NEW LEGISLATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 104, 2 April 1929, Page 4

NEW LEGISLATION.

CONTROL OF AUCTIONEERS. DOMAINS AND RESERVES. Two Acts of Parliament passed last year became operative yesterday. One is a revision of the statutes especially concerned with auctioneers, and the other consolidates and amends the law relating to jiublic reserves, domains and national parks. The Auctioneers Act, which replaces legislation admittedly quit© out ot date, takes away from local bodies tile right to license auctioneers carrying oil business in their districts, but does not deprive them of the fees, which are as before, namely, ±l4O for each annual license. Applications are to be heard by a magistrate, and applicants are required to provide a ndelity bond of £SOO in respect of each license issued, with a maximum of £2500. A register of licenses is to be kept, and a list gazetted annually. In general the Act puts auctioneers on much, the same tooting as land agents, and hedges tlieir occupation round with conditions designed to protect clients and the general public from malpractice. In its original form the measure required the proceeds of all auction sales to be paid into a trust account subject to inspection and audit. This provision, nowevr, was deleted by the statutes revision committee of the House of Representatives. Account sales are required to_ be furnished by an auctioneer within 14 days after a sale, unless he has made a special agreement with his client. ,

A clause in one of the old Acts, requiring fruit, fish or vegetables to be sold without reserve, no bid to be refused, is repealed by the new measure. Evidence was given before the statutes revision committee that it had been a “dead-letter” for many years. The Act allows fishermen and their appointees to sell newly-cauglit fish or shell-fish by auction at any time without the necessity for taking out auctioneers’ licenses. The Public Reserves Domains and National Parks Act supersedes the Public Reserves and Domains Act, 1908,, and five amending measures. The new provisions which it contains are intended mainly to allow public lands to be used more fully for athletic sports, motor camping and similar purposes. !The Government is also given better control over trustees and public bodies in charge of such lands, and may divest them of their powers if need be. The special legislation relating to the Tongariro, Egmont and Peel Forest National Parks is not affected. Power is reserved to the GovernorGeneral in Council to revoke the reservation of any reserve, subject to Parliamentary sanction in the case of those specially set apart for public reservation or for the benefit of natives and to sell the properties affected. Trustees or local bodies may be deprived of their powers of control if held guilty of a serious breach of trust.

In order to gire sports bodies greater security of tenure in the use of reserves and domains, controlling authorities empowered to enter into agreement *itk them for terms not exceeding J**rs, and admission charges iWvjr U levied on not more than 29 daJB i'e *ach year. Other nei? powers relate to the raising of liens by local bodies for improvement of domains without the special legislation hitherto needed, asd to the erection of buildings, fixing of charges for the use of camping grounds and a number of like matters. A general supervisory power is retained by the Minister of Lands, and loans must be sanctioned by the Local Government Loans Board. Controlling bodies may not set apart camping sites on their reserves without the Minister’s consent.