D.—l.

The vacancy caused by Mr. Jull's resignation was filled by the appointment on the 7th November, 1930, of Mr. W. Morrison, Chairman of the Waitotara County Council. Mr. W. A. Sutherland, who has acted as Secretary to the Board since 1924, resigned on the 30th June, 1931, and in his place Mr. Gγ. W. Knapp was appointed. Upon Mr. Sutherland's retirement the Board recorded in its minutes its great appreciation of the valuable services rendered by him during his seven years of office. Legislation. The Finance Act, 1930, contains the following clauses dealing with main-highway matters :— " 34. This Part of this Act shall be read together with and deemed part of the Main Highways Act, 1922 (in this Part referred to as the principal Act). " 35. (1) Section fourteen of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing paragraph (a) thereof. " (2) Section sixteen of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing paragraph (b) thereof. " 36. (1) As from the first day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty, interest at the rate of five per centum per annum shall, without further appropriation than this section, be paid out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund into the Consolidated Fund on the sum of one million two hundred and twenty-six thousand pounds, being the total amount heretofore appropriated out of the Public Works Fund and paid into the Main Highways Construction Fund, in terms of paragraph, (b) of section sixteen of the principal Act. " (2) The interest payable under this section shall be paid at such times as the Minister of Finance from time to time directs. " 37. (1) All subsidies payable to local authorities after the first day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty, in respect of general rates, pursuant to section nine of the Appropriation Act, 1916, or section seventy-two of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, shall, without further appropriation than this section, be paid out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund, and not out of the Consolidated Fund. " (2) Section nine of the Appropriation Act, 1916, and section seventy-two of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, are hereby accordingly respectively amended by omitting therefrom all references to the Consolidated Fund and substituting in every case a reference to the Main Highways Revenue Fund. " (3) All payments made to local authorities out of the Consolidated Fund on or after the first day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty, and before the passing of this Act, pursuant to the aforesaid sections or either of those sections, shall forthwith after the passing of this Act be recouped to the Consolidated Fund, without further appropriation than this section, out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund. " 38. (1) Of the net revenues which, pursuant to the Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, are paid into the Consolidated Fund after the first day of August, nineteen hundred and thirty, and before the first day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, in respect of Customs duty on motor-spirits, ninetyfour and a half per centum shall be paid into the Main Highways Revenue Fund and the balance shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (6) of subsection one of section nine of that Act. Of the net revenues received as aforesaid on or after the said first day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, ninety-two per centum thereof shall be paid into the Main Highways Revenue Fund, and the balance shall be paid to the several Borough Councils entitled thereto in accordance with the aforesaid paragraph (b). " (2) Section nine of the Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, shall be read subject to the foregoing provisions of this section. " 39. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the principal Act, there shall be payable out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund such sums as may from time to time be appropriated by Parliament for the maintenance or construction of roads, not being main highways, that afiord or are intended to afiord access to outlying areas, or to areas which, by reason of their physical nature or condition, or by reason of the financial position of the local authorities in whose districts they are situated, are subject to special disabilities. " (2) The total amount to be appropriated in any financial year under this section shall not, unless in such appropriation the operation of this subsection is expressly excluded, exceed an amount equal to one-third of the net revenues estimated to be derived in that year from Customs duties on motor-spirits, reduced by the amount estimated to be payable out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund for that year as subsidies on general rates collected by local authorities, and further reduced by the sum of ninety-six thousand pounds. " 40. (1) The foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall continue in force until the thirty-first day of August, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, and shall then expire. " (2) In consequence of the expiry of the said provisions, the following provisions shall apply :— " (a) Paragraph (a) of section fourteen of the principal Act and paragraph (b) of section sixteen of that Act shall be deemed to be revived on the first day of September, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, and thereafter shall continue in force as if they had never been repealed : " (6) No interest shall be payable to the Consolidated Fund out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund, on the sum mentioned in section thirty-six hereof, in respect of any period after the said thirty-first day of August, nineteen hundred and thirty-one : " (c) All subsidies payable under the authorities mentioned in section thirty-seven hereof in respect of general rates collected before the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, shall be paid out of the Main Highways Revenue Fund, and subsidies payable in respect of general rates collected after that date shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund ;

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