ACTS OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL, SESSION III. No. 1.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 4, Issue 191, 18 May 1861, Page 1

ACTS OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL, SESSION 111. No. 1.

AN ACT to repeal the various Acts relating to Sheep and the Disease in Sheep, Scab, and to make other provision in behalf of the sameZ "\7tTlllfeßEAS it is expedient to provide for certain matters relating to Sheep and also to make other and further provision to prevent the spread of the disease called Scab : Be it therefore Enacted by the Superintendent of the Province of Hawke's Bay, by and with the consent of the Provincial Council thereof, as follows : — 1. From and after the passing of this Act, the Acts of the Provincial Council of Wellington hereinafter described, viz., Session I. No. 20, intituled cc Scab and Catarrh " ; Session 111. No. 10, intituled "• An Act to amend the Scab and Catarrh Act, Session I. No. 20 " : and Session IV. No. 8, intituled ie An Act to define the duties of Inspectors of Sheep and to amend the Laws relating to Sheep," are hereby wholly and entirely repealed. 2. The Superintendent may appoint such number of Inspectors of Sheep, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act as he may think fit, and assign to them such Districts as he may deem proper. 3. The Superintendent may appoint some fit person or persons to be Registrars of Brands, and, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, make Rules and Regulations for the management of Registration Offices, and to fix a scale of fees which shall be payable to such Registrars : - «,nd all such Rules and Regulations, and tables of fees, shall be published in the Government Gazette, and shall thereupon be binding upon all persons whom they may concern, and shall have the force of Law. 4. Every person owning or having the charge of any Sheep shall, in the month of May in every year, deliver in writing to the Inspector of the District in which such Sheep shall be depasturing, a return of the number of Sheep above six months old owned by him, or under his charge. And shall append - thereto a declaration that such return is true to the best of his knowledge and belief. 5. Every person making a false declaration shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour ; and every person neglecting or refusing to make such return as aforesaid, when called upon by the Inspector to do so, shall be liable to any penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds. 6. Every person driving Sheep shall, not less than twelve nor more than twenty-four hours before, entry upon any Station, give notice to the owner or person in charge thereof, that it is his intention to drive Sheep upon or through his Station, and every person neglecting to give such notice before driving Sheep upon a Station shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding Ten Pounds ; such notice to be given either personally to the owner or person in charge of any such Station, or left in writing at the Homestead thereof. 7. And whereas great inconvenience and loss have been occasioned by reason of persons whose Sheep have strayed upon the lands or into the flocks of others, entering upon the said lariw- for the purpose of seeking the said Sheep, and in many cases driving off the Sheep of other persons together with their own. It is hereby provided that any owner or person in charge of any Sheep or any other person, who shall either himself or by his agent enter upon the Run or Lands owned or occupied by others, and shall collect, drive, remove, or in any other way disturb Sheep depasturing thereon, shall, on conviction of any such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Twenty Pounds. 8. Every owner or person in charge of any Sheep Station who shall muster his flock or flocks, shall, twenty-four hours at least before yarding the same, give nojtice to the owner or persons in charge of all the adjoining Stations, and to all or any other flockowner not so adjoining, but who, he may have reason to believe, have Sheep in his flock, of his intention so to yard his Sheep : And every person neglecting to give such notice to any such flockowner, before so yarding his Sheep, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding Twenty-five Pounds. Such notice to be given either personally to the owner or person in charge of any such Station, *or left in writing at the Home-station thereof. 9. If any person, in ear-marking any Sheep or Lambs, shall remove more than a third of the ear, or square off the end of the ear of any such Sheep or Lamb, he shall be liable to a penalty riot exceeding Ten Pounds. 10. Every person owning or having the charge of any Sheep, shall, within six months from the day of the passing of this Act, • furnish in writing to the Inspector of Sheep for the District in which such Sheep shall be depasturing, a return of the whole of the Sheep owned by him or under his charge, and the different ear-marks or other indelible marks there may be upon the said Sheep at the time of his furnishing such return. And from and after the time of his furnishing such Return, it shall be required of every flockowner, as aforesaid, in case of Sheep of another ear-mark or brand than the one ' registered by him being depastured upon his Station, to report the same within one month to the Inspector, and furnish the said Inspector with a further return or returns of the number of such flock or flocks of Sheep, and the ear-marks or other indelible marks there may be upon the same. And shall append thereto a declaration that such return is true to the best of his knowledge and belief. Every person maMng a false declaration shall be guilty of a misdemeanour; and every person

