The Short Title of this Act is “The Harbours Act, 1908.”

This Act is a consolidation of the enactments mentioned in the First Schedule hereto, and with respect to those enactments the following provisions shall apply:—

Savings.

shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had respectively originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act; and for that purpose shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated.

Every such Harbour Board shall be deemed to be the same Board under this Act, without change of corporate entity or otherwise; and the members of the Board holding office on the coming into operation of this Act shall continue in office until their successors under this Act come into office.

All debentures, bonds, and mortgages or securities issued or made under any such enactment by any Harbour Board in respect of moneys borrowed thereunder, and outstanding on the coming into operation of this Act, shall, so far as concerns the holder or owner thereof and his rights and remedies, be deemed to have been respectively issued or made under this Act.

All works, matters, and proceedings commenced under any such enactment, and in progress on the coming into operation of this Act, may be continued and completed under this Act.

All works authorised by or directed to be made or constructed in accordance with any such enactment, and not commenced, or, if commenced, not completed on the coming into operation of this Act, shall be deemed to be authorised by, and shall be made and constructed in accordance with, this Act.

Nothing in this Act shall in any way derogate from or annul any of the provisions of “The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1908,” or of any Act relating to the Customs, nor in any way interfere with the administration of or revenues arising in respect of any lighthouse, buoy, or beacon, or any other act, matter, or thing regulated under any of the aforesaid Acts.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to take away, supersede, or abridge any jurisdiction, right, power, or remedy existing independently of this Act for the abatement of, or the imposition of punishment for, any nuisance affecting the sea or any harbour or tidal water or tidal lands, or affecting navigation, or affecting any right belonging to or enjoyed by the public over tidal water or tidal lands.

The provisions of this Act respecting anything mentioned in this section shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in substitution for or in restraint of any other enactment, regulation, jurisdiction, right, power, or remedy for the like object; and all such enactments, regulations, jurisdictions, rights, and remedies shall remain operative and be, as far as may be, as if this Act had not been passed, but so nevertheless that nothing herein shall be deemed to authorise that any person be sued or prosecuted twice in respect of the same matter.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed or allowed to affect any right or prerogative of His Majesty.

In this Act, and in any by-laws or regulations made thereunder, if not inconsistent with the context,—

For the purposes of this Act the Governor may from time to time by warrant under his hand—

No alteration of the limits of any harbour shah prejudice or affect any rights or powers at any time exercised in respect of such harbour by any Harbour Board having jurisdiction in the harbour prior to such alteration.

No revocation of an instrument defining a harbour as aforesaid shall prejudice or affect any rights or powers acquired or exercised by the Board having jurisdiction within the limits of the harbour prior to such revocation.

The rights and powers of the Board in respect of any harbour shall extend to the limits of the harbour when altered under this Act.

The Governor may from time to time authorise surveys to be made and completed of any harbour, or of the coast-line of New Zealand, as may be requisite for the safety of shipping.

Such surveys when issued by the Marine Department shall be deemed officially authorised surveys.

In harbours where there is no Board, or where any Board is dissolved under the powers hereinafter contained, the Governor in Council shall have all the powers, functions, duties, and authorities by this Act conferred upon Harbour Boards, and may exercise the same in accordance with this Act.

Any power or authority herein conferred upon the Governor in Council which, in the case of a Harbour Board, would be exercised by or under by-laws to be made by such Board shall and may be exercised under regulations to be made by Order in Council gazetted.

Such regulations may be made generally in respect of all harbours where there is no Harbour Board, or in respect of any one or more of such harbours.

Nothing herein shall be construed to make it obligatory on the Governor in Council to exercise and perform the powers, functions, duties, and authorities by this Act conferred upon him, and such powers, functions, duties, and authorities shall be exercised and performed only in such harbours and places as he thinks fit.

The Governor may from time to time appoint Harbourmasters, pilots, and other officers of any harbour not under the control or management of any Harbour Board.

The Governor may from time to time by Order in Council vest the management of any wharf the property of His Majesty in any Harbour Board, local authority, or person upon such terms and conditions as he thinks fit.

Every wharf the management of which is so vested shall, subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in such Order in Council, be deemed to be the property of such Board, local authority, or person for the purpose of all actions and proceedings in respect thereof or in relation thereto, so long as such management remains so vested.

In any harbour where there is no Harbour Board the Governor in Council may authorise any local authority or any person to construct harbour-works (other than the reclamation of land from the sea or any harbour, or the construction of any graving-dock, dock, or breakwater in any harbour or in the sea), whether such harbour-works are or are not primarily intended for the use and benefit of the public, and to use and occupy such part of the foreshore or of any tidal land or tidal water as may be necessary for the construction and use of such harbour-works:

Provided that any work constructed under the authority of this section shall, if the nature of the work permits, be available for public use on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Order in Council authorising the same.

The Governor may from time to time by Order in Council prescribe what dues and rates shall be taken by the Board, authority, or person in whom any such wharf is vested as aforesaid, or by whom any such harbour-works are constructed as aforesaid, for the use of such wharf or works.

The Governor in Council may from time to time revoke, alter, or vary any Order in Council made under this section.

Every Order in Council under sections eleven to thirteen hereof shall be made upon such terms and conditions as the Governor in Council thinks fit, and the rights thereby conferred shall only be granted for a limited period not exceeding in any case fourteen years, and may at any time be altered, modified, or revoked.

The rights and powers conferred under or by virtue of any such Order in Council may be resumed at any time by the Governor on giving to the Board, authority, or person holding the same such previous notice, not exceeding twelve months, as may be expressed in the Order in Council conferring such rights and powers.

Any Board, authority, or person affected by such notice may remove any wharf or building erected in pursuance of any privilege granted by Order in Council as aforesaid, and all the material thereof, but shall not be entitled to any further compensation or allowance.

Where a local authority is authorised by Order in Council as aforesaid to construct harbour-works, such authority may use and expend any part of its local fund in the construction of any work so authorised or in the maintenance or repair of any such work or any part thereof:

Provided that nothing herein shall empower any such authority to use and expend in such manner any money borrowed for the purposes of any particular work, unless such use was expressly sanctioned by the ratepayers before the money was so borrowed.

Every power or function which any such local authority has or could exercise in respect of any public work within its ordinary powers may in like manner be exercised in respect of any harbour-work so authorised as aforesaid; and every liability which such authority would be liable to in respect of any public work as aforesaid shall also attach in respect of any such harbour-work.

The several Harbour Boards the names of which are set forth in the Second Schedule hereto (being Harbour Boards existing at the time of the coming into operation of this Act) shall be deemed to be constituted under this Act, and this Act shall, in the case of each such Board, be deemed to be a special Act for the purpose of such constitution.

Such Boards are constituted in the manner and consist of the persons mentioned in the second, third, and fourth columns of the said Second Schedule, and set opposite the name of each Board, as follows:—

If any extraordinary vacancy occurs in any Board mentioned in the said Second Schedule, such vacancy shall be filled up in the manner hereinafter provided by this Act.

Every such Board as aforesaid shall, in respect of all real and personal property, rights, claims, obligations, liabilities, contracts, and engagements, and for all purposes whatsoever, be deemed to be the same Board as that existing at the port in respect of which the Board was constituted on the coming into operation of this Act.

For the purposes of this section the term “port” shall have the meaning given thereto in the Act or Ordinance under which the Board in respect of which such term is used was originally constituted, subject, however, to the provisions of this Act respecting the alteration of the limits of a port or harbour.

Every member, and every person holding any office in or under any Board in existence on the coining into operation of this Act, shall, notwithstanding any defect in their elections or appointments, be deemed to have been duly elected or appointed and shall continue to hold their respective offices in or under the Board constituted under this Act as if they had been elected or appointed under this Act, subject, however, to the provisions hereinafter contained.

In any case where a local authority forms the Board the provisions of this Act respecting election of members shall have no application, and the Board so constituted shall be a Harbour Board within the meaning of this Act, and continue to perform the functions of such Board from time to time without complying with the provisions of this Act relating to such election.

Every Harbour Board created after the coming into operation of this Act shall be constituted by an Act hereinafter termed a “special Act.”

Every such Board shall consist of elective and non-elective persons in such manner as may be prescribed by the special Act, and every such Act shall make provision for the first election of the elective members, and for all other matters necessary to give effect to this Act and such special Act.

In this section and elsewhere throughout this Act—

Every non-elective member of a Board who is appointed by the Governor or the Governor in Council shall hold office for a term of two years, computed in the case of future Boards from the first day of July in the year in which the Board is constituted, and in the case of now existing Boards from the first day of July in the year in which such term would be computed if this Act had not been passed.

If any such member ceases to hold office before the expiry of his term, the person appointed in his stead shall hold office so long as the vacating member would have held the same if he had not ceased to be a member.

