The Governor may from time to time divide New Zealand into districts for the purposes of this Act, and designate the same respectively by such names as he thinks fit, or may alter or abolish such districts or designations, and appoint others in place thereof respectively.

The Governor may from time to time make regulations for any of the following purposes: —

All such regulations shall be gazetted, and shall come into force at a time to be therein prescribed, and from such time shall affect and govern all persons whom they purport to affect and govern, whether members of the Forces or not; but no such regulations shall be valid if repugnant to the provisions of this Act.

The Governor shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all the Defence Forces of New Zealand, and shall have all the powers and may exercise and discharge all the duties and obligations respecting the Forces or any part thereof appertaining to the office of Commander-in-Chief; and, among other things, shall have the following powers, and may exercise the same from time to time:—

Power to appoint Commandant and other officers for period not exceeding five years. 1900, No. 69, sec. 33

The Governor may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette,—

No person shall be an officer of any of the Forces unless he is a subject of His Majesty by birth or naturalisation.

Officers of the Permanent Staff and Permanent Militia shall take precedence in rank of officers of other branches of the Defence Forces.

Officers of the Militia and Volunteers of like rank, when serving together or on the staff, shall rank with each other according to the dates of their commissions.

Where any commissions of like rank bear the same date, the holders thereof respectively shall rank according to the dates of their prior commissions, and in case there be no such prior commissions, then the aforesaid holders shall take rank alphabetically in the order of their surnames.

All officers already appointed to any portion of the Defence Forces shall be deemed to have been appointed under and subject to this Act, and their commissions shall remain and subsist according to the seniority thereof respectively as if this Act had not been passed.

Non-commissioned officers in the Defence Forces shall be appointed and may be reduced as prescribed by regulations.

All appointments of non-commissioned officers heretofore made shall be deemed to have been made under the authority of and subject to this Act.

Every officer, on receiving his commission in the Militia or Volunteer Forces, or in the Permanent Militia, and every Militiaman and Volunteer, and also every member of the Permanent Militia not being an officer thereof, on his enrolment in the muster-roll of his corps, or as soon afterwards as may be, shall take the following oath of allegiance before a Justice, or an officer of the Permanent Staff, or other commissioned officer of the Volunteer Force appointed by the officer commanding the district to perform such duty:—

“I, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to our Sovereign Lord the King, and that I will faithfully serve in the Permanent Militia [or Militia, or Volunteer Force, as the case may be] until lawfully discharged.”

Every man liable to serve or actually serving in the Militia who refuses to take the oath of allegiance is liable to a fine not exceeding one pound.

No officer or other member of the Militia, Volunteers, or Armed Constabulary Forces respectively who has taken the oath of allegiance aforesaid shall be required to take a new oath under this Act.

Without in any way limiting the powers and functions of the Governor or of the Minister, the Commandant of the Defence Forces shall at all times be responsible to the Minister for the following matters:—

The Governor may, by warrant under his hand and under the Public Seal of New Zealand, appoint a Council of Defence (hereinafter called “the Council”) in connection with the Defence Forces, consisting of such persons, and for such period or term, and to hold any of the offices hereinafter named, or other offices, as to the Governor may seem fit, and may from time to time reappoint any of such person or persons:

Provided that none of such persons shall be appointed for a longer period than five years at one time.

The Minister shall be responsible to the Governor and to Parliament for all the business of the Council.

All business of the Council, other than business which the Minister specially reserves to himself, shall be transacted in the following principal divisions: —

The Governor may from time to time appoint some fit person to be an Inspector-General of the Defence Forces, and who shall hold office for a period of not exceeding five years at any one time, but may be from time to time reappointed.

The duties of the Inspector-General of the Defence Forces shall be, under the orders and direction of the Council, to review generally and to report to the Council on the practical results of the policy of the Council, and for that purpose to inspect and report annually upon the training and efficiency of all members of the Defence Forces, on the suitability of their armament and equipment, on the conditions of the fortifications and defences of New Zealand, and generally on the readiness and fitness of the Defence Forces for war.

The several members of the Council and the Inspector-General of the Defence Forces shall severally be paid such annual salaries out of the Consolidated Fund as shall from time to time be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

The Militia shall consist of all the male inhabitants of New Zealand (including Maoris) between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five, not hereinafter exempted, who have resided in New Zealand for a period of six months.

The following persons shall be exempt from training and actual service in the Militia:—

Where any person claims exemption, whether on the ground of age, period of residence, or otherwise, or alleges that he ought to be placed in a class different from that in which he is placed, the burden of proof shall rest on the person so claiming exemption, or so alleging.

No exemption shall prevent any person not disabled by bodily or mental disease or infirmity from serving or holding a commission in the Militia by his own consent.

No officer who has voluntarily retired or has been superannuated from His Majesty’s military or naval service shall be required to serve in the Militia in a lower rank than he held in such service.

The Governor in Council may by Proclamation from time to time declare all or any Maoris living in any district or part of a district to be exempt from training and service in the Militia; and may by Proclamation from time to time suspend exemption in any such district or part of a district, either wholly or partially, in respect of any such Maoris.

Where any miners or any holders of miners’ rights are called out for Militia duty, their claims and interests in claims or water-rights and their miners’ rights shall be protected during their absence on such duty.

The Militia shall be divided into the following classes, namely:—

For the purposes of enrolling and organizing the Militia, the Governor may from time to time, by any general order,—

Appointment of Enrolment Officers.

Every Enrolment Officer shall prepare in each year a roll showing the names and other prescribed particulars of and relating to all persons resident in the district or subdistrict liable to serve in Class I of the Militia, and for this purpose shall, if necessary, make actual inquiry at each house in his district or subdistrict, and adopt any other means in his power to make and complete a correct roll.

Every master or mistress of any licensed publichouse, lodginghouse, or private dwellinghouse shall, upon the application of an Enrolment Officer, give all such information as to the names, ages, qualifications, and liability to serve in the Militia of all persons residing or lodging in such house as such officer may demand and such master or mistress is able to give.

On or before a date to be fixed in each year by regulations, every Enrolment Officer shall forward to the Commandant the complete roll of his district or subdistrict, and shall cause copies thereof to be placed in conspicuous places in his district or subdistrict.

A notice in the prescribed form shall be sent by the Enrolment Officer, within five days of the posting of such rolls, to every person whose name is enrolled therein, informing him of his liability to serve in the Militia, and giving him such instructions as may be prescribed by regulations.

Every such roll shall be prima facie evidence of the particulars contained therein, but no person shall be relieved from serving in the Militia by reason of the erroneous entry or omission of his name on or from such roll.

Every man liable to be enrolled in the Militia, and not so enrolled, shall, within twenty days after the posting of the roll in the district wherein he resides, give his name, age, and place of residence, either personally or in writing, to the Enrolment Officer of the district.

On the completion of such rolls the force available for service in the Militia, as appearing on such rolls, shall be divided into companies, regiments, and battalions, or such other divisions as may be directed by the Commandant, and such officers shall be appointed thereto by the Governor as he deems necessary.

Any man liable to serve or actually serving in the Militia in any district, who removes to another district, shall, within twenty days thereafter, give in his name, age, and place of residence to the Enrolment Officer of the district into which he removes, for the purpose of being enrolled therein.

Every man who commits a breach of this section or of section twenty-six hereof is liable to a fine not exceeding one pound, with a further fine not exceeding one shilling for every day during which the breach continues.

Where any dispute arises between an Enrolment Officer and any man as to his liability to serve, or as to the class to which he should belong, the Enrolment Officer may require him to make a statutory declaration before a Justice as to the matter in dispute.

Each officer commanding a company of Militia shall, within one month of the enrolment thereof, and between the first and fifteenth day of February in each year thereafter, make out a correct roll of his company, showing the names, ages, residences, and classes of the Militiamen therein, and shall transmit the same to the officer commanding the battalion or regiment to which he belongs, who, within one month of the receipt thereof, shall prepare and forward a correct nominal return of his regiment or battalion to the officer commanding the district to which it belongs.

Officers on the active list who have not been posted to regiments or battalions, and who may desire to quit any district, may be placed on the general unattached list of the Militia for the district in which they reside.

If an officer remains for five years on the unattached list, or is absent from New Zealand for twelve months without leave from the Governor, or for twelve months after the period for which he may have obtained leave, his commission shall lapse and be void:

Provided that the Governor in special cases may retain any such officer permanently on the unattached list, if he is of the rank of a Field Officer:

Provided that the officers below the rank of Field Officer who, by notification in the Gazette of the third day of June, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, were permitted to be placed on a reserved list shall be entitled to be placed on the unattached list, and to remain thereon subject to the same conditions as are hereinbefore provided in the case of Field Officers, but may on application be placed on the active list, subject to their previously passing such examination as the Governor directs.

The Governor shall cause the whole of the Militia, or such part thereof as he thinks fit, to be trained as a military force.

For this purpose he shall by Proclamation cause fourteen days’ notice to be given of the times and places for the first muster.

Such notice shall be published in some local newspaper circulating in the district, or be posted in some conspicuous place within the district.

The particular times and places for subsequent meetings shall be fixed in every district by the officer commanding in such district.

Every officer in command at any first muster or subsequent meeting may, by order on parade and without further notice, give notice of and appoint other times and places for such meetings.

Every notice given as aforesaid shall be deemed sufficient notice to every Militiaman of the time and place of every meeting.

No Militiaman shall be compelled to attend for training and exercise more than one hundred and sixty-eight hours in any one year.

Every person serving or liable to serve in the Militia is liable to a fine not exceeding one pound who—

In every case where the officer commanding any regiment, independent company, or battalion of the Militia is of opinion that any person enrolled or serving therein is guilty of any of the offences following, that is to say,—

such officer may, by writing under his hand, order that such person shall pay such fine, not exceeding one pound for each offence, as such officer may think fit.

If such person shall, within seven days after service of a copy of such order upon him, either personally or by leaving the same at his last known abode, pay such fine to the adjutant of the battalion or officer commanding the independent company to which he belongs, he shall be relieved from all liability under this Act to any penalty for the offence in respect whereof the order was given.

It shall not be necessary, in any proceeding for the recovery of a fine under this section, to prove that any such order has been made, nor shall the making of such order take away or suspend the jurisdiction of any Court to try the offence; but every such proceeding shall be had in the same manner as if the offence had been one in respect whereof no power to inflict a fine had been given by this section, unless the defendant shall prove that he has paid the fine imposed within the said period of seven days.

In the absence of the aforesaid officer commanding, the senior officer on parade, not being under the rank of captain, shall exercise the powers contained in this section.

The Governor may from time to time cause a sufficient number of fit and able men, whether Europeans or Maoris, to be embodied to serve as a Permanent Militia Force in and throughout New Zealand, or beyond the limits thereof, for resisting the common enemy, putting down rebellion, quelling disturbances, and preserving the peace.

Every member of the Permanent Militia enrolled under the provisions of the last preceding section shall serve for a period of eight years from the time of his enrolment, subject to the following provisions:—

Members of the Permanent Militia shall, unless on actual service, be subject only to the orders of their own officers, and of the Commander-in-Chief, and of the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Permanent Staff.

In the case of any sudden or extraordinary disturbance of the peace, or whenever any such disturbance is immediately apprehended, or for the fresh pursuit of offenders, or for the conveyance of prisoners, the Governor may order the whole or any part of the Permanent Militia to proceed to any part of New Zealand, and to act therein either in aid of or as a Police Force.

When so acting every member of such Permanent Militia, although not sworn as a constable, shall have the same rights, powers, and authorities, and be subject to the same rules, regulations, and orders, and be in all respects in the same situation, as if he were a member of the Police Force.

For the purpose of promoting proper discipline, and of securing obedience to the regulations from time to time existing, the Commanding Officer of the Permanent Militia, or any officer commanding a detachment thereof, may stop from the pay of any member thereof, not being a commissioned officer, who offends against any such regulations any sum not exceeding one pound in respect of every such offence; or may direct any such member to be placed under arrest for the purpose of being tried by a Magistrate or two Justices, or by a Court of Inquiry as hereinafter constituted.

Every member as aforesaid, upon conviction by such Magistrate, Justices, or Court of Inquiry of any offence against the regulations, or of desertion during the period for which he has engaged to serve, or of refusing to serve, or of taking a bribe or any gratuity whatever for suffering any person lawfully in his custody to escape, or of wilfully neglecting to execute any order given to him by his superior officer, may be reduced to a lower grade, and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds nor less than five shillings, and shall, in addition to such fine or in default of payment thereof, be liable to imprisonment for not less than one week nor more than six months in any prison or place of confinement within New Zealand; or the convicting Magistrate, Justices, or Court of Inquiry may, at his or their discretion, without inflicting any fine, sentence any such offender to six months’ imprisonment with or without hard labour.

If any member of the Permanent Militia dies intestate, the commanding officer of the corps to which the deceased belonged, or such other officer as the Governor appoints, may cause the effects of the deceased to be disposed of by public auction in such manner as he thinks fit; and the proceeds of such sale, together with any balance of pay or other moneys due to the deceased, shall be applied as follows:—

The Governor may from time to time make regulations—

Every Volunteer corps in existence at the date of the passing of this Act shall be deemed to be formed and enrolled under and subject to this Act.

The Governor may from time to time—

Upon the acceptance of the services of any Volunteer corps, or upon the permanent formation of two or more corps into a regiment, battalion, or other division, the Governor may appoint some place to be the headquarters of such corps, regiment, or battalion, or of any portion thereof.

When the Volunteer Force or any part thereof has not been permanently formed into a battalion or battalions by the Governor, district commanding officers may for drill purposes unite corps into a battalion or battalions, and temporarily appoint the senior officer to command the same, and an officer to act as adjutant from the corps so united:

Provided that each separate corps of any such battalion, whether formed permanently or temporarily, shall be severally deemed a Volunteer corps for the purposes of this Act.

Every Volunteer corps may elect all the company officers thereof below the rank of Field Officer, as also all the honorary, but not any other, staff officers of such corps; and before the name of any person is submitted to the Governor for commission as an officer of any corps of the Volunteer Force, such person shall be elected by not less than two-thirds of such enrolled members of the corps as are present at a meeting convened by advertisement published once at least in a newspaper circulating in the district.

The officer commanding the corps shall report the result of the election to the officer commanding the district, who shall certify as to whether the person elected is a fit and proper person to hold the position to which he has been elected, and also as to whether he is a born or naturalised subject of His Majesty; and shall forward such certificate, together with the report, to the Minister.

Every person so elected shall within the time prescribed pass the prescribed examination, after which the Governor may, if he thinks fit, grant him a commission.

If the person elected fails so to pass, he must be re-elected before being allowed to be examined a second time.

The Minister may appoint any officer temporarily to act in the capacity to which he has been elected, pending his passing the prescribed examination.

Volunteers who are returned under this Act as efficient in each one of three consecutive years may be enrolled upon a reserve list, but shall remain upon the rolls of their respective corps, and be liable to be called out for actual service, and shall attend inspection parades four times a year, at such times as the officer commanding the district appoints.

If the officer commanding, on inspection, deems any Volunteer for the time being on such reserve list to be inefficient from failing to keep up to the standard of drill, his name shall be struck off the reserve list of his corps, and shall not be replaced thereon until he has again served three years as an efficient Volunteer.

