nine,[e] as to Title, Application of Purchase Money, or borrowing Money, and having relation to the Power of purchasing Lighthouses given to the Trinity Board by the same Act:
Any Security duly given before this Act comes into operation.
Any Thing duly done before this Act comes into operation.
Any Liability accruing before this Act comes into operation.
Any Penalty, Forfeiture, or other Punishment incurred or to be incurred in respect of any Offence committed before this Act comes into operation:
The Institution or Prosecution of any legal Proceeding or any other Remedy for ascertaining, enforcing, or recovering any such Liability, Penalty, Forfeiture, or Punishment as aforesaid:
Any Appointment, Byelaw, Regulation, or Licence duly made or granted under any Enactment hereby repealed, and subsisting at the Time when this Act comes into operation and the same shall continue in force, but shall be subject to such Provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, as are applicable respectively.
An Act for the preserving all such Ships and Goods thereof which shall happen to be forced on shore or stranded on the Coasts of this Kingdom or on any other of Her Majesty's Dominions.
An Act for enforcing and making perpetual an Act of the Twelfth Year of Her late Majesty, intituled "An Act for preserving all such Ships and Goods thereof which shall happen to be forced on shore or stranded upon the Coasts of this Kingdom or any other of Her Majesty's Dominions;" and for inflicting the Punishment of Death on such as shall wilfully burn or destroy Ships.
An Act for the Relief and Support of maimed disabled Seamen, and the Widows and Children of such as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the Merchant Service.
An Act to explain and amend an Act made in the Seventh Year of His late Majesty's Reign, intituled "An Act to settle how far Owners of Ships shall be answerable for the Acts of the Masters or Mariners;" and for giving a further Relief to the Owners of Ships.
An Act to render more effectual an Act passed in the Twenty-sixth Year of His present Majesty's Reign, intituled "An Act for erecting certain Lighthouses in the Northern Parts of Great Britain."
An Act to provide for the better Execution of the several Acts relating to the Revenues, Matters, and Things under the Management of the Commissioners of Customs and Port Duties, and of the Commissioners of Inland Excise and Taxes in Ireland.
An Act for erecting a Lighthouse on the Bell or Cape Rock on the Eastern Coast of Scotland, and for enabling the Commissioners of the Treasury to advance a certain Sum of Money out of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain towards that Purpose.
An Act for preventing the various Frauds and Depredations committed on Merchants, Shipowners, and Underwriters, by Boatmen and others, within the Jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports, and also for remedying certain Defects relative to the Adjustment of Salvage under a Statute made in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of Her late Majesty Queen Anne.
An Act to enable the corporation for preserving and improving the Port of Dublin to erect, repair, and maintain Lighthouses round the Coast of Ireland, and to raise a Fund for defraying the Charge thereof.
An Act to amend and render more effectual several Acts for promoting the Trade of the Port of Dublin, by rendering its Port and Harbour more commodious, and for erecting, repairing, and maintaining Lighthouses round the Coast of Ireland, and to raise a Fund for defraying the Charge thereof.
The whole Act, so far as relates to Lighthouses and Light Dues.
An Act to make more effectual Provision for enabling the corporation for preserving and improving the Port of Dublin to erect, repair, and maintain Lighthouses and Light Houses round the Coasts of Ireland, and to raise a Fund for defraying the Charge thereof.
An Act for enabling the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses to purchase the Island and Light of May at the Entrance of the Frith of Forth, for enabling the Commissioners of the Treasury to advance a certain Sum of Money towards that Purpose, and for amending several Acts in regard to the Northern Lighthouses.
An Act to continue and amend certain Acts for preventing the various Frauds and Depredations committed on Merchants, Shipowners, and Underwriters, by Boatmen and others, within the Jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports, and also for remedying certain Defects relative to the Adjustment of Salvage under a Statute made in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of Her late Majesty Queen Anne.
The whole Act, except Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16, and 18.
An Act to amend an Act of the Twentieth Year of His late King George the Second, for the Relief and Support of sick, maimed, and disabled Seamen, and the Widows and Children of such as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the Merchant Service, and for other Purposes.
An Act to amend and consolidate the Laws relating to Merchant Seamen of the United Kingdom, and for forming and maintaining a Register of all the Men engaged in that Service.
An Act for vesting Lighthouses, Lights, and Sea Marks on the Coasts of England in the Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond; and for making Provisions respecting Lighthouses, Lights, Buoys, Beacons, and Sea Marks, and the Tolls and Duties payable in respect thereof.
An Act to enable Her Majesty in Council to authorise Ships and Vessels belonging to Countries having Treaties of Reciprocity with the United Kingdom to be piloted, in certain Cases, without having a licensed Pilot on board; and also to regulate the Mode in which Pilot Boats shall be painted and distinguished.
An Act to extend the Benefits of certain Provisions of the General Merchant Seamen's Act relating to Apprentices bound to the Sea Service to Apprentices bound to the Sea Service by Boards of Guardians for Unions in Ireland, and to enable such Guardians to place out Boys in the Naval Service.
An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to the Regulation of Steam Navigation, and to the Boats and Lights to be carried by sea-going Vessels.
An Act to amend the Acts relating to the Merchant Seamen's Fund, and to provide for winding up the said Fund, and for the better Management thereof in the meantime.
An Act further to amend the Law relating to Pilotage.
The whole Act, except Sections 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and so much of Section 9 as relates to the Recovery of Pilotage Rates by Cinque Ports Pilots licensed after the Act came into operation.
^Commons, Great Britain House of (1825). Journals of the House of Commons. Vol. 80. Out-of-copyright. pp. 310–311, 341, 352, 357, 471, 571–572, 601, 626. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
^ abcdefCommons, Great Britain House of (1854). The Journals of the House of Commons(PDF). Vol. 109. pp. 113, 142, 173, 222, 243, 252, 268, 290, 339, 348, 353, 360, 367, 375, 382, 394, 484, 486, 493, 500.
^ abcdLords, Great Britain Parliament House of (1854). Journals of the House of Lords. Vol. 86. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 382, 390, 403, 414, 438, 456, 468, 472, 481, 486, 490, 492, 577.