This section shall be construed subject to the provisions of any special or local Act now in force dealing with any specified Board.

A certificate under the corporate seal of any local authority, body, or association that any person named therein is the Mayor or Chairman or other presiding officer of such authority, body, or association, as the case may be, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact.

If such body or association is not incorporated, then a declaration in writing, signed by any two members thereof, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the person therein named is the Chairman or other presiding officer of such body or association.

The elective members of a Board shall hold office for two years from the date of the biennial election, and on the second Monday in the month of February in every alternate year there shall be an election of the elective members of the Board.

Subject to this Act, all persons who were previously members of the Board shall be eligible for re-election.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, all elections of members of the Board who are required to be elected by the electors of a local authority shall be held in the same manner, and the proceedings shall be the same, mutatis mutandis, as are required and provided with respect to the election of members of the local authority.

All other elections shall be held in such manner as may be prescribed by the special Act, and if no provision is made in that behalf, then in such manner as the Governor in Council from time to time directs by regulations to be made for that purpose.

Where an elective member is to be elected by the payers of dues Or by registered owners or part owners of ships, then and in any case where such dues have been paid by two or more persons jointly, or where any ship is owned by more than one person, only one of such persons paying or owning, as the case may be, shall be entitled to vote in respect of such payment or ownership.

Any corporate body being the payer of dues or owner of any ship may from time to time, by writing under its corporate seal, appoint some person to vote in respect of such payment or ownership.

Where the members of a Board, or any of them, are to be elected by the votes of persons in any area or district comprising several local authorities, the Board shall annually, or as often as occasion requires, make up an electoral roll for such area or district, and, subject to the provisions of the special Act constituting the Board, there shall be placed on such roll the name of every person within such area or district whose name appears on the electoral roll of any such local authority as aforesaid.

At every such election every person whose name appears on the aforesaid electoral roll shall have the same voting-power as a county elector possesses at an election of members of a County Council.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Governor may by Order in Council empower a Board the members of which are not wholly nominated or appointed to divide the rating area or district into any number of electoral wards, not exceeding the number of elective members as fixed for the Board by this Act or the special Act, each ward to return the same number of members to the Board.

In such case the Board shall annually, or so often as may be required, make up an electoral roll for each ward, and such electoral roll shall be deemed to be the electoral roll for the rating area or district.

Such subdivision shall only be made by special resolution.

Any such special resolution shall come into operation at the next general election of the members of such Board after the passing thereof, and after such general election such resolution shall also apply to extraordinary vacancies.

This section applies only where the members of the Board arc either wholly elective or partly elective and partly non-elective, and shall not affect any provision of this Act relating to non-elective members.

A person shall immediately cease to be a member of the Board in any of the following cases, that is to say:—

Where a member of a Board who holds office by virtue of his being a member of a local authority, or of any other body or association, ceases to be a member of such local authority, body, or association, he shall also cease to be a member of the Board.

If the office of an elective member of a Board becomes vacant from any of the causes aforesaid, or from death, such vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy, and the election of a new member shall be held in the manner provided in the case of the election of the member who has vacated his seat.

If the office of a member of the Board appointed by the Governor or the Governor in Council becomes vacant from any of the causes aforesaid, or from death, the Governor or Governor in Council, as the case may be, may appoint some person in the place of the member whose office has become vacant.

Every such new member shall retain his office so long as the vacating member would have retained the same if no vacancy had occurred.

Where a person is a member of a Board by virtue of his office, his successor in such office from time to time shall, without any further appointment, be a member of the Board so long as he holds such office.

In the event of any refusal, neglect, or failure to elect or appoint the full number of elective members of the Board, or to supply any vacancies, the Governor may appoint as many members as may be necessary to complete such number or to supply such vacancies, as the case may be.

Any person so appointed shall hold office in like manner as if he had been duly elected.

Every member of the Board shall come into office on the day of his election or appointment, and shall cease to hold office on the day his successor comes into office.

No act of any Board shall be questioned on the ground that the seat of any member of the Board is vacant or that any supposed member thereof is incapable of being a member.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and the regulations thereunder relating to the elections of members of the Board, the provisions of “The Local Elections and Polls Act, 1908,” shall apply to such elections.

The provisions of this Act relating to the Board, and the appointment, election, and resignation of its members, shall be construed subject to the provisions of the special Act relating to the Board.

Any Board may, by resolution passed by an absolute majority of its members, request the Governor in Council to dissolve such Board, and if the Governor dissolves such Board, then, on such day as the Governor in Council fixes, an election of the elective members and an appointment of the non-elective members of the Board shall be held or made.

In voting upon any resolution under this section the Chairman shall have only a deliberative and not a casting vote.

In the exercise of the powers given to him by this section the Governor in Council may appoint one or more fit persons to make all such inquiries, and examine and inspect all books, papers, and accounts, as may be necessary to ascertain the debts and liabilities of the Board and what property is vested in it.

If the Board, or the Chairman, Secretary, or any member or officer of the Board, refuses to give information to any person so appointed, or to produce any books, papers, or accounts in its or their custody or possession, every person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

If at any time it appears to the Governor that a local authority, body, or association electing or appointing a member of the Board has ceased to exist, or has been incorporated with or united to some other local authority, body, or association, the Governor may by Order in Council declare what other local authority, body, or association shall return a member in lieu of the local authority, body, or association so ceasing to exist or being incorporated or united as aforesaid.

If any such authority, body, or association becomes divided into two or more like bodies, the Governor in Council may order that the original authority, body, or association and the new authorities, bodies, or associations shall unite in electing or appointing a member or members of the Board, as the case may be.

If the name of any such authority, body, or association is changed, but such authority, body, or association in other respects remains unaltered, such change of name shall not affect the right of such authority, body, or association to elect or appoint a member.

Where any local authority, body, or association becomes incorporated with or united to some other authority, body, or association, or ceases to exist, the Governor in Council may in like manner declare that any Mayor, Chairman, or other chief presiding officer of such newly constituted authority, body, or association shall take the place of any Mayor, Chairman, or other officer of the authority, body, or association becoming incorporated, united, or ceasing to exist, and who by virtue of his office was entitled to be a member of the Board.

Where the Chairman of any County Council is appointed a member of a Board by succession, and the county is divided, and a new county formed, the Governor in Council may declare that the Chairman of the new County Council shall be the member in succession on the Board in place of the Chairman of the original County Council.

Every Board shall be a corporate body by the name of “The [Stating the name] Harbour Board,” with perpetual succession and a common seal, and with full power and authority by that name to sue and be sued, and capable in law for the purposes of and subject to this and the special Act to do and suffer all such acts and things as bodies corporate may do and suffer, with power to take and hold lands, tenements, and hereditaments.

In no case shall the corporate entity or capacity of a Board be in any way affected by any alteration in the number or qualifications of its members.

Every Board may from time to time appoint and employ a Secretary, Treasurer, Clerk, Harbourmaster, Pilots, Wharfinger, and all such other officers and servants to assist in the execution of this Act as it thinks proper, and may from time to time remove or discontinue the office of any of such persons and appoint others in the room of such as are so removed or as die or resign.

Such salaries and allowances shall be paid out of the Harbour Fund to the said persons respectively as the Board thinks reasonable.

One person may hold two or more of any of such offices.

Before any officer intrusted by the. Board with the custody or control of moneys by virtue of his office enters upon such office the Board shall take sufficient security from him for the faithful execution thereof.

No member of a Board shall be paid any remuneration for his services as a member of such Board, nor in respect of his attendance at any meetings thereof, but he may be paid the amount of expenses actually incurred in travelling to or from any such meeting.

No member of the Board shall be capable of being or continuing Clerk or Treasurer or any other officer of the Board if any salary is attached to such office.

Every Board hereafter constituted shall hold its first meeting, on a day and at a place to be appointed by the Governor, as soon as conveniently may be after the constitution thereof, for the election of one of its members as a Chairman:

Provided that no first meeting of any Board shall be held until all the members to form the board have been elected or appointed.

The Governor, in appointing the day for the first meeting of the Board, may also fix the number of members required to form a quorum at such meeting.

Every Board shall hold an annual meeting for the purpose of electing a Chairman on the first Tuesday after the anniversary of the day of the first meeting of the Board:

Provided that with respect to Harbour Boards existing on the coming into operation of this Act the anniversary of the first meeting of each such Board shall, for the purposes of this section, refer to the anniversary of the first meeting after the original constitution of the Board.

At every such meeting the Board, by a majority of the members present, shall elect one of its number to be Chairman, who shall hold office for a term of one year only, but shall be eligible for re-election.

In the event of there being an equality of votes, the election of Chairman shall be decided by lot at such meeting.