With respect to the discipline of Volunteers the following provisions shall take effect and be in force except when on actual military service or in a camp of exercise:—

In every case where the officer commanding any battalion or corps of the Volunteer Force is of opinion that any person enrolled or serving therein is guilty of any of the following offences, that is to say,—

such person may, if an officer, be ordered under arrest by such commanding officer until his case is inquired into as hereinafter provided.

If such person is not an officer, he may be ordered into the custody of any member of the Volunteer Force until the parade, inspection, or military exercise is over; and such commanding officer by writing under his hand may order him to pay such fine, not exceeding one pound for each offence, as the commanding officer thinks fit.

Any Volunteer thus summarily dealt with by such commanding officer may, at any time within seven days, notify to such commanding officer in writing that he appeals against his decision to the officer commanding the district; and the officer commanding the corps shall thereupon report the case to the district commanding officer, who shall on the first convenient opportunity inquire into such appeal.

If it appears on inquiry that such Volunteer has been unjustly dealt with, or that the offence is not proved or only partially proved, the district commanding officer may cancel or reduce such fine, or if the offence be proved may confirm it; but if he is of opinion that such Volunteer has not been adequately punished, or that the appeal is frivolous or vexatious, he may by order increase the fine to any sum not exceeding two pounds, or he may dismiss the offender from the Force as provided in section fifty-one hereof.

Every such order shall be served upon the Volunteer guilty of the offence by delivering a copy thereof to him personally or by leaving such copy at his last known abode.

If the fine is not paid to the officer commanding the corps within seven days after service of the order upon the offender, the officer who made the order may transmit a duplicate thereof, certified under his hand, to the Clerk of the nearest Magistrate’s Court, and this Act shall be sufficient authority for the Clerk to record that order as if it were a conviction by Justices under “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908.”

The fine may thereupon be recovered as if it had been adjudged on a conviction under “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908.”

Whenever an officer commanding a district summarily dismisses a Volunteer, he shall without delay report the same, with the attendant circumstances, to the Governor, who may signify his pleasure thereupon and give such directions as he thinks fit with respect to such dismissal.

If any officer of the Volunteer Force is guilty of insubordination, disobedience, neglect of duty, or any of the offences mentioned in section fifty-two hereof, he shall be placed under arrest, and the commanding officer of the corps shall prefer charges against him to the commanding officer of the district, who shall make a preliminary inquiry into them, and may reprimand such officer therefor.

If the offence seems to the commanding officer of the district to require more severe punishment, he shall report the circumstance to the Minister, who thereupon shall direct a Court of Inquiry to examine into the matter, and on the receipt of the proceedings of such Court of Inquiry shall lay the same before the Governor, who may dismiss such officer or reprimand him, or deprive him of a portion of his seniority in the rank he holds, or acquit him, as he thinks fit.

An officer reported as aforesaid shall be deemed to be under arrest until the decision of the Governor upon the Court of Inquiry is made known.

If an officer of Volunteers or any Volunteer fails without reasonable excuse to appear at the annual inspection parade of the Inspector-General or other officer appointed to hold the annual inspection, the Inspector-General or the commanding officer of his corps or district shall order him to pay a fine of five pounds in the case of an officer, or of one pound in the case of a Volunteer.

If such fine is not paid within seven days after notice of the order is served on him (either personally or by leaving the same at his last known place of abode or business), it may be recovered in the manner provided by subsections six and seven of section fifty-two hereof.

Any Volunteer may, after one year’s service, except when on actual military service, quit his corps on the following conditions:—

and thereupon he shall cease to be a Volunteer.

The officers and Volunteers belonging to a Volunteer corps may from time to time, in the prescribed mode, make rides for all or any of the following purposes:—

The said rules shall have no effect until the same are approved by the Governor.

From and after such approval the said rules may be enforced against the several members of the corps; and any fine imposed by any such rule may be recovered in any Court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the officer commanding such corps.

A copy of the rules, certified under the hand of such commanding officer as a true copy of the rules whereof the Governor’s approval has been obtained, shall be conclusive evidence of the rules of the corps.

Two or more Volunteer corps may, with the approval of the Governor, unite together to make rules in the prescribed mode for the appropriation of joint funds, and may with the like approval vest such funds in trustees, to be applied for the benefit of such united corps; and such trustees may sue or be sued in respect of such trusts.

If any person belonging or having belonged to a Volunteer corps neglects or refuses to pay any money subscribed or undertaken to be paid by him towards any of the funds or expenses of such corps, or due under the rules of such corps and actually payable by him, such money shall, at any time within twelve months after the same becomes due and payable, be recoverable, with costs, from him at the suit of the commanding officer in any Court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the corps, and when recovered shall be applied as part of the general fund of the corps.

There shall be paid out of moneys appropriated by Parliament for the benefit of Volunteer corps an annual capitation allowance in respect of every efficient officer and efficient Volunteer other than those for the time being entered on the reserve list mentioned in section fifty hereof, and in respect of every efficient member of a reserve corps.

Out of the capitation allowance payable in respect of each Volunteer, a sum to be prescribed by regulations shall be paid to the officer commanding the division, regiment, or battalion to which the Volunteer belongs, and shall be applied by such officer in providing and maintaining the necessary uniform for that Volunteer. The remainder of the capitation allowance shall be paid to and be the property of the corps to which the Volunteer belongs.

Where the property of a corps is not vested in trustees, the same, or such part thereof as is not so vested, shall for all purposes of any proceeding, civil or criminal, be deemed to be vested in the commanding officer for the time being of such corps and his successors in office, and may be so stated and laid in any such proceeding.

No such proceeding shall be discontinued or shall abate by reason of the death, resignation, or removal of the commanding officer; but the same may be continued in the name of his successor in office.

Where it appears to the Governor that any property of any kind is vested in trustees, or that any securities on which such property is invested, or the net proceeds of any such property after sale or realisation thereof, or any other moneys, are held by trustees or by the survivor of any trustees for or on behalf of a Volunteer corps that has been disbanded, or on behalf of the persons who formerly composed such corps, and are legally entitled to such property or any share therein, he may, by order gazetted,—

A certificate under the hand of the person purporting to be the chairman of any meeting held under the last preceding section, stating the resolutions passed thereat, shall for all purposes be conclusive proof of such meeting having been duly convened and of all such resolutions having been duly passed thereat; and such property shall be sold or otherwise disposed of as is directed in those resolutions.

If, from any cause whatever,—

the trustees may convey or assign and transfer such property to the Public Trustee, who shall sell or dispose of the same in accordance with the resolutions passed at such meeting; or, if no such meeting has been held, or no such resolutions have been passed, shall dispose of the same as he thinks fit; and, after paying all expenses incidental to such disposition, shall, subject to the approval of the Governor, divide the net proceeds equally between and amongst the persons declared to be entitled thereto.

If any trustee of any such property dies, or refuses to act, the remaining trustees may act as fully and effectually as if none of the trustees had died or refused to act.

Any act or thing hereby required or authorised to be done or executed by the trustees shall be valid and effectual if done or executed by a quorum of the trustees, where a quorum can be found, according to any rules, deed, or instrument relating to the property and binding on the trustees; and where there is no such quorum, then if done or executed by a majority of the trustees resident in New Zealand and capable of acting or willing to act.

The trustees shall sell or otherwise dispose of any property vested in or held by them as aforesaid, and shall apply the proceeds thereof in accordance with any resolution passed at a meeting held under any order or direction made by the Governor as aforesaid.

All deeds, instruments, and writings executed by a majority of the trustees for the purpose of the sale or other disposition of any such property shall be as effectual as if the same had been executed by ail the trustees, and by all the persons in whose names such securities were originally taken.