neglecting or refusing to make such returns as aforesaid, shall be liable to a penalty of Twenty Pounds. 11. It shall be the duty of the Inspector of Sheep to enter upon a Book to be kept by him for that purpose, a correct copy of every such return and the date on which it is furnished, shewing the number of Sheep registered by each separate flocksbv"ner, and the respective numbers marked with each different earmark or other indelible brand : Such Registry Book to be open at all seasonable hours to the inspection of any person applying to examine the same. 12. Every person owning or having the charge of any Sheep, shall, within six months from the day of the passing of this Act, register at the Office of the Registrar of Brands for the District in which such Sheep may be depasturing, a correct copy or description of the ear-mark or fire-brand he shall intend to use ; and after any person shall have so registered an ear-mark or fire brand, it shall not be lawful -for any other person to mark or brand any Sheep or Lambs with an ear-mark or brand of the same description or mark ; and any person offending against the provisions of this clause, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than Five Pounds for each offence. 13. All Sheep and Lambs above the age of six months, within the Province of Hawke's Bay, shall be branded on the wool thereof with the brand of the owner ; and every owner of any such Sheep or Lambs not being so branded, shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding Five Pounds. And if the said Sheep or Lambs, not being so branded, shall exceed five hundred in number, such owner shall be liable to a penalty of not less than One Halfpenny, nor more than Sixpence, for every such Sheep or Lamb not being branded as aforesaid. 14. Every owner of any such Sheep or Lamb shall cause a correct copy or impression of his brand to be registered in the Registrar's Office ; and every such brand shall be in size not less than four inches long, and of proportionate width. And any owner neglecting to register such brand as aforesaid, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds. 15. After any person shall have so registered a brand, it shall not be law ful for any other person to brand any Sheep or Lambs with a brand bearing the same mark ; and any person offending against the provisions of this clause shall be liable to a penalty of not less than Five Pounds. 16. If any person shall deface or efface any brand upon any Sheep or Lambs, without the authority of the owner thereof, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds for each offence. . 17. Every person owning or having the charge of any Sheep shall, in the month of August, in every year, pay, on written application, to the Inspector of the District in which such Sheep shall be depasturing^ or other person authorized to receive the same, the sum of One Farthing" per head for all Sheep over the age of six months, so owned by him or under his charge, in accordance with the return made by him in the preceding month of May. If such sum be not paid in the month September, the same shall be recoverable by the Inspector of the District by summary proceedings, whether the same shall exceed Twenty Pounds or otherwise, before any Resident Magistrate or any Justice of the Peace, together with all the costs and expenses incident to, or to be incurred in recovering the same. 18. In the month of October in every year the several Inspectors shall pay the amounts they have respectively collected under the authority of this Act to the Treasurer of this Province. 19. Every owner of any .Sheep or Lambs infected with the disease called " Scab " shall be fined, upon the report of the Inspector, any sum not exceeding Sixpence for every such infected Sheep or Lamb : Provided that no person who shall have been convicted under this clause shall be liable to any further penalty under the same, on account of such disease in the said Sheep or Lambs, until the expiration of six months after the date of such conviction as aforesaid. 20. It shall be thef|fty of every Inspector who may receive such information as to lead him to suspect that the Sheep on any Station are infected with the disease called Scab or any other infectious or contagious disease, to visit the said Station and examine the Sheep thereat and report thereon to the Superintendent of the Province. And further, any Justice of the Peace having reasonable grounds upon information stated upon oath before him, to suspect any Sheep or Lambs within the Province of. Hawke's Bay to be infected with any of the said diseases, may order the inspection of such suspected Sheep or Lambs by the Inspector ; And such Inspector shall immediately after such inspection, report the result thereof in writing to the Justice issuing the said order, and also to the Superintendent of the Province as above provided. 21. Every Inspector visiting any Station as aforesaid,, for the purpose of examining the Sheep thereon shall give three days notice to the owner or person in charge of the same, of the day on which he intends to hold such examination ; and the owner or person in charge thereof shall muster- all the Sheep on the Station, or under his charge at that time, for examination by the Inspector, and shall, if required to do so, assist him in such examination. 22. Every person refusing or neglecting to muster such Sheep as aforesaid, for examination by the Inspector after such notice, shall forfeit an^:..^ penalty not less than Three Pounds nor more than Twenty Pounds feevery day that he shall refuse or neglect to muster the Sheep on the Station and under his charge, and until the same shall be mustered to the satisfaction of the Inspector. " , .