If the Chairman from any cause ceases to be a member of the Board, or resigns the office of Chairman, the Board shall, as soon thereafter as conveniently may be, elect another member of the Board to be Chairman in his stead, who shall hold office until the next election of a Chairman as hereinbefore provided.

At all meetings of the Board the Chairman, or, in his absence, such member of the Board as is chosen by the majority of the members assembled, shall preside; and such Chairman or presiding member shall have a deliberative vote, and in all cases of equality of votes he shall also have a casting-vote, except where otherwise provided by this Act.

The Board shall hold a meeting at noon on the third Monday in the month of January in each year at the office of the Board.

At such meeting the accounts of the Board for the past year, duly audited and certified as hereinafter provided, shall be laid before the meeting, and, if the same are adopted, a balance-sheet framed therefrom shall be published at least three times in some one or more newspapers circulating at the port for which the Board is constituted.

The Board shall also hold ordinary meetings for the transaction of general business, and the ordinary meetings shall be held at the office of the Board at such stated time as the Board from time to time appoints.

The Board may from time to time make by-laws for regulating the general conduct of business and proceedings of the Board, and for all such other purposes as the Board is by this or the special Act empowered to make by-laws.

Such by-laws shall not be repugnant to the provisions of this Act, or the General Harbour Regulations to be made hereunder, nor to any Act; and they shall not come into operation until after a copy under the seal of the Board has been sent to, and the receipt thereof has been acknowledged by, the Minister.

By-laws shall be made only in the manner and subject to the conditions following:—

1883, No. 37. sec. 18

1878, No. 35, sec. 59

A copy of any by-law so sealed shall be received as evidence of the same having been duly made, unless the contrary is proved.

Any person shall be entitled, on application at the office of the Board, to purchase a copy of such by-laws on payment of such sum, not exceeding one shilling, as the Board may fix from time to time.

Within six months after the receipt of a copy of any by-law has been acknowledged as aforesaid by the Minister, the Governor may disallow the same or any part thereof, and upon such disallowance being gazetted such by-law or part thereof so disallowed shall cease to have any force; but such disallowance shall not affect the validity of anything theretofore done under the by-law or part thereof so disallowed.

In all proceedings the production of the newspaper containing the notification referred to in paragraph (c) of section forty-seven hereof respecting any such by-law shall be sufficient prima facie evidence that all the provisions of this Act relating to the making of such by-law have been duly complied with, and that such by-law is in full force and effect; and the onus of proving the contrary shall in every case be on the person disputing the validity of such by-law.

Any by-law made in pursuance of this Act may provide for a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for any breach thereof.

The Board may by resolution adopt any regulations made by the Governor in Council under section nine hereof, and any regulations so adopted shall, subject to this Act, without further act or formality, be deemed to be by-laws of the Board in respect of the harbour under its jurisdiction, and shall come into force upon a day to be named in such resolution.

A copy of the resolution adopting such regulations, attested by the signature of the Chairman, snail be forwarded to the Minister, and such resolution shall also be publicly notified at least seven clear days before the day fixed for such by-laws to come into force.

The Board may enter into contracts with any person for the erection, construction, or execution of any harbour-works permitted or authorised to be erected or constructed by the Board, or for furnishing materials, or for the purchase or construction of machinery or appliances of any kind, and any other contracts necessary for the purpose of carrying out the objects for which such Board has been constituted.

Every such contract shall (except as provided by paragraph (c) of the next succeeding section) be in writing, and shall specify the work to be done or executed, the materials to be furnished, the price to be paid for the same, the time or times within which the work is to be completed, and the penalties to be suffered in case of non-performance thereof, or other the nature and terms of the contract entered into.

The power hereby granted to the Board to enter into contracts may lawfully be exercised as follows, that is to say:—

No contract the amount whereof exceeds fifty pounds shall, except in cases of emergency, be made except after public tender of which public notice shall be given; but the Board shall not be compelled to accept the lowest or any tender.

The Board may compound with any person for such sum of money or other recompense as it thinks fit in respect of the breach of any contract, or any penalty incurred thereunder, or of any debt due to the Board, whether before or after any action is brought for the recovery of the same.

Proper servants and labourers shall be provided by the Board for working at all reasonable times any cranes and weighing-machines or other machines and conveniences erected or provided by the Board for the use of the public in loading or unloading any goods on any of the wharves belonging to the Board.

If any Wharfinger or other servant of the Board, or any of its lessees, or the servants of such lessees, gives any undue preference or shows any partiality in loading or unloading any goods on any wharf belonging to the Board, the person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

The Board shall, on being required to do so by the Minister of Customs, provide, and, until relieved from this duty by him, shall always thereafter maintain in good order, at such place and in such manner as he directs or approves, suitable receiving and examining sheds, with weighing-appliances, and accommodation for the use of the officers and others acting under such Minister’s directions, free of rent or any other charges in respect thereof.

If any Board fails to comply in any respect with the provisions of this section, it shall incur a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every month during which such failure continues.

No goods shall be allowed to remain upon any wharf, or in the approaches thereto, or in any store or warehouse in which goods may be placed, for a longer time than is allowed by the by-laws of the Board.

If any goods so remain without the consent of the Board, any person appointed by the Board for that purpose may remove the same to any of the premises of the Board or other convenient place, and keep the same until payment to the Board of the expenses of such removal and of the keeping of the goods.

If such expenses are not paid within seven days after demand thereof made upon the owner, or if such owner cannot be found or is unknown, then, after the Board has given public notice by advertisement at least once in each of three consecutive weeks in some newspaper circulating at the harbour where the goods are, the Board may sell such goods by public auction, and out of the proceeds of sale pay all dues and charges payable thereon and the expenses of removal and of the sale thereof, and the surplus (if any) shall be rendered to the owner on demand.

If the owner of the goods cannot be found or is unknown, then the surplus shall be paid into the Public Account and shall form part of the Consolidated Fund.

No owner or master of any ship shall in any case be compelled to employ or give his ship into the control or charge of a pilot at any harbour or port at which pilots are on the coming into operation of this Act licensed or appointed directly by the Governor, or to pay at any such harbour or port any pilotage rates where such owner or master has not employed or given his ship into the charge of a pilot.

This provision shall not apply to any harbour or port where a Harbour Board has been lawfully constituted.

The Governor may from time to time define and alter and vary the limits of pilotage districts within which pilots may act for the purposes of this Act, and the limits so defined shall be gazetted.

The Board may from time to time appoint or license pilots for the purpose of acting within the district attached to the harbour under the control of the Board, and may fix their remuneration, and shall, in manner hereinafter provided, fix the pilotage rates to be paid within such district.

No person shall be appointed to be a pilot at any harbour or port unless he has first passed such an examination as is herein provided, and has received and continues to hold a certificate of competency or license.

Any person possessed of a master’s or mate’s certificate as required by “The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1908,” may, upon giving due notice, apply to any Board to be examined as to his competency to pilot ships of any tonnage specified in the Third Schedule hereto within any part of the district over which the Board has jurisdiction.

Such person shall, if the Board thinks fit, be thereupon examined by the Harbourmaster, or by some other competent person or persons appointed by the Board for the purpose.

If he is found to be competent, a pilotage-exemption certificate may, on payment by him of the fees specified in the said Third Schedule, be granted to him by the Secretary of the Board, containing his name and a statement of the tonnage of the ships in respect of which he has been examined, and a description of the limits within which he is to pilot the same.

Such certificate shall, subject to the provisions of section seventy-three hereof, authorise the person therein named to pilot any ship of the tonnage therein specified of which he is at the time acting as master or mate within the limits therein described, without incurring any penalties for the non-employment of a qualified pilot.

If on complaint to the Minister it appears to him that any Board has, without reasonable cause, done or suffered any of the following things, that is to say:—

the Minister may, if in his judgment the circumstances appear to require it, appoint any person or persons he may think fit to examine such master or mate, and if he is found to be competent may authorise a pilotage-exemption certificate to be granted to him by some person for the time being appointed by the Minister to sign and issue the same.

Such certificate shall contain the same particulars as would have been inserted in a pilotage-exemption certificate granted on the report of such Harbourmaster as aforesaid, and shall be granted upon such terms and conditions and subject to such regulations as the Minister thinks fit.

Where a pilotage-exemption certificate has been paid for by the owners of any ship or ships, and a master or mate not named in such certificate is appointed to any of such ships, such certificate may be transferred to the new master or mate on production of such exemption certificate if, on examination and report as aforesaid, such master or mate is found to be competent to pilot such ship or all of the other ships specified in the certificate within the limits of the port named therein.

Such transfer shall be made by indorsement on the pilotage-exemption certificate.

Such indorsement shall be made by or under the authority of the Board, or, as the case may be, under the hand of the person appointed by the Minister as aforesaid to sign and issue such certificate.