If any money remains in the hands of any trustees, or of the Public Trustee, which they or he are or is unable to dispose of because no claimant thereto can be found, or for any other cause, such money shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

Every sale or other disposition of property or of the proceeds thereof by any trustees in accordance with the resolution of a meeting, or otherwise as hereinbefore provided or authorised, or by the Public Trustee, whether in accordance with any such resolution or in exercise of any power or authority vested in him as hereinbefore provided, shall be final and conclusive on all claimants or persons interested in any such property; and, upon such sale or other disposition being completed, the effect thereof shall be to release every such trustee or the Public Trustee, as the case may be, from all claims and demands in respect of any such property, or any share or interest therein.

Any trustees as aforesaid may be required by the Minister of Finance to furnish full accounts of all their dealings with any property vested in or held by or disposed of by them, and every trustee who fails to render such accounts is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, to be recovered in a summary way.

If any such property as aforesaid is not vested in trustees, or there are no trustees willing to act, or if the trustees refuse or neglect so to act for one month after being required to do so by the Minister of Finance or by any person entitled in that behalf, the Governor in Council may appoint the Public Trustee to perform and discharge all such duties and functions, and to do, execute, and sign all such acts, deeds, and instruments as would have devolved on or could have been done, executed, or signed under the foregoing provisions of this Act by trustees, or a quorum or majority thereof.

Any money or other property which at the time of the disbandment of any corps is subject to any trust for the benefit of the corps, shall be disposed of by the persons in whom the same is vested as may be determined in the following manner:—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any Volunteer corps may, with the consent of the Governor, purchase, take on lease, or otherwise acquire any land or easement in land for rifle or artillery practice, and for the erection of butts, targets, batteries, and other accommodations for the use of the corps when practising with rifles or artillery, or for the purpose of erecting and maintaining drill-sheds on any such land.

Before giving such consent the Governor shall ascertain whether such land is suitable for such purposes, and shall give or withhold his consent accordingly.

For the purposes of rifle or artillery practice, or for drill, a license to use any lands hereinafter mentioned may, with the consent of the Governor, be granted to any Volunteer corps as follows: —

Provided that no such license shall be granted for a longer period than seven years, but any license may be renewed from time to time for any period not exceeding seven years at any one time by the same authority that has power to grant the same:

Provided also that if any land to which such license relates ceases to be used for the purposes of this Act, the license shall thereupon absolutely cease.

Where any land in respect of which a license has been granted under this Act is not, for the space of one year, used by the corps for the purposes for which the license was granted, a certificate of the fact of such non-user given by some officer of the Permanent Staff of the Volunteer Force shall be conclusive evidence of such fact against all persons and in all Courts of justice that such land has ceased to be used for the purposes of this Act.

Where any lands purchased or leased, or any estate or interest therein acquired, under this Act are not vested in a trustee or trustees on behalf of the corps, the same shall vest in the commanding officer of the corps for the time being and his successors in office, as hereinbefore provided, with power for him and his successors in office to sue, and to make any contracts, conveyances, or other assurances in respect thereof, and to do all other lawful things relating thereto.

The provisions of this Act shall be applicable to any land, or any estate or interest in land, heretofore purchased, leased, or acquired by any Volunteer corps for like purposes to those mentioned in section sixty-nine hereof, as fully and effectually as if such lands or such estate or interest as aforesaid had been purchased, leased, or acquired under this Act:

Provided that nothing in this Act shall prejudicially affect any conveyance, mortgage, lease, contract, agreement, or other deed or instrument whatsoever executed, made, or entered into before the passing of this Act, and affecting or intended to affect any such land, estate, or interest.

The Governor may from time to time—

All Volunteer drill-sheds and grounds shall be exempt from municipal or other local rates.

In this Part of this Act, if not inconsistent with the context,—

All drill-sheds and lands which at the coming into operation of this Act were subject to “The Volunteer Drill-sheds and Lands Act, 1888,” shall be deemed to be subject to this Part of this Act, and all trustees appointed and incorporated under that Act and in office at the coming into operation of this Act shall be deemed to be appointed and incorporated under this Part of this Act, and the provisions of this Part of this Act shall extend and apply accordingly to all such drill-sheds, lands, and trustees.

In every case where under the powers conferred on the Governor by any Act heretofore or hereafter in force land is granted or conveyed by him to any corporate body or to any person in trust for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a drill-shed for Volunteer purposes, or where under the authority of any Act heretofore or hereafter in force any land is set apart as a reserve for any such purpose, then the provisions of this Part of this Act shall extend and apply to such land accordingly; and a statement on the face of any instrument whereby such land is granted or conveyed to such trustees that such instrument is made for the purposes of this Act, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact to all persons or authorities concerned.

Where a drill-shed is erected on land under the control or management of any local authority having power to make and levy rates, or where any drill-shed is used or occupied by Volunteers on sufferance, or by some title of an indefinite nature, or is held for any term of years or any lessor period for any Volunteer purposes, or is owned by any person not being a trustee for or on behalf of the Volunteers, the Governor in Council may from time to time apply to any such drill-shed this Part of this Act, or such provisions thereof as he thinks fit and applicable to the estate or interest held in such land, and may by Order in Council declare by whom the powers contained in the provisions so applied shall be exercised, and may also make such alteration or modification in those provisions as may be deemed expedient.

Where any estate or interest in land upon which a drill-shed is erected has been purchased or acquired by a Volunteer corps out of private funds, whether any trusts have or have not been declared concerning such land, the Governor in Council may, on the application of the corps to whom such land belongs, extend and apply this Part of this Act thereto; and upon any such Order in Council being made, the trusts (if any) so declared shall cease to be operative so far as the same are inconsistent with this Part of this Act, and the trustees shall be discharged from all future liability in respect of such trusts.

A certificate, signed by the officer for the time being commanding such Volunteer corps, to the effect that the corps desires this Part of this Act to be applied to the land purchased or acquired as aforesaid, shall be conclusive evidence that such corps has made application accordingly.

Where any land has been or may hereafter be set apart, granted, or conveyed in trust for Volunteer purposes, and there is any doubt as to the purposes for which such land has been so set apart, granted, or conveyed, the Governor in Council may from time to time define and determine what are the purposes for which such land is held, and may also declare that the same shall be held subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, or to such of them as are applicable to the lands dealt with.

The Governor may from time to time by warrant appoint any number of fit persons, not less than three nor more than seven in each case, to be trustees under this Part of this Act.

In the warrant of appointment the Governor shall declare the limits of the district or part of the district within which the trustees are to act; or he may limit such appointment to any particular drill-shed or land.

The Governor may from time to time alter, extend, or limit the area of any district or part of a district for which any such trustees are appointed, and upon such alteration, extension, or limitation taking effect such trustees shall remain and be the trustees for the altered, extended, or limited district accordingly, and without any further appointment.

In every case where trustees have been or are hereafter appointed under the last preceding section, the officer commanding the district for the time being shall be ex officio a trustee, notwithstanding that the number of trustees may thereby exceed the number prescribed by that section.

Each body of trustees so appointed is hereby constituted a body corporate in fact and in law, under the name and style determined by the Governor on their appointment, and by that name they and their successors shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, with full power and authority to hold any property granted or conveyed to or vested in them, and to do and suffer all such matters and things as a corporate body may do and suffer, subject nevertheless to any provisions in this Act affecting such powers.

On the first appointment of a body of trustees under this Part of this Act the Governor, in the warrant of appointment, shall specify the property (being in every case drill-sheds or lands for Volunteer purposes) whereof they are to be the trustees, and such property shall, according to the tenor of the warrant, vest in them as such a corporate body as aforesaid by force of this Act, and without the necessity of any conveyance, transfer, or other instrument of assurance.

