23
A.—l
No. 10. The Hutt Railway and Road Improvement Act, 1910 : Authorizes the raising of a further loan of £35,000 (bearing interest at a rate not exceeding 4| per centum per annum) for the improvement of the Hutt Railway and Road. No. 11. The Government Railways Amendment Act, 1910 • Authorizes the raising of a further loan of £225,000 for the duplication of certain specified railway-lines, and otherwise amends the Government Railways Act, 1908. No. 12. The Tobacco Act, 1910 : Amends the Tobacco Act, 1908, by providing for the warehousing in a bonded tobacco-factory of imported manufactured tobacco. No. 13. The New Zealand State-guaranteed Advances Amendment Act, 1910 : The most important feature of this Act is that authority is given to raise loans under the New Zealand Loans Act, 1908, for the purpose of the State-guaranteed Advances Office, instead of by means of guaranteed debentures under the principal Act. The power so given is in addition to, and not in substitution for, the mode of raising loans by means of guaranteed debentures, provided by the principal Act. Other amendments extend the privileges of settlers and workers under the principal Act, and provide, inter alia, for the classification of securities (the term of all advances being regulated by the class of security offered in respect of it). The Act also makes various other amendments of the New Zealand State-guaranteed Advances Act, 1909. No. 14. The Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Act, 1910 : This Act authorizes the raising of a loan of £1,750,000, to be expended in respect of the following public purposes : — (a.) The construction of railways. (b.) The purchase of rolling-stock. (c.) The construction of roads, bridges, and other works in respect of land-settlement and the development of goldfields. (d.) Other public works not specifically referred to. No. 15. The Crimes Amendment Act, 1910 : This Act makes better provision for the classification and reformative treatment of criminals. The Act provides that, in addition to any term of imprisonment, a person convicted of an indictable offence may be sentenced to a term, of reformative detention not exceeding ten years; and a person convicted summarily may be sentenced to detention for three years for a like purpose. For the purpose of administering the Act a Prisons Board is constituted, the members of which are to be appointed by the Governor in Council, the President of the Board being a Judge of the Supreme Court. The Board has power from time to time to make recommendations to the Governor for the discharge, or release on probation, of persons undergoing sentences of reformative detention, and the Governor may authorize such discharge and release accordingly. Annual reports to the Minister of Justice are to be made by the Board as to the number of persons for the time being undergoing sentences of reformative detention, and generally as to the operation of the Act. Persons detained under the provisions of this Act are to be paid wages for their labour in accordance with a scale to be fixed by regulations. No. 16. The Immigration Restriction Amendment Act, 1910 : This Act makes various amendments of the Immigration Restriction Act, 1908. Section 5 provides for regulations to permit exemption from the restrictions of the principal Act in the case of nersons to whom those provisions would otherwise apply, but who do not intend to remain permanently or for any considerable length of time in New Zealand, and in respect of whom, therefore, it is not desirable to apply those provisions. Section 6 authorizes the removal from New Zealand of any Chinese who lands in New Zealand in breach of the provisions of the principal Act. The other amendments are principally verbal ones. No. 17. The Oaths Act, 1910 : This Act permits of an oath being taken (both in judicial and other proceedings') without the formality of " kissing the book." In judicial proceedings the oath is to be administered in accordance with the provisions of this Act except in cases where the person taking the oath voluntarily objects to taking the oath in such manner, when it may be administered as if this Act had not been passed. This is an exact reversal of the position existing immediately prior to the passing of this Act. No. 18. The Native Townships Act, 1910 : This Act continues the scheme of legislation with respect to Native lands commenced by the Native Land Act, 1909, and relates to the ownership and disposition of land situated within Native townships. All such Native land is vested in the Maori Land Board of the district in which it is situated, and is to be held by the Board in trust for the Native owners beneficially entitled thereto. All existing rights over and interests in the said land are protected. The Board is declared to be a leasing authority under the Public Bodies' Leases Act, 1908, with respect to the land vested in it under this Act. The former enactments relating to Native townships are repealed. No. 19. The Indecent Publications Act, 1910 : The purpose of this Act is to effectively repress the publication, sale, and distribution in New Zealand of indecent and offensive literature. In the case of a newspaper, being an indecent document within the meaning of the Act, it is provided that the printer, publisher, proprietor, manager, editor, and sub-editor, as also all persons consenting to the insertion of any indecent matter in that newspaper, shall each be guilty of an offence and severally liable accordinsdv. A penalty of £100 or imprisonment for three months may be inflicted for a wilful offence against the provisions of the Act. In determining whether or not a document is indecent, regard is to be had to its scientific or artistic value, and a documeTit is not to be regarded as indecent unless it is of an immoral or mischievous tendency. Prosecutions are to be instituted only with the leave of the Attorney-General, and are to be heard before a Magistrate only.
Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.
By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.
Your session has expired.