NEW LAWS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5072, 7 January 1927, Page 4

NEW LAWS.

NOW IN OPERATION. ACTS OF LAST SESSION. With the commencement of the New Year, several of the legislative measures passed by Parliament last session came into operation. The Statute Book for 1926, of record size, is being distributed by the Government Printer a little earlier than usual, and lawyers and others will not have cause to complain, as they sometimes dp, that laws are .actually operating before they have their copies of new Acts.

Several important measures have bee.n in 'force since they received the signatuie o’f the Governor-General at the end of the session, but the effect df others was. deferred until January 1 for particular reasons, in some cases preparatory work being necessary before they could be enforced. Some Acts will have no noticeable effect for some time, a.,case in point being the Census and Statist’cs Act, which, though dating from January 1, will not concern electors in its main requirements until next census is taken it 1934.

Tjie Veterinary Surgeons Act, providing for. the registration of veterinary surgeons, operates as 'from the commencement of the New Year, but the machinery for the setting up o'f the board which is to consider all applications 'for registration is not yet complete, and an early announcement df the personnel of the board .is expected. Steps are pow being taken to give effect to the provisions of the New Zealand University Amendment Act, providing for a new constitution, and the personnel o’f the new council should be known in a few weeks. THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. The new legal provision for higher education and research in agriculture and applied science, ■establishing an agricultural college, also has effect from January 1. The appoint.me,nt of the college council has been receiving attention for some weeks past, and the Government is still negotiating with gentlemen who may represent it on the council. Two members are to be appointed by the. Victoria College Council, and one other by the Board of Agricultural. Some provisions o'f the Town Planning Act operated from the passing of the measure, but in the main it did not. have, effect until the New Year. Within three years from that date every borough of more than 1000 population according to t.he last census is obliged to prepare and submit to the. Town Planning Board (not yet. set up) a town planning scheme in respect to all land under its jurisdiction. Regulations for the guidance of local bodies in preparing their schemes are being compiled.

Proceedings in the Mhgis.tr ate’s Courts will be 'facilitated by the Amending Act which operated as from January 1, one feature being an extension of the powers of justices, who will be able, under certain conditions, to issue detachment orders, subject to final confirmation by a Stipendiary Magistrate, when they need an order.

A short amendment of the Education Ac reduced the eligible age for junior national scholars to 13, and finally disposes of the system Of licensing uncertificated teachers for employment in the schools. GUARDIANSHIP OF INFANTS. The Guardianship of Infants Act is another example of legislation in New Zealand 'following the lead of Britain. The law relating to guardianship ish now more explicit and comprehensive. The, Supreme Court ’s given power to determine questions of principle relating to the custody and upbringing of infants, the statute declaring that, in deciding these questions ‘“the Court shall regard the welfare of the infant as the first and paramount consideration and shall not take into consideration whether from any other point of view the, claim of the 'father, or any right at comnrn law possessed by the father in respect of such upbringing, custody, or administ;ration of property

into trust, for an infant, is superior to that, of the mother, or the claim of the mother is superior to that of the father." The father or the mother o'f an infant- may by deed appoint a guardian after the. death of the person making thi.s provision, and the. statute contains provision covering the possibility of disputes between the guardian and .the surviving parent. FIRE BRIGADES ACT. The Fire Brigades Act as consolidated came into force on January 1. and with a new scale of State contributions, ranging 'from £4OO in the case of Wellington, £3OO for Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, down t<> £75 per annum where the fire district contains not more than 15,00'0 inhabitants. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION. The provisions in respect to workers’ compensation have been liberalised by raising to £lOOO the. amount payable in respect of the death of a worker, and the compensation payable 'for total or partial incapacity has ben increased substantially. This alteration had effect from the beginning of the year. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. A deferred statute of great importance was passed in 1925 relating to weights and measures, but only camp into operation on January 1. This brings the New Zealand law into line with that of Britain, and gives power to make regulations, prohibiting the sale o'f specified goods in packages of ■other than prescribed net weights or measures. This is to meet the practice. of some packers of proprietory lines who give 14 ounces in packages which the average purchaser thinks is the usual pound, or the tobaccobuyeir who finds that his “two-ounce.” tin is really one and three-quarters net weight. Standardisation will prevent price-cutting. The regulations have been circulated in draft form, and will be gazetted shortly.