General Tramways Act 1884

the inquiry shall be held in public before some officer to be appointed in that behalf by the Governor, hereinafter called the referee, and whose appointment shall be by writing, which shall specify all the matters referred to him;

ten days' notice at least shall be given by the referee to the parties upon whose representation the Governor shall have directed the inquiry, of the time and place at which the inquiry is to be commenced;

the inquiry shall be commenced at the time and place so appointed, and the referee may adjourn the inquiry from time to time, as may be necessary, to such time and place as he may think fit;

the referee shall by summons, on the application of any party interested in the inquiry, require the attendance before himself, at a place and time to be mentioned in the summons, of any person to be examined as a witness before him, and every person summoned shall attend the referee and answer all questions touching the matter to be inquired into; and any person who wilfully disobeys any such summons, or refuses to answer any question put to him by such referee for the purposes of the said inquiry, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten dollars: Provided always that no person shall be required to attend in obedience to any such summons unless the reasonable charges of his attendance shall have been paid or tendered to him, and no person shall be required in any case, in obedience to any such summons, to travel more than ten miles from his place of abode;

the referee may and shall administer an oath, or an affirmation where an affirmation in lieu of an oath would be admitted in a court of justice, to any person tendered or summoned as a witness on the inquiry;

any person who, upon oath or affirmation, wilfully gives false evidence before the referee shall be deemed guilty of perjury;

the referee shall make his report to the Governor in writing, and shall deliver copies of the report, upon request, to all or any of the parties to the inquiry;

the referee shall have power to direct by and to whom the costs, or any part of the costs, of the inquiry shall be paid, and he shall also fix the amount thereof;

the referee shall for all purposes be deemed to be an arbitrator, and his appointment shall be deemed to be a submission to arbitration between the parties to the inquiry in respect of the matters thereby referred to him, and his report shall be deemed to be, and shall have the effect of, and be dealt with as, an award made upon such submission, and every such submission on the application of any party interested in the inquiry may be made a rule of the Supreme Court.