If at any time it appears to the Board or to the Minister that any master or mate to whom a pilotage-exemption certificate has been granted has been guilty of gross neglect, drunkenness, or other misconduct, or has shown himself incompetent to pilot his ship, the Board or Minister may thereupon withdraw the pilotage-exemption certificate, and such certificate shall thenceforth cease to be of any effect whatever.

If any master or mate refuses to give up to any owner of a ship any such pilotage-exemption certificate paid for by such owner, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered in a summary way, and such certificate shall be withdrawn in the manner prescribed by the last preceding section, and a new certificate granted to such owner in lieu thereof, with the name of the new master or mate inserted therein, but shall be limited to such ship or ships as the Harbourmaster’s report applies to.

No master or mate holding a pilotage-exemption certificate shall be exempt from liability for non-employment of a pilot, unless when required by the Collector of Customs of the port in respect of which such exemption is claimed, or by any licensed pilot who may board the ship, he produces and permits to be read by such Collector or pilot the said exemption certificate, and unless from the time of approaching within two leagues of the pilot-station to the time of such ship anchoring in the port there is displayed at the top of the mainmast-head of such ship a white flag not less than six feet long and four feet broad.

All ships of not more than one hundred tons registered tonnage shall be exempted from compulsory pilotage.

Any ship the master or mate of which holds a pilotage-exemption certificate entitling him to pilot that ship shall, unless the master employs a pilot, pay annually, on first entering the port in respect of which such certificate is issued, one full rate of pilotage in and out thereof.

On such payment being made the Collector or officer receiving the same shall issue an exemption voucher, which shall exempt such ship from liability for pilotage rates for one year from the date of such payment, and the date shall be specified in the voucher:

Provided that if the ship enters after the expiry of the exemption voucher, she shall not be deemed exempt; but on payment of an inward pilotage an exemption voucher for twelve months from that date may then be applied for and issued.

Such voucher may be renewed from year to year on payment of one full rate of pilotage as aforesaid in the case of each annual renewal.

No such voucher shall operate to exempt the ship from liability for full pilotage rates unless the master or mate holds a pilotage-exemption certificate as aforesaid.

If any person, by any misrepresentation of circumstances upon which the safety of a ship may depend, or by using a license, certificate, or voucher to which he is not entitled or which is not in force, becomes employed or endeavours to become employed to pilot such ship, or enables or endeavours to enable any other person to be so employed, or obtains or endeavours to obtain for himself or any other person the charge of such ship, he shall, in addition to any liability for damages, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and shall also be liable to suspension or dismissal by the authority by whom he is licensed or appointed.

No pilot shall in any case conduct a ship to sea from any harbour unless such ship has been cleared outwards at the Customs, if subject to clearance, nor until the full amount of pilotage according to the rates for the time being fixed and established for such harbour has been paid.

Every pilot who commits, either within or without the district for which he is licensed, any of the following offences:—

is liable for each offence, in addition to any liabilities for damages, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and also to suspension or dismissal by the authority by whom he is licensed or appointed.

Every pilot who, when on board any ship for the purpose of piloting her, by breach or neglect of duty, or by reason of drunkenness, either—

is liable for each such offence to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twelve months, with or without hard labour, and also to suspension or dismissal by the authority by whom he is licensed or appointed.

Every pilot who demands or receives any sum in respect of pilotage services greater than the dues for the time being demandable by law is for each offence liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Every pilot-boat shall, when afloat, use and display at the masthead, or on a sprit or staff, or in some equally conspicuous situation, the distinguishing marks following, that is to say:—

or such other signals as may from time to time be substituted therefor by the Board or other lawful authority.

If a ship requires the services of a pilot, the signals to be used and displayed shall be the following, that is to say:—

or such other signals as may from time to time be substituted therefor by His Majesty by Order in Council under the Imperial Act of which the Short Title is “The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894,” or any Act amending the same.

Where the Board’s Harbourmaster acts as a pilot and is a duly qualified pilot, the Board shall not be further or otherwise liable for his acts or omissions whilst so acting than it would be for the acts or omissions of a duly qualified pilot.

No Board shall erect or place any harbour light, signals, buoys, or beacon in any harbour or the approaches thereto, or alter or remove the position of any light, signal, buoy, or beacon within its jurisdiction, without the sanction of the Minister.

In order to obtain such sanction the Board shall forward to the Minister a detailed plan fully specifying the position and nature of the light proposed to be erected or of the work proposed to be undertaken in placing or removing any light, signals, buoy, or beacon; and the Minister shall have power to give any directions he thinks fit in relation to the matter by granting or withholding his sanction either wholly or partially and either with or without modification.

The Marine Department shall forthwith communicate the directions given by the Minister in relation to the matters aforesaid to the Board affected thereby, and the Board on receipt of such directions shall be bound to act in conformity therewith, and to do or forbear doing anything thereby directed to be done or forborne.

If any harbour light, signals, buoy, beacon, or other seamark under the management of any Board, or any work connected therewith, is inefficient, or improperly placed or managed, or unnecessary, the Minister may authorise some officer of the Marine Department to inspect the same.

Any officer so authorised may inspect the same accordingly, and make such inquiries in respect thereof and of the management thereof as he thinks fit; and every person having the care of such harbour lights, signals, buoys, beacons, or other seamarks, or concerned in the management thereof, shall furnish all such information and explanations in relation thereto as such officer may require.

The Board shall as and when required by the Minister erect lights, lay down buoys and beacons, and replace, remove, or discontinue any harbour light, signals, buoy, beacon, or other seamarks, or make any variation in the character of the same or in the mode of exhibiting the same.

If the Board, for a reasonable period after receiving such requisition, fails or neglects to comply therewith, the Minister may take all such steps and do all such acts as may be necessary to give effect to such requisition, and the cost and charges of so doing shall be a debt due from the Board to the Crown, and may be recovered accordingly.

The Board may from time to time make by-laws for regulating, restricting, or prohibiting the taking-away of any ballast, rock, stone, slate, shingle, gravel, sand, earth, cinders, rubbish, or other substance or thing from any tidal land or tidal water, or from the seashore below high-water mark in any harbour within its jurisdiction.

The Board may agree with any local authority to permit rock, stone, shingle, gravel, sand, earth, or other material for reclamation purposes and for ballast for ships to be taken free of cost from any lands vested in such local authority or over which it has a disposing-power.

If any vessel is sunk, stranded, or abandoned in any harbour or tidal water, or on the sea-shore, in such a way as to tend to the injury of navigation, such vessel, together with the tackle thereof and the goods (if any) therein (all of which are in this section hereinafter included under the term “the wreck”), may be removed in the following manner:—

For the purposes of this section the term “owner” means and includes not only the owner of the wreck at the time of the sinking, stranding, or abandonment thereof, but also any purchaser of any such wreck, or the materials of which the same may be or may have been composed, so long as the same remains sunk, stranded, or abandoned.

An act shall be deemed to tend to the injury of navigation within the meaning of this Act in any case where a series of like acts has produced or would produce injury to navigation.

Where any injury is done by any vessel, floating timber, or material, or by any person employed about the same, to any part of the works or property of any Board, the following persons, namely:—

shall each be answerable in damages to the Board for the whole injury; but neither the Board nor any person shall be entitled by virtue hereof to recover twice for the same cause of action.

Where the owner of any vessel, floating timber, or material pays any money in respect of any injury done to any part of the works or property of any Board by any master or other person, or pays any fine by reason of any act or omission of any master or other person, he shall be entitled to recover the money so paid, with costs, from such master or other person.

If any tree is felled by the owner or occupier of any land, or by any person employed or authorised by him, on the bank of any navigable river or creek so that any part thereof is in or over the water below high-water mark, and the same is not removed within two days after having been so felled, such owner or occupier shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two pounds, and a further fine of two pounds for each day beyond the two days aforesaid during which any such tree so felled as aforesaid so continues on the bank of such navigable river or creek.

If any tree is so felled by any unauthorised person, such unauthorised person shall for every such tree so felled be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds, together with the cost of removing the same.

The Board may from time to time expend any portion of the Harbour Fund applicable to the general purposes of the Board in purchasing or acquiring, maintaining, and working a steam or other vessel for towing vessels in or out of the harbour, and also such boats, barges, and other appliances as may be necessary for the use and service of the harbour and the safety and convenience of shipping resorting thereto.

The power contained in this section shall not authorise the purchase, acquisition, or working of any vessel for carrying cargo or passengers; but nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent a vessel belonging to the Board from carrying passengers or cargo to and from any open roadstead, or from carrying His Majesty’s mails, or from acting as a ferry-boat when not actually towing a vessel within the jurisdiction of the Board.