If any trustee dies or resigns, or is convicted of any crime punishable by imprisonment for five years, or becomes bankrupt, or incapable of acting, or is absent for six months from the district for which he is appointed, or, if appointed, for a particular drill-shed or land, from the district wherein the same is situate, the Governor shall appoint some other fit person to be a trustee in his stead.

All appointments of trustees under this Part of this Act shall be gazetted, and the production of a copy of the Gazette containing a notice of any such appointment shall be prima facie evidence that the persons named therein have been duly appointed.

The trustees shall take office on the date of their appointment, or on such later date as is named in that behalf in the warrant of appointment.

On production to any District Land Registrar of any certificate or other instrument of title under “The Land Transfer Act, 1908,” together with a statutory declaration by any three of a body of trustees appointed under this Part of this Act to the effect that the land mentioned or referred to in such certificate or instrument is by this Part of this Act vested in such trustees, the Registrar shall cause such land to be transferred to the trustees in their corporate name.

Where any grant or other instrument of title, made or issued by the Governor or the Governor in Council under this or any other Act authorising the grant or conveyance of land for the purposes of a drill-shed or for Volunteer purposes, contains or has expressed therein any trust, such grant or instrument may nevertheless be registered under “The Land Transfer Act, 1908.”

A meeting of trustees may be convened by any two trustees by notice delivered personally to the other trustees, or left at their last known places of abode in the district, seven days at least before the day for holding such meeting, or in such other manner as the trustees by by-law appoint.

A majority of the trustees present at such meeting or any adjournment thereof may make by-laws providing for the times and places of meetings and the proceedings thereat, for the use and custody of the common seal, and for the appointment of a chairman, and may declare that such chairman shall have a casting as well as an original vote.

By-laws may in like manner be made fixing the times, terms, and conditions when and subject to which the drill-shed and other lands or premises vested in the trustees may be used by Volunteer corps and others; and, where the drill-shed or other premises are used by others than Volunteers or members of the Defence Forces, fixing also reasonable charges to be paid for such use; and in the case of drill-sheds, lands, or premises which, by the terms of the original Act or authority under which they are held, may be used by any persons other than Volunteers, fixing also the time and manner of such use by such persons, but without making any charge for the same.

By-laws may in like manner be made for any other object or purpose for which the trustees are empowered to make them, the same not being inconsistent with this Act.

Such by-laws may impose a fine not exceeding one pound on any person contravening the same.

Any such fine, if incurred, and any sum of money that any person has agreed to pay for the use of the drill-shed or premises, may be recovered by the trustees by action in any competent Court, and all such fines or sums of money shall belong to the trustees and be applied for the purposes and in the manner specified in section ninety-seven hereof.

In any such action what purports to be a copy of any bylaw under the common seal, certified as a correct copy of such by-law by any two trustees, shall be prima facie evidence of such by-law.

A copy of the by-laws under the common seal, and of all amendments made therein from time to time, certified by the chairman of the meeting, shall be transmitted by him to the Minister, and a copy thereof so certified shall be posted up and maintained in a conspicuous part of the drill-shed.

The trustees may in their corporate name enter into any contract with any person for doing or supplying anything that the trustees are by this Act authorised to do, or that is or may be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this Part of this Act.

Any contract that if made between private persons—

Where trustees are appointed for a district or part of a district they shall stand seised of the land vested in them under this or any other Act as a site for a drill-shed or for Volunteer purposes, for the use of the several corps of different arms of the Volunteers in the district or part of a district for which they are so appointed:

Provided that where by any Act heretofore in force any Volunteer corps is entitled to any interest in any drill-shed or land for Volunteer purposes only on contributing or paying a certain sum of money, then such corps shall be so entitled only on payment of the stipulated sum, unless the several corps interested otherwise agree.

The trustees shall maintain and repair any drill-shed and other buildings now erected or hereafter to be erected on the land vested in them under this Act, and may from time to time add to, alter, remove, and pull down the said buildings and erect others in addition thereto or in place thereof, either upon the present site of the said buildings or upon any other portion or portions of the said land that they may from time to time set apart for that purpose, and shall also maintain and keep all land vested in them in an effective and suitable state and condition for the purposes for which it is so vested:

Provided that, before any drill-shed or other building is erected on any land held under this Act, the plans of such building, or of any alteration therein or addition thereto, shall be first approved by the Minister, or by some competent person appointed by him for that purpose.

Where a Volunteer corps is enrolled after trustees have been constituted under this Act, and such trustees have incurred liabilities in respect of the erection, repair, or maintenance of a drill-shed, or otherwise for Volunteer purposes, which liabilities are or may be discharged by the trustees out of funds to be contributed by the several Volunteer corps in the district or part of a district for which such trustees have been constituted, then such newly enrolled Volunteer corps shall be entitled to the use of the drill-shed only on becoming liable for such proportionate share of such liabilities as may be agreed upon between the several corps interested.

If any Volunteer corps fails to make such payment as hereinbefore mentioned, or if no such agreement as aforesaid is made, the Governor may, at the request of any corps interested in the drill-shed or in any land held for Volunteer purposes, appoint some person to determine how such liabilities shall be apportioned, and the decision of such person shall be final.

If any Volunteer corps fails to pay or provide for any liability so apportioned, then the Governor may direct that any contribution or capitation or other money payable out of moneys at any time voted by Parliament for such corps, or for the members thereof, shall from time to time be applied to or towards the satisfaction of such liability.

Where it appears to the Minister that a more suitable site is desirable for the erection of a drill-shed, or that more suitable land is desirable for Volunteer purposes, the trustees may, with the previous written consent of the Minister, sell and dispose of any land vested in them under this Act, and execute any conveyance or other instrument for vesting the land sold in a purchaser, and shall apply the proceeds of such sale to the purchase of a new site in fee-simple, and in the erection of a new drill-shed and other buildings thereon, or otherwise in making the same suitable for Volunteer purposes; and such newly purchased land and the drill-shed and other buildings to be erected thereon, or such land alone, as the case may be, shall be held by the trustees subject to the like trusts and powers as in the case of the land so sold.

In any such case the trustees may, with the like consent, exchange any land held by them for other suitable land, and may give (out of any funds in their hands held under the trusts referred to in these provisions) or receive any money by way of equality of exchange, and may execute any conveyance or other instrument necessary for effecting such exchange; and such land taken in exchange, and the drill-shed and other buildings to be erected thereon, or such lands alone, as the case may be, shall be held by the trustees subject to the like trusts and powers as in the case of the land given in exchange.

All moneys received by way of equality of exchange by the trustees shall be applied and expended in the manner prescribed by section ninety-seven hereof.

The trustees may from time to time lease the whole or any part of the land vested in them and not required for the purposes of a drill-shed or other Volunteer purposes, for any term or terms of years not exceeding twenty-one years at any one time.

Every such lease shall be granted after public auction or public tender, and at such rent and on such conditions as the trustees think reasonable, and upon the special condition that only substantial buildings of a permanent character shall be erected on the land to be leased.

No such lease shall be made or executed, or agreed to be made or executed, except with the previous consent in writing of the Minister; and every such lease or agreement made or executed without such consent shall be absolutely void.

The trustees may insert in any such lease a clause for the renewal of the same, and may grant any such renewal in pursuance of such clause.

The trustees may from time to time borrow, on the security of the rents, issues, and profits of any land vested in them under this Act, any sum or sums of money that have been expended in or that may be required for building or repairing, altering, or adding to any drill-shed or other buildings, or rendering such land fit for Volunteer purposes, and for such purpose may execute any deed or instrument securing to the lender the said rents, issues, and profits.

