PROVINCIAL ACTS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2711, 26 March 1866, Page 6

PROVINCIAL ACTS.

BUBAL POLICE ACTS. This Act, which wa9 passed by the Council at one of its last sittings, is declared not to be applicable to any city, town, or village in which the Municipal Police Act is in force. The subsections of the second clause of the Bill enumerate offences which are declared punishable by a fine not exceeding £5. The offences are of the same nature as those specified in* the Municipal Police Act, referring to the city; but of course, all those applicable only to the town are excluded. By clause 3, a fine not exceeding £20 is decreed for the commission of a ir ore serious class of offences, which may take place in the out-districts, such H9 " wilfully oi 1 wantonly injuring or removing any survey mark, set up by any Government surveyor or other public authority, or any signal station, or any ropes or gear or other material used at such signal station." < The clauses regulating procedure under the Act are, of course considerably different from those in the City Municipal Act. The fourth clause enacts that " whenever any person charged with any offence of which he is liable to be summarily convicted before a .magistrate, or with having wilfully done any hurt or damage, Bhall (without the warrant of a magistrate) be in the custody of any constable of the armed police force in charge of any stationhouse during the time when the Police Courts shall be shut, it shall be lawful for such constable, if he shall deem it prudent, to take the recognizance of such person with or without sureties conditioned as hereinafter mentioned." The fifth clatfse enacts that if any person charged with felony or grave misdemeanour shall be in the custody of a constable, arid if the person making the charge refuse to enter into recognizance to prosecute, the constable may discharge the accused from custody. The sixth gives constables power to take recognizances and sureties ; and the seventh enables them to them >to stop removals of furniture if they shall believe that such removal is made to escape payment of rent. The eighth clause of the bill is as follows : — " Whenever any person having charge of any horse, cart, or boat, or any other animal or thing, shall be taken into the custody of any constable under the provisions of this Act, it shall be lawful (or any constable to take charge of such horse, cart, carriage, or boat, or such other animal or thing, and to deposit the same in some place of safe custody as a security for payment of auy penalty to which, the person having had charge thereof may become liable, and for payment of any expenses which may have been necessarily incurred for taking chai'ge of and keeping the same ; and it shall be lawful for any magistrate, before whom the case shall have been heard, to order such horse, cart, carriage» or boat, or such other animal or thing, to be sold for the purpose of satisfying such . penalty and reasonable expenses in default of payment thereof, in like manner, as if the same had been subject to be distrained, and had been distrained for the payment of such penalty and reasonable expenses." The ninth clause declares that nothing in the Act shall take away liability at common law ; the tenth, that police shall lay informations ; the eleventh, that penalties shall be recoverable in a summary wav.

PEEVENTION OF FIEE ACT. This Act is designed " to authorise the demolition of buildings to prevent the progress of iire." The second clause declares that it shall be lawful for the Commissioner of Police, or other person authorised by the City Board of Commissioaers, 1o authorise and direct the pulling down of any building to stay the progress of a fire, and that such person shall not be liable to any claim by the owner for such act, The damage from the pulling down of any building shall be estimated by architects or engineers appointed by the City Board, and paid out of the municipal rates. There»is a provision for extending the Act to other towns in the province ; and in case of any fire outside the boundary of a town under this Act, the Commissioner of Police or two justices of the peace may exercise the powers, and the compensation shall be paid out , of the public funds of the province. The last clause empovrei's the Commissioner of Police or senior police officer present to issue directions at fires (except to persons acting. under militai'y command), and persons acting contrary to such orders shall be liable to a penalty not exceed* ing j?5.