Until other provision is made in that behalf under this Act, all harbour dues now payable by law within any harbour shall continue to be levied and shall be payable and paid as if the same had been made payable by this Act.

Harbour dues shall be made by by-laws in the manner provided by this Act, and shall be chargeable equally to all persons in respect of the same description of ships, the same description of voyage, and the same description of goods.

Except as provided by sections two hundred and four and two hundred and five of “The Customs Law Act, 1908,” no foreign ship employed in the coasting trade of New Zealand, nor any goods carried in such ship, shall, during the time such ship is so employed, be subject to any higher or other rate of harbour dues, or other charges whatsoever, or to any other rules as to the employment of pilots, or any other rules or restrictions whatsoever, than British ships employed in like manner, or goods carried in such ships.

No exemption from dues (including under that term every privilege of paying smaller dues than the public at large under like circumstances) shall be allowed in any harbour on account of any of the following reasons, that is to say:—

Where any ship is registered at a port in the United Kingdom or any British possession, the amount of tonnage specified in the certificate of such registry shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be the tonnage of such ship.

In the case of ships belonging to any foreign country which has adopted the provisions of “The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894,” in respect of the measurement of tonnage, such ships shall be deemed to be of the tonnage denoted in their certificates of registry or other national papers.

Where any question arises as to the tonnage of any ship not registered as aforesaid, any officer of Customs, or other person appointed in that behalf by the Collector of Customs, at the port in which such ship then is may measure such ship, and such officer or person in so doing shall follow the law regulating the measurement of shipping for the time being in force in New Zealand.

No Board shall take any dues in respect of any wharf, dock, pier, quay, or other harbour-work until such work is completed so far as to be fit for the reception of ships, or for whatever purpose it or any part of it is intended.

The Board shall, before taking any dues, put up, and shall at all times keep exhibited, in front of its principal office, and on some conspicuous part of the principal wharf or quay under its control, boards having painted or affixed thereon lists in large printed or painted characters of the dues for the time being payable.

If any Board fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, it shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds for every day during which such failure continues.

Where a difference arises between the person authorised to collect any such dues and the owner of goods respecting the weight or quantity of any goods liable to dues,—

The Collector of Customs may refuse to receive any entry or give any shipping bill, discharge, or clearance, or to take any report inwards or outwards, of any ship liable to dues payable to a Board, until the master of the ship produces to him a certificate, under the hand of the collector of such dues, that the dues so payable in respect of the ship have been paid, or, if there is any difference as to the dues payable, until such Collector of Customs is satisfied that sufficient security has been given for the payment of the dues when ascertained, and of the expenses arising from non-payment thereof.

The following persons shall be liable to pay the dues payable by or in respect of any ship, that is to say: The owner and master, and any consignee or agent thereof who has paid or made himself liable to pay any other charge on account of such ship in the port of her arrival or discharge, or in the port from which she clears outwards.

The following persons shall be liable to pay the dues payable in respect of any goods carried in any ship, that is to say: The owner of such goods, and any consignor, consignee, shipper, or agent for the sale or custody of such goods, and any person entitled to the possession of such goods either as owner or agent for the owner.

Every consignor, consignee, shipper, or agent (not being the owner or master of any ship or goods) by this Act made liable for the payment of any dues in respect of such ship or goods, as the case may be, may, out of any moneys in his hands received on account of such ship or goods, or belonging to the owner thereof, retain the amount of dues so paid by him, together with any reasonable expenses he may have incurred by reason of such payment and liability.

All dues payable to the Board may be recovered by the Board as a debt in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

Any person authorised to collect dues may distrain any ship and the tackle thereof, or any goods in respect of which dues are payable, and may keep such ship and tackle or goods respectively until such dues are paid; and, if the same are not paid within seven days after the distress, may cause the property distrained or any part thereof to be sold, and out of the proceeds of sale may pay the amount of such dues and the expenses of the distress, keeping, and sale.

The power given under this section is in addition to the other remedies by this Act provided for the recovery of dues.

Where a difference arises concerning the amount of any dues payable, or of the charges occasioned by any distress, the person distraining may detain the ship, tackle, or goods distrained until such amount is ascertained by a Magistrate’s Court, or until he is satisfied that sufficient security has been given for the payment of such amount when ascertained and of the expenses arising from non-payment thereof.

Such Court shall, on application made for that purpose, determine such amount, and award such costs to be paid by either party to the other as the Court thinks reasonable.

If any master, owner, consignor, consignee, shipper, or agent evades or attempts to evade the payment of any dues, he shall be liable to a fine, either not exceeding ten pounds, or in case the amount of the dues which he has evaded or has attempted to evade exceeds ten pounds, then not exceeding such amount.

No Board shall levy any dues unless the dues levied are applied to some shipping purpose the benefit whereof is enjoyed by the ships or goods on which such dues are levied.

In this section the term “shipping purpose” includes—

In respect of any harbour light, signals, buoy, or beacon heretofore maintained by the Government, or by any Board, or which may hereafter, with the sanction of the Minister, be maintained, erected, or placed in any harbour by any Board, the Governor in Council may—

And reduce, alter, or increase all such dues. Ibid, sec. 128

The dues so fixed as aforesaid shall be paid accordingly by the master of the said ship or other person or persons by whom the said dues if levied in respect of coastal lights would be payable, and shall be recoverable in the same manner as coastal light dues are recoverable.

All dues leviable under the last preceding section shall be applied for the purposes of the construction, placing, maintenance, and improvement of the harbour lights, or signals, or buoys, or beacons in. respect of which the same are levied, and for no other purpose.

The Board to whom such dues are paid shall keep a separate account of the receipt and expenditure of such dues, and shall once in every year, or at such other time as the Minister determines, send a copy of such account to the Marine Department, in such form and with such particulars in relation thereto as the Minister requires.

Nothing in this Act shall charge with any dues—

Every person who claims and takes the benefit, or endeavours to take the benefit, of any exemption under this section without being entitled thereto is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

In this section “dues” extends to all dock dues or rates leviable under this Act or any other Act now or hereafter in force.

Vessels engaged in the whale-fisheries, yachts, and missionary ships not trading to or from any ports in New Zealand, and not conveying goods for hire, and vessels in distress putting into any port through stress of weather, or for water or provisions, or to refit, and vessels calling at any port for orders, shall be exempt from all harbour dues and from pilotage rates, except where the services of a pilot are actually made use of.

If any other vessel (whether laden with cargo or in ballast) for which harbour dues have been paid is obliged, from stress of weather or other sufficient cause, after leaving the harbour to return thereto with the same cargo or ballast, no further dues shall be payable.

Where under any Act or Ordinance authority has been given to or has devolved upon the Governor to grant to a Harbour Board constituted under any such Act or Ordinance any public reserves or other lands, either absolutely or upon any terms or conditions, the power to make such grant or conveyance shall, notwithstanding the repeal of any such Act or Ordinance, vest in and may be exercised by the Governor in respect of the Harbour Board constituted under this Act in the place of such first-mentioned Board.

All such reserves and lands shall be so vested subject to any contracts, leases, mortgages, or other debts or charges for the time being affecting such lands; and the Board constituted under this Act shall be liable for the payment of such mortgages, debts, or other charges, and shall, subject to this Act, hold such lands for and upon the same trusts and purposes as are now or may hereafter be attached to the same.

Subject to this Act (and also to any other Act for the time being in force by or under which leasing-powers are conferred on a Harbour Board), the Board may let any lands vested in it, or any part thereof, at such rents and upon such terms and conditions as the Board determines, so that such leases for rural or pastoral lands be for any term not exceeding twenty-one years, and for town lands or lands used for building purposes be for any term not exceeding fifty years, to take effect in possession from the time of the execution thereof, and that an annual rent be reserved, payable at such times or periods as the Board thinks fit:

Provided that on no lease shall any premium, fine, or foregift be taken.

Where any lease is for a longer term than twenty-one years, the annual rent reserved by such lease for any period beyond the first twenty-one years shall be an advance of at least fifty per centum upon the annual rent payable under such lease during the last year of the expired twenty-one years.

Every lease shall be sold by public auction or public tender, and at least two months’ notice of such intended sale shall be publicly notified; and all rents and profits derived from the lease shall from time to time be paid into the Harbour Fund.

All lands set aside or authorised to be set aside under any repealed Act or Ordinance as endowments for Harbour Boards, and remaining undisposed of, shall be deemed to be set aside or may be set aside under this Act for the same purposes for which such lands were respectively so set aside or authorised to be set aside.

Where land has been set aside under any Act heretofore in force as an endowment for any Board, with power to any Land Board to sell, deal with, or otherwise dispose thereof, the Land Board of the district where such land is situate may from time to time sell or otherwise deal with and dispose of such land in like manner as Crown lands may be sold, dealt with, or disposed of; and the Receiver of Land Revenue shall, after deducting the costs of survey of such land, pay the proceeds and profits thereof to the Board, who shall pay the same into the Harbour Fund.

If any Board which has under or by virtue of any Act been endowed with any Crown lands or the proceeds of the sale thereof, or to which under any Act or Ordinance have been granted any reserves or lands for the purposes of the harbour, refuses or neglects to undertake or carry on the general administration of the harbour, the Governor by Order in Council may either—

Nothing herein shall affect any lease, mortgage, security, or other contract entered into by such Board in good faith prior to such Order in Council taking effect.

The Governor, on behalf of His Majesty, may at any time and from time to time continue any existing line of railway vested in His Majesty, or any line of roadway, into or upon any land or harbourworks vested in any Board or under its control or management; or may lay down, construct, and maintain thereon any railway or tramway or roadway to connect with any such railway; and may take, hold, and use any land or work for that purpose.

No compensation shall be paid or payable to any Board for the land or work so taken or used so long as the construction or erection thereof does no material damage to any building thereon; but if any such damage is done, or it becomes necessary to remove any building as aforesaid, compensation shall be paid to the Board, to be ascertained in the manner hereinafter provided.

The Governor, or any person appointed by him for that purpose, may from time to time, on behalf of His Majesty, on giving one month’s notice in writing to the Board, enter upon and take possession of such portion of any lands now or hereafter granted to or vested in the Board under this or the special Act as is required for the erection or construction of any public works or buildings of any kind, or for the purposes of any railway now or hereafter authorised to be constructed under any Act.

If any lands taken under this or the last preceding section are in the occupation of any person as the tenant of the Board, then such person shall be entitled to receive compensation from the Governor for his estate or interest in the lands so taken, and such compensation shall be ascertained and settled in the manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1908.”

The Board shall be entitled to receive compensation for any land so taken:

Provided that where the land is taken for road or railway purposes such compensation shall not exceed the amount which the Board has actually laid out upon the said land either for cost of reclamation or otherwise in permanently improving the same.

The amount of such compensation shall in case of dispute be ascertained and settled in the manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1908.”

Upon the giving of such notice as aforesaid the lands specified therein shall vest absolutely in His Majesty, freed and discharged from any trusts upon which the same are held.

Nothing herein shall be construed to affect any other right or power vested in His Majesty or the Governor, or in any other person on behalf of His Majesty, of taking lands for all or any of such purposes as are hereinbefore mentioned.

No part of the shore of the sea, or of any creek, bay, arm of the sea, or navigable river communicating therewith, where and so far up as the tide flows and reflows, nor any land under the sea or under any navigable river, except as may already have been authorised by or under any Act or Ordinance, shall be granted, conveyed, leased, or disposed of to any Harbour Board, or any other body (whether incorporated or not), or to any person without the authority of a special Act.

Where the foreshore has been legally vested in any Harbour Board or local authority it may, with respect to such foreshore, exercise the powers hereinafter conferred; but, except where special power is given by this or any other Act, no such Board or authority shall have power to lease or otherwise part with the possession of any such foreshore or any part thereof, except in accordance with this Act.

Such Board or local authority may from time to time, subject to the provisions of section one hundred and fifty hereof, license and permit any part of such foreshore to be used or occupied for all or any of the following purposes:—

Every licensee shall, subject to this Act, have power to make and construct any necessary reclamation for the purpose of erecting on the foreshore comprised in his license, or upon any land below low-water mark immediately contiguous to such foreshore and specified in such license, any building, structure, erection, or other works to enable him to obtain the full benefit of such license, and this enactment shall be sufficient authority for the purposes mentioned herein.

Every such license shall be in writing under the seal of the Board or authority granting the same, and may be for any period not exceeding fourteen years from the date thereof, and may prescribe a sum of money to be payable, either at stated periods or on or before the granting thereof, for the use of the foreshore so granted, and may prescribe any other terms or conditions, general or particular, to be observed or performed by the licensee.

No such Order in Council and no license by virtue thereof shall be made or granted which will unduly interfere with or restrict any public right of navigation or the public convenience; and, in so far as relates to wharves or landing-places, every such Order in Council and license shall be made and granted subject to the right of the public to use the same at all reasonable times, either with or without payment of any fee or charge to be prescribed by the Board or authority granting the license.

All moneys paid by any person to any Board or local authority for the grant of any such license aforesaid shall be received, dealt with, applied, and accounted for as revenue of such Board or authority, as the case may be.

Where the foreshore is not vested in any Harbour Board or local authority as aforesaid, then with respect to such foreshore the Governor in Council may, in his discretion, grant and issue a license for all or any of the purposes hereinbefore mentioned, and all the provisions of this Act in respect of such licenses shall, mutatis mutandis, extend and apply accordingly.

If any license is granted contrary to the provisions of this Act, the Governor in Council may forthwith annul the same on such evidence as he deems sufficient.

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the Board may, with the consent of the Governor in Council, and without obtaining any special Act, lease for any period not exceeding twenty-one years any piece of land vested in it being on the shore of the sea or of any creek, bay, or arm of the sea, or navigable river communicating with the sea, and so that such lease may extend as far as low-water mark.

No such lease shall be made or consented to by the Governor in Council if he is advised that the granting of the same will in any way impede or disturb navigation in the harbour or the public convenience.

Notice of the intention to apply for such consent of the Governor; in Council shall be given by advertisement at least three times in some newspaper circulating at the port or place where such lease is intended to take effect, the first insertion of such advertisement to be made at least twenty-one days before such consent is asked.

No land shall be reclaimed from the sea or in any harbour, and no graving-dock, dock, or breakwater shall be constructed in any harbour or in the sea, except under the authority of a special Act heretofore or hereafter passed; and in the latter case the applicants for such special Act shall, three months at least before the session of Parliament at which such Act is sought to be obtained, deposit at the office of the Marine Department a plan, on a scale not less than three chains to one inch, prepared by a competent surveyor authorised by the Surveyor-General, or some person discharging his duties, showing all tidal waters coloured blue, and the extent of the land sought to be obtained for the purpose of the said Act.

The Board may, out of any funds at its disposal, purchase or acquire any lands necessary for the purpose of obtaining access to any other land vested in it, or required for the purposes of any reclamation or other work.

Where land adjacent to any land under the jurisdiction or control of a local authority has been reclaimed from the sea by the Board, the land so reclaimed shall be subject to the jurisdiction of such authority, and such authority shall, if the land has been reclaimed for building purposes, have power at all times and from time to time to take and lay out roads, streets, and drains on and through any part of the land so reclaimed without making any compensation to the Board in respect thereof:

Provided, however, as follows:—

Where it is agreed between the Board and the local authority having jurisdiction over any land reclaimed from the sea by the Board, or over any land vested in the Board or held as an endowment for the Board, to construct any road or street over such land, it shall be lawful for the Board to contribute out of its revenue such proportion of the cost of construction as may be agreed oh by the Board and the local authority:

Provided that the amount to be so contributed in respect of any road or street on any land other than land reclaimed from the sea by the Board shall not exceed fifty per centum of the cost of the construction of such road or street.

If any tidal land or land to the seaward of any land embanked or reclaimed under this or any other Act, at any time after the execution or construction of any harbour-works authorised by or under any such Act, becomes raised in height or reclaimed, whether gradually or imperceptibly, or otherwise, so as to be above instead of below the line of ordinary high-water mark, no person, body, or local authority shall, by virtue of the ownership of any land which he or it is empowered to reclaim as aforesaid, have any estate, right, or interest in or to the land so raised in height or reclaimed by reason that such raising or reclamation has been gradual and imperceptible, or has been wholly or partially caused by the works so authorised as aforesaid.

The right and title to such land so raised and reclaimed shall continue vested in the Crown as if the same had continued subject to the flow and reflow of the ordinary tides.

If in the course of the execution of any harbour-works authorised under this or any other Act any part of the shore or bed of any harbour or tidal water where such shore or bed belongs to the Crown, or of the sea beyond the mouth or entrance of such harbour or tidal water, is gained or reclaimed from the water, such gain or reclamation shall enure absolutely for the benefit of His Majesty, and no person, body, or local authority shall have or exercise any right upon the same or in respect thereof, or enter upon, take, use, or interfere with the land so gained or reclaimed for any purpose without the consent of the Governor in Council on behalf of His Majesty.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and the special Act, the Governor in Council may, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty, grant to any Board any portion of the land reclaimed by the Board from the sea or from any navigable lake or river; and such land, when so granted, shall be held by the Board for the purposes of this and the special Act.