All moneys borrowed under the foregoing provisions shall be applied and expended on the land vested in the trustees under this Act, and either in and towards the building of a drill-shed and other necessary buildings or otherwise for Volunteer purposes.

The trustees may also from time to time, as the occasion arises, borrow in the manner and on the security aforesaid any sums which may be required in order to repay sums previously borrowed under this or any former Act, and all sums borrowed under this provision shall be applied in making such repayments accordingly.

In any deed or instrument granting such security it shall be expressly provided that the lender shall have no power of sale over the lands comprised in the security, nor over anything except the rents, issues, and profits of any land leased under the authority of this Part of this Act.

No person lending money to the trustees under this Act shall be concerned to inquire into the necessity or propriety of any security or lease, or to see to the application of the money borrowed or the rents received, or be answerable for the misapplication thereof respectively.

All moneys received by the trustees for the rents and profits of the land vested in them shall, after deducting therefrom all necessary expenses incurred in the management thereof, be applied, according to the tenor of the trusts, in and towards the erection and maintenance of any building to be used as a drill-shed and of other necessary buildings upon the said land, or otherwise in rendering and keeping such land fit for Volunteer purposes, and in and towards the payment of the principal and interest money secured as aforesaid, and generally in and towards the support and encouragement of the Volunteer corps in the district or part of a district for which the trustees are constituted, and to such other purposes connected with the Volunteer Force as the trustees think fit.

The trustees shall keep accurate accounts of all sums of money received for rents, issues, and profits on account of the land vested in them, and of all costs, charges, expenses, and disbursements in connection with the management and maintenance thereof; and on the thirty-first day of March in every year, or within seven days thereafter, shall prepare accounts and a balance-sheet showing their receipts and disbursements during the previous year, and the actual financial state of the trust property on the thirty-first day of March in that year.

Such accounts and balance-sheet shall be audited by the Audit Office under the provisions of “The Public Revenues Act, 1908,” relating to the audit of accounts of public bodies.

If any of the several corps of Volunteers for whose benefit any land is granted fail to keep up the standard of efficiency of service, as the same may from time to time be prescribed by regulations under this Act, or if the services of any such corps are discontinued, or any such corps is disbanded, then the whole of the lands originally granted by the Crown to any trustees or other body or persons for all or any of the purposes aforesaid, or that are or may be vested in trustees under this Act, and the appurtenances belonging to such lands, shall revert to and be vested in His Majesty, and shall be and become part of the lands of the Crown:

Provided that the rents and profits of all such lands shall still remain subject to the conditions of this Act as a security to the lender of any money borrowed under the authority of this or any previous Act.

This section shall extend and apply only to land granted by the Crown to any trustees or other body or persons without payment of purchase-money, and not to any case where lands have been purchased or otherwise acquired for valuable consideration by such trustees, body, or persons.

Any drill-shed or other buildings erected upon any land vested in trustees under this Act, and used or occupied by any Volunteer corps, may be used free of charge by the Permanent Militia, or any other branch of the Permanent Defence Forces of New Zealand, for such period and at such time and in such manner as the Minister from time to time requires.

The Minister and any officer or other person appointed by him may at all reasonable times enter upon any land held under this Act, and into or upon any drill-shed or other buildings erected upon any land vested in trustees under this Act, and used or occupied by the Volunteers of the district or by any Volunteer corps, and inspect and examine the state and condition thereof, and may require the trustees to make any improvement on any such land, or any repairs in or additions or alterations to such drill-shed or other buildings, which the Minister deems necessary for the purpose of making such land, or drill-shed, or other buildings suitable for Volunteer purposes.

The Governor may at any time establish as part of the Forces an Imperial Reserve, and with respect to such Reserve the following provisions shall apply:—

The Governor may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, accept the service of Defence rifle clubs.

Defence rifle clubs shall be formed and governed in such manner as the Governor prescribes.

The Governor may from time to time by Proclamation cause any members of Defence rifle clubs to be enrolled in the Forces if required.

The Governor may from time to time make regulations for the formation, equipment, and training of cadet corps in connection with the public schools.

The Governor may give the control of the aforesaid cadet corps to the Education Boards or to the Education Department, in such manner and to such extent as he thinks fit.

The Governor may also from time to time make regulations for the formation, equipment, and training of cadet corps for youths who are not connected with the public schools, such corps to be under the control of the Defence Department.

The Commander-in-Chief, the Minister, or the Commandant in any case, and any officer commanding a district in cases arising within his district, may from time to time summon commissioned officers of the Defence Forces under their command to form a Court of Inquiry, consisting of not less than three such officers, of whom the senior officer present shall be the President, to inquire into any matter relating to discipline or Government property which in the opinion of the Minister requires investigation, or to examine into the truth of any charge or complaint preferred against any officer, non-commissioned officer, or any other member of the Defence Forces:

Provided that no officer of the Militia or Volunteers, except those on the Permanent Staff, shall sit on a Court of Inquiry dealing with a charge or complaint relating solely to the Permanent Militia, and no Volunteer officer shall sit on a Court dealing with a charge or complaint relating solely to the Militia.

The Court shall be summoned by delivering to each member thereof a summons in the form in the Second Schedule hereto or to the like effect.

Every summons shall be delivered personally to the officer summoned at least twenty-four hours before the time appointed for the meeting of the Court.

No officer shall be compelled to attend as a member of any Court when the place of meeting is distant more than twenty miles from his usual place of residence.

No officer who has conducted or held a preliminary inquiry as to any charge or complaint preferred against an officer, non-commissioned officer, or member of the Defence Forces shall sit as President or member of a Court of Inquiry dealing with the same charge or complaint.

If the Court is appointed to inquire into the conduct of an officer of the Defence Forces, every member of the Court shall be of equal or superior rank to the officer whose conduct is to be inquired into, and one member at least shall be of superior rank.

Subject as aforesaid, if any officer of the Defence Forces, being duly summoned, refuses or neglects to attend at the time and place named in such summons for the meeting of the Court, his commission may be cancelled.

All Courts of Inquiry so constituted shall have power and authority, and are hereby required, to administer an oath to every witness or other person examined before such Court in any matter relating to any proceeding before the same.

All persons who may be required to give or produce evidence, whether on behalf of the prosecution or of the person charged, shall be summoned by the President or any member of the Court.

Every person who, being duly summoned, does not attend the Court, or refuses to be sworn, or to give evidence, or to answer all such questions as the Court may legally demand of him, is liable to the same pains and penalties as if the proceedings were an action in the Magistrate’s Court.

Where a charge or complaint is preferred against any commissioned officer of the Defence Forces, such officer may be placed under arrest by the senior officer present, and such charge or complaint shall, with all convenient speed, be heard before a Court of Inquiry constituted as hereinbefore provided.

Except in cases under sections forty and forty-one hereof (affecting members of the Permanent Militia), the duties of every Court of Inquiry shall be confined to taking evidence upon oath and reporting thereon, and such report and evidence shall forthwith be forwarded by the President of the Court to the Commanding Officer for transmission to the Minister, who shall submit the same to the Governor for his decision.

All officers comprising a Court as hereinbefore constituted shall, if they are not at the time in receipt of regular pay from the Government, be paid for their services at the rate of one pound one shilling for each day or part of a day during which they respectively sit as members of such Court; and all witnesses duly summoned shall be entitled to the same fees and privileges as if they had been duly subpœnaed to attend on the trial of any action in the Magistrate’s Court.

Volunteers may be enrolled for special service in cases of public danger or other emergency under such regulations as are from time to time made by the Governor.

Volunteers for special service shall be deemed to be on actual service, and shall be subject to the provisions of the Army Act, and also to the provisions following:—

Officers of His Majesty’s Imperial service shall not sit on any Court-martial for the trial of any officer or member of any corps of Volunteers for special service, except in cases where permission is granted by His Majesty that officers of Volunteers for special service shall take rank with His Majesty’s Imperial officers according to the dates of their respective commissions when serving together on Courts-martial.

