OUR STATUTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6491, 10 April 1908, Page 7

OUR STATUTES.

STRAIGHTENING A TANGLE CONSOLIDATION NEARLY COMPLETED. If the layman wants to find what is the statute law on any particular subject of importance, the chances are that he will bo badly misled if ho reires upon a reference to a mew Zealand Statute Book, for nearly every Act nos been amended time after tune, and to ascertain the real state of the law in force, one has to patiently search successive volumes of statutes. There are forty at least, so the task is often quite beyond the layman's patience and knowloupe. ; However, the that a tea hovlsiou Commission has succeeded lu unravelling tho, tangle, after live years of patient working, and the result will be given to the world after the meeting of Parliament.

FIVE INSTEAD OP FORTY. Instead of forty, there will bo only four or live volumes, and the complete statutes of New Zealand will be contained in something under .five thousand pages. Tho enormous amount of condensation which has been effected by judicious pruning and rejection of •'dead'’ measures can bo gauged when it is stated that the original material would till a large boekoase, while tne product occupies a space of 8 inches by 12. Dr Pitohett, one of the Statutes Revision Commission, who has put a tremendous amount of work and enthusiasm into the making oi plain paths in our trackless jungle of taw and amendments, gave a ‘"Times” representative an idea of the arrangement of the new wort.

‘“Tate the Land Act,” he remarked. ‘‘Tuere have been amendments of the Act of 1892 every year, but in the new volume you will have a Laud Act, 18U8, complete, containing all that is operative of the old Acts. Then there is the Counties Act, which has been amended practically every year from 1886. There will now be only one Counties Act. Altogether the new statutes will consist of 130 or UO Acts.”

THE TANGLE RECOMMENCES. "Aa soon as the work appears, Parliament will start amending again," remarked tiie pressman. “Yes," agreed Dr h'itchett, "but any amendment would be an amendment of tie Act of laus. This consolidation Scheme ought to be carried out every ten years, because complications will begin at once." ‘'dome of the Acts we ate not dealing, with," continued Hr i’itohett. "The law in regard to native land is such a tangle that we couid not touch it. v ariOus ‘wash-up’ Bills we have not touched because wo do not know bow far the results would go. We propose to have an enacting Bill with four appendices. The first will contain the short titles of the consolidated Acte, the second appendix will show the short titles of all the Acts we have subjected to...the consolidating process, and the thud will show the Acts we have not touched. The fourth appendix will contain the consolidated statutes. Tnere will be an index for each volume, and a consolidated index. Where we have altered titles, the old title of an Act will be shown with a reference to the new measure. Take for instahce the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Judicature Acts. When you come to ‘Supremo Court’ in the index, you will be referred to the consolidation, the Judicature Act." REGULATIONS. Do you not think that the consolidation oould be usefully' applied xu connection with the regulations framed under the various Acts i "The Departments do consolidate their regulations .at intervals," replied Dr Fitchett. “The Defence regulations were consolidated 1 a short time ago, ana also the Poet and Telegraph, and Alining regulations." “The final revision of our work has to be done," concluded the SolicitorGeneral, "but the printer, who has everything in type, will start printing in about a fortnight."