The Short Title of this Act is “The Greymouth Harbour Board Act, 1884.”

It shall be deemed to be a special Act within the meaning of “The Harbours Act, 1878,” which is hereby incorporated with this Act.

In this Act,—

A Harbour Board is hereby constituted under the said Act for the Harbour of Greymouth, and such Board shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the Governor in Council, of whom four shall form a quorum.

The members of the Board, to be appointed by the Governor, may be appointed at any time after the passing of this Act, and they shall hold office from the date of such appointment to the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven, and thereafter for the period of two years prescribed by the said Act: Provided that the Governor may from time to time remove any member so appointed and appoint another person in his place.

Every member of the Board shall be entitled to be paid out of the revenues of the Board his actual expenses out of pocket in respect of his attendance at the meetings of the Board.

The Board may from time to time appoint some fit person to be Engineer of works, but every such appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Governor.

The Board is hereby endowed with the revenues hereinafter next mentioned, and all such revenues, as they accrue from time to time shall be paid to the Board in manner as the Governor shall direct, that is to say,—

All moneys arising from the lease, occupation, or other disposal, and the rents, royalties, fees, and other moneys derivable from the pieces of land known as the Westland-Grey Coal Reserve and the Nelson-Grey Coal Reserve, as the same are respectively described in the First and Second Schedules of “The Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Act, 1877,” less all costs and expenses of collecting the same;

All profits arising from the Greymouth-Brunner Coal Field Railway remaining after payment of all the cost of maintenance and working expenses, and any claims for compensation in respect of injuries arising from accidents on the railway; and

All wharfage and tonnage rates in the Harbour of Greymouth, including all charges for the use of staiths and other charges on coal brought for shipment in the said harbour, less all costs and expenses of collecting the same:

Provided that nothing in this section contained shall be deemed to give the Board any authority or control over the railway wharf at Greymouth, nor authorize the said Board to alter any charges or tolls leviable thereat, but the said wharf shall remain under the administration of the authority having control of the railway to which the said wharf is annexed.

The Board shall have power from time to time to borrow on the security of its endowments, subject to the provisions of the said Act, and to the Governor’s previous approval of a plan of the works proposed to be constructed, any sum not exceeding one hundred thousand pounds, for the construction or completion of harbour works in, or towards the improvement of, the said harbour.

But no money shall be borrowed under the authority of this Act at a higher rate of interest than six per centum per annum, anything contained in the said Act notwithstanding.

Prior to the issue of a loan the Governor in Council, if satisfied at any time that the revenues accruing to the Board under this Act are sufficient to meet the interest on any loan proposed to be raised under the authority of this Act, and to provide a sinking fund for repayment thereof, may declare such loan and interest to be guaranteed under this Act; and, from the date of the Order in Council declaring the guarantee, the interest on such loan shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund.

But no greater sum than one hundred thousand pounds in the whole shall be guaranteed under this Act except such extended guarantee be sanctioned by a resolution passed in that behalf by each House of the General Assembly.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the said Act, in the event of a guarantee being declared as aforesaid, the Governor, and any persons whom he may appoint as agents for the purpose, either within or beyond the colony, may make and issue debentures under this Act and the said Act in such form as the Governor or such agents respectively may think fit.

All moneys advanced from the Consolidated Fund under the last-preceding section shall be charged against the revenues of the Board, and shall be repaid to the said fund by the Board, together with so much added as will provide a sinking fund to liquidate the amount of the loan guaranteed under this Act.

Such sinking fund shall be of such amount and payable at such dates respectively, commencing not later than five years after the date when the guarantee aforesaid takes effect, as shall be agreed upon between the Governor and the Board.

So soon as a sum of one hundred thousand pounds has been expended out of any public moneys in the improvement of the Harbour of Greymouth, there shall be paid, in respect of every ton of coal brought for shipment in the said harbour, by the shipper thereof, a sum of three pence, as a special rate for the purpose of being applied towards the repayment of the moneys authorized to be borrowed under this Act, and the interest thereon, and to the repayment of the sums of one hundred and fourteen thousand four hundred and thirty-nine pounds one shilling, and twenty-seven thousand two hundred pounds charged upon the Westland-Grey Coal Reserve, and the Nelson-Grey Coal Reserve respectively, by “The Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Act, 1877,” together with interest on the said sums.

The aforesaid rate shall be collected as and from such day and by such persons as the Governor may from time to time appoint, and when collected shall be paid to the Board, to be applied by it for the purpose hereinabove mentioned.

The Board constituted under this Act may be dissolved at any time in the event that the General Assembly shall pass an Act authorizing the Governor to take over the harbour works progressing at the said harbour, together with all contracts and engagements of the Board in relation thereto, as well as all other contracts and engagements of the Board, and its assets and liabilities, and to complete the said works on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.

So much of “The Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Act, 1877,” as is repugnant to, or in conflict with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed.