The Short Title of this Act is “The Timaru Harbour Board Loan Act, 1881.”

In this Act the expression “the Board” means the Timaru Harbour Board constituted under “The Harbours Act, 1878.”

The Board shall have power to borrow, subject to the provisions of “The Harbours Act, 1878,” any sum not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds, to be applied in and about the construction and carrying out of works for the improvement of the said Port of Timaru.

It shall be lawful for the Governor to constitute, by Proclamation, a district, to be called the “Timaru Harbour District,” and to define the boundaries.

In case the Harbour Fund of the said district shall be insufficient to pay for the expenses incurred by the Board in the construction, maintenance, and repair of the Timaru Harbour works, the Board shall make a rate upon the rateable property of such district, as shown in the local valuation roll, for the amount necessary to pay the interest upon the loan hereby authorized to be raised.

Before the said loan is raised, the consent of the ratepayers in the said harbour district shall first be obtained, in the mode hereinafter prescribed.

The Chairman shall call a meeting of the ratepayers, to be held within each borough or riding of a county upon a day not more than ten days after the last publication of such notice, to consider the said proposal; and every such notice shall be published in a newspaper circulating in the district, and shall specify the time and place in each riding at which meetings are to be held.

The Chairman shall appoint one of the members of the Municipal Corporation or County Council elected for the riding to preside at each meeting, if such member shall he willing to act; and if no such member is willing to act, or becomes incapacitated from acting for any cause, then such person as the Chairman thinks fit.

The member or person so appointed shall be called the “Presiding Officer,” and he shall be Chairman of the meeting to be held in the borough or riding for which he has been appointed, and shall act as such at the taking of any poll as hereafter provided.

After due consideration and discussion of the proposal, the Presiding Officer may give notice that a poll will be taken.

The poll shall be taken as follows:—

The Chairman shall publish a notice setting forth the day, not less than one nor more than three weeks from the day of the said meeting, on which the poll will be taken.

The Chairman shall give notice in writing to the Presiding Officer, requiring him to take the poll upon the day appointed.

The Presiding Officer shall, upon the day so appointed, proceed to take the poll in the manner provided by “The Regulation of Local Elections Act, 1876,” for taking a poll at any election, and shall provide voting papers and all things necessary for taking the poll.

The voting papers shall be printed in the form in the Schedule hereto attached, with the words, “I vote for the above proposal,” and, “I vote against the above proposal,” legibly printed at the foot of each voting paper.

The voter shall erase one or other of the said lines, and his vote shall be deemed to be given according to the one of the said lines which he leaves unerased.

All the provisions of “The Regulation of Local Elections Act, 1876,” as regards taking a poll, shall, so far as they are applicable, and except as by this section otherwise provided, apply to the taking a poll on the proposal to raise a special loan.

If the number of votes given for the proposal within the district exceeds the number given against it by one-fourth or more than one-fourth of the latter, the resolution in favour of the proposal shall be deemed to be carried, and the Board may proceed with the proposal accordingly; but if there is not such a majority in favour of the proposal the resolution shall be deemed to be rejected, and the Board shall not so proceed.

As soon as conveniently may be after the result of the poll has been ascertained, the Chairman shall give public notice of the number of votes recorded for and against the proposal as above provided, and shall declare the resolution to be carried or rejected as the case may be.

When any such resolution is carried, the Chairman shall send a notice thereof to the Colonial Secretary, who shall publish the same in the Gazette, and such notice so gazetted shall be evidence that the raising of the loan to which it refers has been duly authorized under the provisions of this Act.

The Board shall publish in the district, once in each week for four successive weeks, a notice setting forth,—

The particular work proposed to be undertaken:

The sum proposed to be borrowed for such purpose:

Any special rate or tolls or the rents and profits of any property which it is proposed to pledge as security for such loan, not being moneys received by way of grant from the General Government or moneys theretofore pledged as security for any loan or appropriated to any special purpose.