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Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1928, Page 2

Ttie purpose of the Statutory Land ■Charges Registration Bill is to provide for registration under tho Land Transfer Act, or the Deeds Registration Act, as the case may be, of all statutory charges affecting land. It is intended that the Bill, if passed, shall come into force immediately, so that registration may be proceeded with without delay. Charges existing at tho passing of the Act are not prejudiced, however, if they are registered on or before January, 1920. Charges created or arising after tlie passing of tlio Act, but before the expiry of the present year, will not be prejudiced if they are registered at any time not later than January Ist. 1929. By tins means, while registration will not be necessarily delayed, ns would be tho case if the commencement of the Act were postponed, the person or corporation entitled to the benefit of the charge will not suffer by the operation of the Act, before copies are available for general use. Failure to register a eltarge will not affect its validity, and the only effect of such failure will bo to render .the charge liable to be defeated by subsequent sale or other disposition of the property affected. In this respect the provisions of the Bill are the same as the corresponding provisions of Section 13 of the Land Charges Act, 1925 (Imperial). The Bill provides certain exceptions to the generality of the above rule, as to the defeat of a charge by a subsequent salo or other disposition made before tho registration of the charge; for example, while the" charge created in favour of an injured worker, by Section 47 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, 1922, may be registered in accordance with the provisions of the Bill,. failure to register will have no effect upon the operations of such charge. So also in the case of charges created by tlio Mining and Coal Mines Acts for the protection of wages. Typical examples of the classes of charges to which the Bill relates are the following: (1) Charges on land in respect of expenses incurred by Borough Councils under Section 224 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, in the construction of private drains; (2) death duties charged on dutiable estate bv Section 28 of the Death Duties Act, 1921; (3) expenses incurred by a. local authority in the abatement of nuisances pursijant to Section 30 of tlio Health Act, 1920; (4) expenses incurred by Electric Power Boards in the installation of electric equipment under Section 119 of the Electric Power Boards Act, 1925; (5) charging orders in respect of maintenance moneys recoverable under the Destitute Persons Act, 1910. With respect to certain statutory charges tlie law already makes provision for their registration, and prescribed the procedure to be adopted. The Bill does not repeal or otherwise affect sucli provisions, but merely applies to such charges the rule that if they are not duly registered, they may be defeated l>v subsequent I transactions.