No grant shall be made to any Board for any land intended to be reclaimed until the reclamation thereof has been fully completed in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Where it appears to the Governor in Council that any harbour-works are required for the use, benefit, or convenience of the public within a harbour or any part thereof under the control of a Board, and that such Board—

then and in any such case the Governor in Council may exercise all or any of the powers vested in him by sections twelve to fourteen hereof:

Provided that this section shall not authorise the erection or construction of any harbour - works which, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, would interfere with or injure any harbour - works already constructed by the Board, or under its control, or that may be in progress.

The Board may, within the limits of its jurisdiction, and subject to the provisions of this Act, do the following things:—

No Board or other body or authority, whether incorporated or not, or any person, shall commence, make, erect, or construct any harbour-works, or place any pile or other structure in, on, over, through, or across tidal lands or a tidal water, nor in or upon any part of the bottom or bed of any harbour, without the sanction of the Governor in Council first obtained in the manner hereinafter provided.

If any such Board, body, authority, or person, or any person by the sanction or request of such Board, body, authority, or person, constructs, erects, or attempts to construct or erect any such work, pile, or structure as aforesaid, without having obtained the sanction of the Governor in Council as hereinafter provided, the Board, body, authority, or person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day that any such work or structure is allowed to remain after notice to remove the same has been given by or on behalf of the Minister.

With respect to harbour-works or any other structure of any kind undertaken or constructed by any Board or any local authority or other body or person (hereinafter called “the constructing authority”) on, in, over, through, or across tidal lands or a tidal water, or the seashore below low-water mark, or in the bed or bottom of any port or harbour, by virtue of this or any other Act, the following provisions shall have effect:—

The constructing authority shall, at its own expense during the whole time of the making, constructing, altering, or extending of any such work as aforesaid, exhibit and keep burning every night from sunset to sunrise on or near the work such lights (if any) as the Marine Department from time to time requires or approves; and shall also on or near such work, when completed, always maintain, exhibit, and keep burning every night from sunset to sunrise such lights (if any) for the guidance of ships as the Marine Department from time to time requires or approves.

If the constructing authority commits any breach of the last preceding section it is liable, for each night on which such breach continues, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Where a work made or constructed by the constructing authority skirts a public navigable tidal water, the work shall not deviate from the continuous lines thereof marked on the plan deposited at the office of the Marine Department, even within the limits of deviation (if any) shown on that plan, in such manner as to diminish the navigable space except with the previous consent of the Governor in Council, and in such manner as may be expressly authorised by the Governor in Council.

The Minister shall have the following duties and powers in the cases hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:—

Where the Minister is empowered or authorised by this Act to repair or maintain, or abate or remove any work he may employ all such engineers, contractors, servants, labourers, or other persons as may be necessary for that purpose.

Any expense incurred by the Minister in repairing, maintaining, abating, or removing any such work shall be deemed to be a debt due to the Crown by the constructing authority by which such work has been made or erected, and may be enforced or recovered accordingly.

Sections one hundred and forty-seven to one hundred and fifty-five hereof shall apply to all Harbour Boards and to all lands granted to any such Boards, and to all harbour-works hereafter constructed or proposed to be constructed or erected thereby; but shall not control or limit any special power or privilege given to His Majesty or the Government of New Zealand by any Act or Ordinance, nor apply to public works made, constructed, or authorised by or under the authority of His Majesty, or the Governor, or the Government of New Zealand under the provisions of any Act heretofore or hereafter in force.

Nothing herein contained shall prejudice or affect the rights, powers, and privileges of any body corporate or person in and to any land below high-water mark in any harbour, creek, or arm of the sea, or in any navigable river, or on the sea-coast, granted under the authority of any Act relating to public reserves; but such rights, powers, and privileges shall remain and continue unaffected.

No harbour-works shall be constructed on such land except with the consent of the Governor in Council.

Where a Board is desirous of executing or constructing upon land vested in the Board or upon land of the Crown any harbour-works of such a nature that the same could but for this section be carried out and executed only under the authority of a special Act, the Board may apply to the Governor in Council for a special order, and if the Governor in Council thinks fit such order may be made and granted, subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter prescribed:—

Plans and estimates to be submitted to Minister.

Duplicates to be lodged at Custom-house.

Or appointed public office.

Notices to be given of application.

Nature of notice.

Publication thereof.

Objections may be lodged.

Service thereof.

After consideration of objections, order may be made.

Effect of order.

Public Works Act incorporated.

Expenses to be borne by Board.

If any alteration in extension of or addition to any works authorised to be constructed under a special order as aforesaid is proposed or becomes necessary, the Board may take the like proceedings to authorise the same as would be necessary in obtaining an original special order.

If in any case the Governor in Council is satisfied that the proposed works unduly interfere with any public right of navigation, or any other public right or interest, or are of such magnitude or importance that the same ought only to be carried out under the authority of an Act, he may refuse to make any order in respect of the application.

The Board shall not have any claim upon His Majesty or his Government in New Zealand for any compensation or allowance by reason of the refusal of such order.

In this and the two last preceding sections the term “Board” includes any local authority.

For the prevention of doubts and disputes as to the limits of any wharf under the control of a Board such Board may from time to time as occasion requires, by public notice and with the previous consent of the Minister, define for the purposes of this Act the limits and boundaries of any wharf; and every wharf so defined shall be deemed to be a wharf for the purposes and within the meaning of this Act.

Where a wharf, whether in a harbour or not, is the property of His Majesty or of the Government of New Zealand the Governor in Council shall, with respect to such wharf, have all the powers and may do all the things that a Harbour Board has or may do under this Act over wharves within a harbour.

No Harbour Board shall, with respect to such wharf as is hereinbefore firstly mentioned, exercise any of the powers given by this Act to a Harbour Board, except with the consent of the Governor in Council.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, every Harbour Board may from time to time, in the manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1908,”—

Power to remove soil, &c. Ibid, sec. 167

Every person having any estate or interest in any land so taken, or thereby injuriously affected, or suffering any damage by the exercise of any of the powers given by section one hundred and thirty-nine, or section one hundred and fifty-seven, or section one hundred and sixty-three hereof, shall be entitled to full compensation for the same to be obtained and determined in the manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1908.”

Parts II, III. and IV of “The Public Works Act, 1908,” are hereby incorporated with this Act.

In the case of each Board the Harbour Fund shall consist of the moneys arising from the following sources:—

1885, No. 27, secs. 2,3.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to give any Board a right to have, collect, or receive any dues in respect of coastal lights the management and control of which is vested in the Minister.

All moneys arising from any of the sources aforesaid, or received by way of loan under this Act or a special Act, shall be paid into such bank as the Board from time to time determines, to an account to be called “the Harbour Fund Account.”

Such fund shall be applied by the Board in payment of all charges and expenses incurred by the Board in carrying this Act into execution, and in doing all acts and things which the Board is by this or any other Act empowered or required to do.

All moneys of the Board amounting to five pounds and upwards shall, within three days after they have come to the hands of the proper officer of the Board, be paid into the bank.

No money shall be drawn out of the bank except pursuant to a resolution of the Board authorising the payment of the money, nor except by cheques signed by the Chairman, or by any two members of the Board appointed for that purpose, and countersigned by the Treasurer of the Board, or by some one appointed in his stead in the event of his absence, either generally or as occasion requires.

All pilotage rates leviable under this Act shall be paid by the master of the vessel in respect of which the same are payable to the Collector of Customs of the port, who, if the same are payable to a Harbour Board, shall pay the same over to such Board from time to time as may be directed by the Minister:

Provided that such pilotage rates shall not be paid over to such Board unless it makes provision to the satisfaction of the Governor or Minister for the maintenance of the pilot and general harbour establishment in respect of which such rates have been paid.

The Board shall cause books to be provided and kept, and true and regular accounts to be entered therein of all sums received and paid by the Board by virtue of this Act or any special Act and of the several purposes for which such sums were received and paid; and such books shall at all reasonable times be open without fee or reward to the inspection of any of the members of the Board and any debenture-holder or creditor of the Board.

Any member of the Board and any such debenture-holder or creditor may take copies of or extracts from the said books without paying anything for the same.

Any Clerk or other person having the custody of such books who does not, on the reasonable demand of any member of the Board or of any such debenture-holder or creditor, permit him to inspect the said books, or to take such copies or extracts as aforesaid, is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds for every such offence.

The accounts of the Harbour Fund shall be kept under the several heads as follow:—

The General Account.

The Special Fund Accounts.

The Interest Accounts.

The Sinking Fund Accounts.

If the balance in any of the said accounts other than the General Account is at any time insufficient to meet the lawful charges thereon, the Board may transfer from the General Account such sums as may be necessary to meet such charges, and may at any time repay any such advance out of any excess in the receipts over the liabilities of any such account.

Except as provided by this section no transfer shall be made from any one to any other of the accounts above mentioned.