The Governor may at any time by Proclamation direct the Commandant or the District Commanding Officer to draw out with all convenient speed for actual service all or any specified portions or numbers of the Defence Forces as the Governor thinks fit, and to lead the same into any part of New Zealand; and such Forces shall thereupon continue on actual service and subject to the provisions of the Army Act until the Governor by Proclamation releases them from actual service.

The Governor may apportion the quota to be furnished by each or any district or subdistrict.

Immediately on any such direction being given to the officer commanding any district the following provisions shall apply:—

Any Militiaman drafted for actual service who produces as a substitute a man approved by the officer commanding and the medical officer in charge shall, upon the swearing-in of such substitute, be exempt from service for the term of one year, unless the whole of the class to which such substitute belongs is taken or drafted for actual service before the expiration of such term, and every such substitute shall, when sworn in, be deemed to have been drafted for actual service.

The ordinary time of actual service for a Militiaman shall be one year, and no Militiaman shall be required to serve for a further period until all the men of his class have served for a like period, unless he volunteers for a longer period or unless the whole of his class is called out for actual service.

Whenever any part of a class which has already served for one period or more is required to serve for a second or any further period, those shall be taken first who have served the shortest time, and among those who have served the same time the drafting shall be determined, if necessary, by lot in manner aforesaid.

Every officer and Volunteer belonging to any corps called out for actual service shall be bound to assemble at such place as the Governor directs, and shall remain on actual service until released by the Governor’s authority.

Volunteers on actual service shall be paid out of any moneys voted for that purpose by Parliament at such rates and according to such scales as the Governor from time to time appoints.

No Volunteer shall be deemed to be released from actual service until his corps has returned to the headquarters thereof.

Volunteers, while in any camp of exercise, shall be subject to the Army Act, but shall not be entitled to payment as aforesaid unless they are on actual service.

Whenever the Forces, or any portion thereof, are called out for actual service under this Act, the provisions of “The Military Pensions Act, 1908,” shall apply to every member thereof whilst on actual service.

When any portion of the Forces is called out for actual service, or is in any camp of exercise, and as regards such portion only, the Governor may—

The Governor may from time to time fix the number of officers of which General Courts-martial, District Courts-martial, and Regimental or Detachment Courts-martial respectively shall consist, and any such Courts-martial shall respectively consist of the number of officers so fixed.

Officers in the Militia, Volunteers, or Permanent Militia may sit together on any Militia, Volunteer, or Permanent Militia Court-martial; and such Courts-martial may consist of officers chosen from any one or more of such forces or bodies.

The provisions of the Army Act relating to Courts-martial shall apply to all Courts-martial convened under the authority of the Governor, and to all proceedings by such Courts, in the same manner, so far as applicable, as such provisions apply to Courts-martial convened by any officer of His Majesty’s army authorised to convene Courts-martial.

No Court-martial or other authority under this Act shall order the infliction of corporal punishment, except death or imprisonment, on any officer or member of any portion of the Defence Forces.

The Governor, on behalf of His Majesty, may from time to time enter into contracts with any person or company in New Zealand or elsewhere for the manufacture and supply or for the supply of ammunition for the Defence Forces of New Zealand, at such prices and subject to such conditions, restrictions, and provisions as the Governor thinks fit; and with respect to every such contract the following provisions shall apply:—

The contract may provide that the Governor on behalf of the Crown may purchase the works, plant, and stock-in-trade of the contractor within the colony as a going concern, at a price to be fixed by valuation in manner specified in the contract.

No person shall bring on board any of His Majesty’s ships in the waters of New Zealand any spirituous or fermented liquor of any description without the previous consent of the officer commanding such ship.

Any officer in His Majesty’s service, or warrant or petty officer of the navy, or non-commissioned officer of marines, with or without seamen or persons under his command, may lawfully enter into or upon and search any ship hovering about or approaching, or that has hovered about or approached, any of His Majesty’s ships, and if any spirituous or fermented liquor is found on board such first-mentioned ship, he may seize such liquor, and the same shall be forfeited to His Majesty.

Every person who brings any spirituous or fermented liquor on board any of His Majesty’s ships without such previous consent as aforesaid, or approaches or hovers about any of His Majesty’s ships for the purpose of bringing, without such previous consent, any such liquor on board the same, or for the purpose of giving or selling, without such previous consent, such liquor to men in His Majesty’s service, or of inciting, aiding, or assisting any officer, seaman, or marine in His Majesty’s service to desert or improperly absent himself from his ship, is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every such offence.

Every person who conceals, harbours, employs, or continues to employ any officer, seaman, or marine in His Majesty’s service who is a deserter, or is improperly absent from his duty, knowing him to be a deserter or improperly absent from his duty, is liable to a fine of ten pounds for every such concealment, harbouring, employment, or continuing of employment as aforesaid.

Any officer in His Majesty’s service, or any such warrant or petty officer or non-commissioned officer as aforesaid, or any constable, may, with or without any warrant or other process, apprehend or cause to be apprehended any offender or person acting contrary to this section, and bring him or cause him to be brought before a Justice for the purpose of being dealt with under this Act.

For the purposes of this section “ship” includes vessel and boat of every description; “His Majesty’s ships” means ships belonging to the Imperial navy; and “His Majesty’s service” means the Imperial service.

The Governor may from time to time by Order in Council order that the provisions of the last preceding section shall extend and apply, mutatis mutandis, to any ship the property of His Majesty in New Zealand, or used or employed by the Government of New Zealand.

Every Order in Council so made shall be gazetted, and shall take effect from a day to be named therein, and may be made applicable to all ships as last aforesaid or to any particular ship, and such Order shall contain such variations or additions in respect of the persons or authorities by whom effect may be given thereto as the Governor thinks fit to make therein.

The Governor may from time to time make regulations prescribing the conditions under which soldiers or sailors from foreign warships may be permitted to land in New Zealand.

All arms and accoutrements supplied by the Government to the Defence Forces shall remain the property of the Government, and may be withdrawn at any time by order of the Commandant.

The horses, arms, and appointments, including uniform, used by every member of the Defence Forces while serving in any portion of the Forces in discharge of his duty as such member shall be exempt from seizure in execution, and from distress and assessment of every kind.

Every person is liable to two years’ imprisonment who—

Every person who—

is liable for the first offence to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and for a second and every other subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds and not less than five pounds, with or without imprisonment for any period not exceeding six months with or without hard labour.

On the conviction of any person for any offence under the last preceding section the convicting Justices shall transmit the conviction to the nearest Magistrate’s Court, there to be kept by the Clerk of such Court.

On the prosecution of any person for any subsequent offence under that section, a copy of such conviction, certified by the Clerk of the Magistrate’s Court or proved to be a true copy, shall be sufficient evidence to prove a conviction for the former offence; and such conviction shall be presumed not to have been quashed on appeal until the contrary is shown.

Every member of the Forces shall, on his ceasing to belong to any corps, troop, or company, whether by reason of discharge, dismissal, or disbandment, or by reason of change of class in the Militia, change of residence, or otherwise in any manner, deliver in good order, fair wear and tear excepted, and without demand, to the officer commanding his corps, troop, or company, or any person authorised by such officer, any arms, ammunition, clothes, horse, saddle, bridle, or other appointments intrusted to him as such member.

Every member who commits a breach of this section is liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two months.

Any Justice may issue his warrant to search for and seize any such arms, ammunition, clothes, horse, saddle, bridle, or other appointments not so delivered.