IjjJ|.i||^3&: , Ain^'perSbn on whosevStation the; Inspector may repbrt that there are |fSHee^: infected witji the Scab or other contagious or infectious disease may at §a»7 ;^ne previous, to the next half-yearly visitation apply to the Inspector to ! ; ;&£amine again the Sheep upon his Station, and if he shall prove to the satisfacprt&mjdf the Inspector that all the Sheep on his Station or under his charge are p/ifcen^free; from Scab or such other disease, may demand a certificate to that l^jflfec^which certificate 'it shall be the duty of the Inspector to give; a copy of fc;^hichxertificate shall, on the original being left at the Superintendents Office gfbr the purpose, be published forthwith in the Provincial Government Gazette; | ; ; and;; the .party requiring such re-examination as aforesaid, shall pay to the |> Inspector a sum of one One Pound for every re-examination. |; ' - 24,-. lt shall be the* duty of the Inspector, whenever any. Sheep infected C with the Scab or other infectious or contagious disease are being driven through ■f his district, to take immediate steps to stay the further progress through his d?s- --;;:= trict. of such Sheep, and for that purpose not only to lay information of such ; infringement before the nearest Justice of the Peace, but to give notice to the person in charge of such Sheep to return : And in case of non-compliance by ?:"•■■ the driver to return immediately to the place. from whence he started, to detain such Sheep, or to employ such drivers and other assistants as he (the Inspector) may think sufficient to -take back such Sheep to the place whence they started. r ; .i 25 . Every owner or person in charge of any such infected Sheep, who '•;, shall drive the same through any district in the Province of Hawke's Bay, shall r forfeit and pay for every day which such Sheep as aforesaid shall be absent from the run on which they were originally depastured, any sum not less than Five Pounds nor more than One Hundred Pounds. .26. Every person driving Sheep into the Province of Hawke's Bay from any other Province, or landing Sheep from on board any ship, vessel, or boat, in any harbour of the said Province, shall, before passing the boundary or entering the said Province, give notice in writing to the Inspector of the district through which he may purpose to drive any such Sheep : It shall be the duty of the Inspector, on receiving such notice, to at once visit and examine the said Sheep, and if 5> on examination, they prove to be free from Scab or any other contagious or. infectious disease, to grant a driving certificate in the form specified in the Schedule to this Act. 27. Any person so driving or entering Sheep into the Province of Hawke's . Bay without the driving certificate of the Inspector, shall be liable to a penalty of One Pound per head for every Sheep he may so drive or enter into the said 28. If any person shall slaughter or have in his possession, for the purpose of slaughtering, any Sheep or Lambs infected with either of the diseases called ." Scab '' or " Catarrh/, or shall expose for sale the carcase, or any part thereof, of any Sheep or Lamb so infected, he shall be liable, for each such offence, to a fine of not les3 than Twenty Shillings, nor more than Five Pounds— one half of the fine to be paid to the informer. And such infected carcase, Or vparts thereof, shall be destroyed in such manner as any Justice of the Peace may direct. _ - 29. For the purposes of this Act, all Sheep that have been dressed for the . -cure of Scab within forty days, shall be deemed to be scabby. 30. Every Sheep and Lamb running in any flock, or being on board any ■ship, boat, or other vessel in which there shall,be one Sheep or Lamb infected -, with the disease called Scab, shall be deemed to be infected within the meaning of this Act. • .31. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or deprive any person suffering loss, or damage from the driving, depasturing, or suffering to stray, of any such infected Sheep or Lambs as aforesaid, of any action or remedy which he may have at law or otherwise, for obtaining redress or compensation for such loss of damages from the person liable thereto. .32. All fines and penalties imposed under the authority of this Act shall be recoverable in a summary way. . / 33. In the interpretation of this the words " Owner of any Sheep or Lambs," shall be taken to include the person having the control or management ■ of such Sheep or Lambs. • : 34;vThe term " Station "shall include not only the Stations or Runs held under License. from the Government, but also all properties (freeholds or lease-* holds) on which Sheep are depastured or kept. ■. / 35. For the purposes of this Act, the owner of any Sheep who may habitually keep or depasture any flock or flocks on any lands that shall be fenced with a good and sufficiently sheep-proof fence, shall not be liable to any of the penalties contained in this Act, other than those provided for the prevention of the disease of the Scab or any other infectious or contagious disease. 36. For the purposes of this Act, the word " muster" shall be interpreted to mean the gathering of any flock or flock 3 for the purpose of docking or ear.marking—washing for shearing— and on such occasions as Sheep may be drafted for the purpose of sale or removal from any one Station to any •-, other. . 37.-. That for the purposes of this Act the reading of Clause 32 shall be \held to be in regard to those fines or penalties contained in this Act, which are, } shall, or may be,, within the jurisdiction of Magistrates' Courts, and shall not be held to refer to, include, or interfere with any^^jease, fine or penalty, con- •"■:"- tamed 1 in this' Act, which may be beyond the juris<^fen of this Court. ■ i „ _ . - . • - :,-' . ■