The Short Title of this Act is “The Public Health Amendment Act, 1901 (No. 2)”; and it shall form part of and be read together with “The Public Health Act, 1900” (hereinafter referred to as “the principal Act”).

The Governor may, by Order in Council, from time to time prohibit the importation into New Zealand of any material which in his opinion is likely to convey infectious diseases, or stipulate any conditions under which such material may be admitted.

Any goods imported contrary to the provisions of any such Order in Council shall be deemed to be goods prohibited to be imported under “The Customs Laws Consolidation Act, 1882,” and shall be dealt with accordingly.

A copy of the notices required by subsections one and four of section twenty-six of the principal Act to be given to the District Health Officer shall be transmitted forthwith to the local authority; and such copies shall, if sent by post, be exempt from postage if the envelope is marked “Notice under the Public Health Act.”

Where the occupier of a house is himself sick of any infectious disease, or of any sickness the symptoms of which raise a reasonable suspicion that it may be an infectious disease, the notice required by the said subsection one to be given by the occupier of the house to the District Health Officer shall be given by the person for the time being in charge of the house, and a copy of such notice shall at the same time be transmitted to the local authority as provided in the last preceding subsection.

Every person who fails to comply with this section is liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds.

The quarantine signal described in section one hundred and fourteen of the principal Act shall be hoisted by the master of any ship arriving in New Zealand from or after having touched at an infected place immediately the ship arrives within three miles of the port at which she intends to call; and in default of so doing the master is liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Subsection four of the same section is hereby amended by repealing the words “discharged from quarantine,” and substituting in lieu thereof the words “granted pratique.”

Where a ship arrives in New Zealand from or after having touched at any infected place, the Port Health Officer, or other appointed officer, may require all passengers on board the ship to submit to examination in the manner and at the time and place appointed in each case by such examining officer.

Every person who in any way, directly or indirectly, by act or default, fails to comply promptly and satisfactorily with any direction or requirement of the examining officer under this section, or obstructs or hinders such officer in the execution of his duties, is liable for each offence to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds.

Section one hundred and seventeen of the principal Act, relating to the use of the visiting-flag, is hereby amended by repealing the words “is boarded,” and substituting in lieu thereof the words “is granted pratique”; and also by the addition of the following subsection:—

No person shall, with a boat or otherwise, except with a boat belonging to the service of the pilot, the Health Department, the Post Office, the Police, or the Customs, go alongside of any ship arriving at any port in New Zealand from beyond sea until such ship has been granted pratique by the District Health Officer or other appointed officer and the visiting-flag has been hauled down, and no person other than the Port Health Officer or a pilot shall go on board the ship from any such boat until such time as aforesaid.

The provisions of the last preceding subsection are in substitution for subsection one of section one hundred and eighteen of the principal Act, which is hereby accordingly repealed.

Section one hundred and twenty-five of the principal Act, relating to the landing of goods from a ship liable to quarantine, shall not apply to His Majesty’s mails:

Provided that such mails shall, if required by the Port Health Officer, be fumigated before being landed.

Wherever reference is made in Part III. of the principal Act to the District Health Officer such reference shall be deemed to include the Port Health Officer.

Notwithstanding anything in section eight of the principal Act, the Governor may declare the Chatham Islands to be a public health district, and all provisions of that Act shall thereupon apply to such district.

Part IV. of the principal Act shall be construed subject to the following provisions for exemption, that is to say:—

At any time within four months after the birth of a child, or in the case of a child born before the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred and one, then at any time within four months after the said day, the child’s parent or custodian, if conscientiously of opinion that vaccination would be prejudicial to the child’s health, may apply to any Stipendiary Magistrate or Registrar for a certificate of exemption:

If satisfied that such conscientious objection exists, the Magistrate or Registrar may grant and issue to the applicant parent or custodian a certificate of exemption from Part IV. of the principal Act in the form numbered nine in the Third Schedule to the principal Act:

When issuing the certificate of exemption, the Magistrate or Registrar shall transmit a duplicate thereof to the Vaccination Inspector of the vaccination district in which the child is resident, and the Inspector shall enter a minute thereof in his register:

The application shall be supported by a statutory declaration and by such other evidence as the Magistrate or Registrar in each case thinks reasonable, and no fee shall be payable in respect of either the application or the certificate:

The effect of the certificate shall be to exempt the parent or custodian named therein from all liability under Part IV. of the principal Act in respect of the non-vaccination of the child named in the certificate:

Provided that, where the child’s parent or custodian is resident outside of a borough, the application for exemption may be made to and the certificate granted by a Justice of the Peace.

Section one hundred and seventy of the principal Act is hereby repealed.