Every person who wrongfully makes away with, destroys or damages, or negligently loses anything issued to him as a member of any branch of the Forces is liable for every such offence to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and to pay double the value thereof; and such double value shall be recoverable with costs either as a fine is recoverable or in a civil action at the suit of the commanding officer of the branch or corps to which such member belongs.

Every person who—

is liable for every such offence to a fine not exceeding one pound, and may be arrested by order of the senior officer present and kept in custody until the exercising, muster, inspection, or parade is over for the day, and then either taken in custody before a Justice or discharged from custody, as the senior officer present at the conclusion of the parade, muster, or inspection thinks fit.

Every person who wilfully commits any damage to any butt or target or other property belonging to or lawfully used by the Forces, or any branch thereof, or without the leave of an officer of the Permanent Staff searches for bullets in or otherwise disturbs the soil forming such butt or target, is liable for every such offence to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Every officer, non-commissioned officer, or other member of any branch of the Forces who knowingly gives any false certificate, or makes any false statement or return respecting any matter or thing required by or under this Act or connected with the said Forces or any branch thereof, is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

No person shall bring or convey any spirituous or fermented liquor of any description into any camp, barrack, fort, or other place where any of the Defence Forces are quartered, stationed, or serving, without the previous consent of the officer commanding such camp, barrack, fort, or other place:

Provided that the provisions of “The Licensing Act, 1908,” shall not be deemed to extend or apply to any camp authorised by the Minister.

Any officer or non-commissioned officer in the Defence Forces, with or without persons under his command, may lawfully enter into or upon and search any ship, vessel, or boat, or any conveyance or vehicle of any kind, hovering about or approaching, or that may have hovered about or approached, any such camp, barrack, fort, or other place as aforesaid, and, if any spirituous or fermented liquor is found on board such ship, vessel, or boat, or in or on such conveyance or vehicle, may seize such liquor, and the same shall be forfeited to His Majesty.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds who—

Any commissioned officer or non-commissioned officer of the Defence Forces, or any constable, may, with or without any warrant or other process, apprehend or cause to be apprehended any offender or person acting contrary to this section, and bring him or cause him to be brought before a Justice for the purpose of being dealt with under this section.

It shall not be lawful for any person not serving in His Majesty’s Military Forces, or in His Majesty’s Naval Forces, or in the Defence Forces, or for any honorary member of a Volunteer corps, to wear without the Governor’s permission the uniform, or any portion of the uniform, of any of those Forces:

Provided that nothing herein shall prevent any persons from wearing any uniform or dress in the course of a stage play performed in a place duly licensed or authorised for the public performance of stage plays, or in the course of a music-hall or circus performance, or of a ball, or in the course of any bona fide military representation.

Every person who offends against this section is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

For the purposes of this and the next succeeding section “His Majesty’s Military Forces” means the Regular Forces, the Reserve Forces, and the Auxiliary Forces within the meaning of the Army Act (other than the Naval Coast Volunteers and Naval Volunteers, as hereinafter defined); and “His Majesty’s Naval Forces” means the Navy, the Naval Coast Volunteers, and the Naval Volunteers within the meaning of the Imperial Acts relating thereto.

Every person not serving in His Majesty’s naval or military Forces or in the Defence Forces, or any honorary member of a Volunteer corps, who wears without the Governor’s permission the uniform of any of those Forces, or any dress having the appearance or hearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of any such uniform, in a manner or under circumstances likely to bring contempt upon that uniform, or employs any other person so to wear that uniform or dress, is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

Every person who commits any breach of this Act for which no other penalty is imposed by this Act is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each such offence, but this shall not prevent his being indicted and punished for any greater offence, if such appears to have been committed.

Any fine duly imposed under this Act shall not in any way be released or invalidated by reason of the person on whom such fine is imposed quitting the branch of the Forces to which he belonged.

Except where by this Act otherwise expressly provided, all fines under this Act shall be recoverable in a summary way, as provided by “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908,” as follows:—

All fines under sections thirty-five, fifty-two, or fifty-six hereof may be recovered in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

In all proceedings under this Act the commanding officer, or the commanding officer of any corps, may appear in any Court or before any Justice by any officer or non-commissioned officer of such corps, or any member of the Permanent Staff, or by a solicitor authorised in writing under the hand of such commanding officer.

The production of a writing purporting to be signed by such commanding officer shall be prima facie evidence that the same has been so signed.

Any member of any corps in the Forces shall be a competent witness in any such proceedings, although the fine may be applied for the benefit of the corps to which he belongs.

All fines imposed under this Act, or under any regulations under this Act, shall, when recovered, be paid and applied as follows:—

A summary conviction or adjudication under this Act, or an adjudication made on appeal therefrom, shall not be quashed for want of form or be removed by certiorari; and a warrant of commitment on any such conviction shall not be held void by reason of any defect therein, if it is therein alleged that the person therein named has been convicted and there is a good conviction to sustain the same.

Except in the case mentioned in section fifty-eight hereof, no action or prosecution against any officer, non-commissioned officer, or other member of the Forces, or of any branch thereof, for anything done or purporting to be done in pursuance of this Act, shall be commenced after the expiration of three months from the doing of such act, nor unless notice in writing of the action and of the cause thereof has been first given to the defendant.

In any such action the defendant may plead the general issue, and give this Act and the special matter in evidence at the trial, and no plaintiff shall recover in any such action if a tender of sufficient amends was made before action brought, or if a sufficient sum of money is paid into Court by the defendant after action brought.

If in any such action a verdict is given for the defendant, or if the plaintiff becomes nonsuited or discontinues the action, or if judgment is given against the plaintiff, the defendant shall recover his full costs as between solicitor and client, and shall have the same remedy therefor as any defendant has in other cases; and though a verdict is given for the plaintiff, he shall not recover costs against the defendant unless the Judge certifies his approval of the action and verdict therein.

Every person appointed to the office of paymaster of the Forces or of any branch thereof shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, give security to His Majesty in such manner and for such amount as the Minister of Finance directs, for the faithful accounting for and due application of all public moneys that come to his hands, and for the due and faithful execution of all other duties of his office.

All Proclamations, Orders in Council, Warrants, and General Orders relating to the Defence Forces shall be deemed to be sufficiently notified to all persons whom they may concern by being gazetted; and the production of a copy of the Gazette purporting to contain any such Proclamation, Order in Council, Warrant, or General Order shall be conclusive evidence of the making, publication, and contents thereof, and of the date of such Gazette.

All orders relating to any particular branch of the Defence Forces given under the authority of or in execution of this Act by the Commander-in-Chief, or by any officer of the said Forces, shall be valid and effectual if given verbally on parade, or by advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the district, or by a printed or written notice affixed at a place previously appointed for that purpose, or issued in any other manner customary in His Majesty’s military service, unless in cases where this Act specially requires any such order to be in writing.

All orders made by the officer commanding any district, battalion, troop, battery, company, corps, or other division shall be deemed to be sufficiently notified to all persons whom they may concern on being advertised in some newspaper circulating in the district where the persons to be thereby affected reside, or on copies thereof being posted at the drill-shed or other usual place of muster for such persons, or on being publicly read on parade.

The production of an order in writing purporting to be made according to the provisions of this Act shall be prima facie evidence of such order without proving the signature thereto or the authority of the person making such order.

All military clothing, saddlery, and equipments imported into New Zealand for the bona fide use of a Volunteer corps shall, on the certificate in writing of the Minister that the same are or have been imported for such purpose, be admitted free of duty.

Any duty or toll leviable at any pier, wharf, quay, landing-place, ferry, or bridge, or at any turnpike gate or bar, or at any other gate or bar on a public road, shall not be demanded or taken for—

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds who—

All members of the Defence Forces, with the exception of members of Defence rifle clubs, shall be exempt from serving on any jury.