Lord Advocate v Walker Trustees: HL 1912

The 1707 Act preserved the traditional offices in Scotland. The respondent held the position of Usher of the White Rod, and claimed his fees from those granted honours by the English parliament.
Held: The Act was clear. The fact that had been paid for post Union titles for over 150 years was not admissible to explain the meaning of the article. Long established usage cannot prevail against clear words of a staute.

Judges:

Lord Atkinson

Citations:

[1912] AC 95, 106 LT 194, 28 TLR 101

Statutes:

Treaty of Union 1707

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

CitedHebbert v Purchas 1871
Lord Hatherley said: ‘It is quite true that neither contrary practice nor disuse can repeal the positive enactment of a statute, but contemporaneous and continuous usage is of the greatest efficacy in law in determining the true construction of . .
CitedThe Trustees of Clyde Navigation v Laird and Sons HL 1883
The court was asked whether the Clyde Navigation Consolidation Act 1858 required dues to be paid on logs which were chained together and floated down the River Clyde. The evidence was that these dues had been levied and paid without protest for a . .

Cited by:

CitedDayani v London Borough of Bromley TCC 25-Nov-1999
LA Tenant liable for permissive waste
The local authority was tenant of properties which it sub-licensed to homeless persons for three years was liable for having allowed the properties to deteriorate. It was claimed that they were liable for permissive waste as tenants for a fixed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice

Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.196754