NEW LEGISLATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20217, 30 March 1929, Page 13

NEW LEGISLATION.

OPERATION FROM APRIL 1. CONTROL OF AUCTIONEERS. DOMAINS AND RESERVES. Two Acts of Parliament passed last year will become operati-'f r.n Monday next, April 1. One is a revision of the Statutes specially concerned with auctioneers, and the oilier consolidates and amends the law relating to public reserves, domains and national parks. The Auctioneers Act, which replaces legislation admittedly quite out of date, takes away from local bodies the right to license auctioneers carrying on business ir. their districts, but does not deprive them of the fee§, which are as before, namely, £4O for each annual licence. Applications are to be heard by a magistrate, and applicants are require! to provide a fidelity bond of £SOO in respect of each licence issued, with a maximum of £2500. A register of licensees is to be kept, arid a list gazetted annually. In general the Act puts auctioneers on much the same footing as land agents, and hedges their 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 in spection and audit This provision, however, 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clause in one of the old Acts, requiring fruit, fish or vegetables to be sold without reserve, no bid to be refused, is repealed by the new measure.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 wa3 given before the Statutes Revision Committee that it had been a "deadletter" for many years. The Act allows fishermen and their appointees to sell newly-caught fish or shellfish by auction at any time without (ho necessity for taking our auctioneers' licences.

Ihe 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 afTected. Trustees or local bodies may be deprived of their powers of control if held guilty of a serious breach of trust.

In order to give sports bodies greater security of tenure in the use of reserves and domains, controlling authorities aro empowered to enter into agreements with them for terms not exceeding five, years, and admission charges may be levied on not more than 20 days in each year. Other new powers relate to the raising of loans by local bodies for improvement of domains without the special legislation hitherto needed, and to tho erection of buildings, fixing of charges for the uso 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 tho Local Government Loans Board. Controlling bodies may not set apart camping sites on their reserves without the Minister's consent.