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the Board may appropriate in any year any part of the Harbour Fund, not appropriated for any special purpose, towards the creation of a special fund to provide for the following contingencies:—

The Board may invest all moneys so appropriated, and the interest and profits accruing therefrom, in such securities as it from time to time determines.

The Board may at any time and from time to time repay into the Harbour Fund the whole or any part of the moneys so appropriated or invested and the accumulations thereof.

Subject to the provisions of any special or local Act now in force dealing with any specified Board, every Board shall in every year cause its accounts to be balanced to the thirty-first day of December in each year, and a true statement and account to be drawn out of all contracts entered into and of all moneys received or expended by virtue of this Act or any special Act during the preceding year, and of all its available assets, and of all debts then owing by it.

Forthwith after the drawing out and balancing of such statement and account they shall be laid before the Audit Office, which office shall be the auditor of the Board.

The Audit Office shall audit the said statement and account, and shall have, in respect of the Board, its accounts, and all persons dealing with its moneys, the same powers as if the Board were a local authority within the meaning of “The Public Revenues Act, 1908.”

Any person interested in the said accounts, either as a debenture-holder or a creditor of the Board, may be present at the audit of the said accounts by himself or his agent, and may make any objection to any part of such accounts.

The Board shall cause such statement and account to be printed, and allow the same to remain for inspection at the office of the Board; and every debenture-holder, creditor, or any other person interested may at all reasonable times inspect such statement and account, and compare the same with the books and documents relating thereto in the possession of the Board.

The Clerk shall on demand furnish a printed copy of the said statement and account to every debenture-holder and creditor of the Board without fee.

Seven days at least before the meeting for examining and settling such accounts as hereinafter mentioned, the Board shall give public notice of such intended meeting, stating in such notice that the said statement and account are printed, and lie at the office of the Board ready for the inspection of the creditors or other parties interested.

The accounts of the Board, so balanced and audited, and either allowed or disallowed by the Audit Office, together with the said statement and account, shall be produced at the annual meeting of the Board or at some adjournment thereof, at which meeting all debenture-holders, creditors, and other persons interested may be present.

The accounts shall be then finally examined and settled by the Board; and if found correct shall be allowed by the Board, and certified accordingly under the hand of the Chairman of the Board or person acting as chairman at such meeting.

After such accounts have been so allowed and signed by such Chairman, and also by the Audit Office, the same shall be final in regard to all persons whomsoever.

After such audit as aforesaid an abstract of the receipts and expenditure for the period for which such accounts were made, together with a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Board, shall be made out, signed by the Chairman and by the Treasurer, and published at least once.

A copy of such abstract and statement shall also be sent to the Minister, who. shall, within ten days after he receives it, lay it before Parliament if sitting, and if not, then within ten days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

The Governor may, if he thinks fit, at any time appoint any person to make a special examination of the accounts of any Harbour Board, and direct the result of such examination to be reported specially to him.

The Board may, in anticipation of the income of its General Account, from time to time borrow moneys from the bank by way of overdraft; but the amount of such overdraft shall never at any time exceed the amount of the ordinary income of the General Account received during the previous financial year, exclusive of any moneys received by way of subsidies or special grant from the Government, and of money borrowed, and of separate or special rates.

“Overdraft” shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be money borrowed on any account, notwithstanding that money may be standing to the credit of any other account in the bank.

The limit specified in this section shall not be interpreted to affect the right of any bank to be repaid out of the funds of the Board the moneys advanced by the bank to such Board; and no bank shall be concerned to inquire whether such limit is being or has been exceeded.

Where by any special Act power has been or is given to a Harbour Board to borrow money, then subject to the provisions of such special Act such power shall be exercised in the manner and subject to the conditions of this Act.

Where such power was given by any repealed Act or Ordinance, then in so far as the power has not been fully exercised it may be exercised notwithstanding such repeal; and in the case of every Board affected by this provision the powers conferred by this Act shall be deemed to have been conferred by special Act.

All rights and liabilities in respect of moneys borrowed by a Board, or the interest due or to accrue due thereon, and all remedies for enforcing the payment of such moneys or interest, shall and may be exercised against the Board by the holders of any mortgage, bond, debenture, or other security issued under any repealed Act or Ordinance authorising the borrowing as effectually as if the same had been issued under the authority of this Act and a special Act.

In order to raise the money which by any special Act the Board is authorised to raise, the Board may issue debentures under the common seal of the Board to the extent specified in the special Act.

Every debenture issued under this Act shall be in the form numbered (1) in the Fourth Schedule hereto or to the effect thereof, and shall be numbered consecutively so that no two debentures shall at any time bear the same number, and shall be for a sum of not less than twenty or more than one thousand pounds.

No such debenture shall be sold at such a price as will produce to the purchaser an interest of more than seven per centum per annum on the price paid.

Every debenture shall be repayable, both as to the principal and interest, at a place within or out of New Zealand named in the debenture, and at a time named therein not longer than fifty years from the issue thereof; and shall state on the face thereof the funds upon which the principal and interest are secured.

The interest on every debenture shall not exceed seven per centum per annum on the amount thereof, and shall be payable half-yearly or otherwise; and separate coupons for each sum so payable, in the form numbered (2) in the Fourth Schedule hereto or to the effect thereof, and numbered consecutively for each debenture, shall be attached thereto.

The signatures to coupons attached to debentures issued under this Act may be made by fac-similes thereof in lithograph or such other manner to represent the signature of the person signing such coupon; but no advantage shall be taken of this provision, and no coupon shall be issued until the original debenture has been signed by the person whose signature is represented on such coupon.

Debentures and coupons respectively shall be transferable by delivery; and payment to any person in possession of any such debenture or coupon of the sum named therein shall discharge the Board from all liability in respect of such debenture or coupon.

The Board may appoint any company, or any two or more persons, within or out of New Zealand, to be agents for raising and managing any loan authorised to be raised under any special Act; and such agents shall have full power to raise such loans by bonds, debentures, or otherwise in such manner, at such times, in such parts, and upon such terms and conditions as the Board directs, and to give and grant any necessary discharge or acquittance for the moneys raised under any such loan, or otherwise to dispose of moneys as the Board prescribes.

All such bonds and debentures shall be signed by the Chairman and countersigned by the Treasurer of the Board, or shall be signed by the agents (if any) for raising the loan.

Pending the raising of any moneys authorised to be raised, the Board or, as the case may be, the agents raising the same may borrow any sum or sums of money, not exceeding the whole amount then authorised to be raised, by the hypothecation or mortgage of any debentures hereby authorised to be issued; but all moneys so borrowed shall be a first charge upon and shall be repaid out of the loan when raised.

No claim of any holder of any debenture issued by the Board under this Act or the special Act shall attach to or be paid out of the public revenues of New Zealand or by the General Government thereof.

All such debentures and the interest payable thereon shall be a first charge upon all moneys in the Harbour Fund, excepting moneys theretofore pledged as security for any loans or appropriated to any special purpose.

In addition to any security hereby authorised, the Board may from time to time pledge or otherwise give security over the proceeds and profits of Crown lands set aside as endowments as hereinbefore provided, in such manner as the Board thinks fit; and, in the event of the Board so doing, such proceeds and profits shall be paid by the Receiver of Land Revenue to such Trustees or other persons as may be agreed upon between the Board and the holder of the security.

Where power is given to a Board to borrow money on the security of any land by mortgage, and it appears to the Board that such money could be more advantageously obtained by the issue of debentures, the Governor in Council, on being satisfied as to the nature of the transaction and the validity of the securities, may authorise the Board applying to him in that behalf to issue debentures from time to time for any sums not exceeding the amount originally authorised to be borrowed, or not exceeding the said amount less any portion thereof that is already borrowed.

Every such debenture shall be subject to the provisions of the Act authorising the loan and of this Act; and on the issue of any such debentures all the powers contained in the aforesaid Act authorising the raising of money on mortgage shall absolutely cease and determine in respect of and be reduced by an amount of money equivalent to the amount of the debentures issued under the authority of any such Order in Council.

If any Harbour Board at any time—

every member of such Board who consents thereto shall for every such offence be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, to be recovered in a summary way under “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908.”

It shall be the duty of the Controller and Auditor-General to institute the necessary proceedings against every member of the Board liable to pay any such fine.

All costs incurred by the Controller and Auditor-General in any such proceedings shall be paid out of the Harbour Fund, and all moneys recovered for fines and costs shall be deemed to be a part of such Harbour Fund, and shall be paid over accordingly.

Before raising any loan the Board may make provision for the repayment thereof either—

In order to provide funds for the creation of a sinking fund or for the repayment of debentures coming due by periodical drawings, the Board may permanently appropriate any part of the Harbour Fund not appropriated for any special purpose.