MEASURE FOR REPEAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18992, 17 April 1936, Page 13

MEASURE FOR REPEAL

WAR-TIME REGULATIONS AX EXTENSIVE SERIES DRASTIC POWERS GIVEN {Parliamentary Heporter.) WELLINGTON, ibis day. The introduction by the AttorneyGeneral, the Hon.' 11. (!. R. Mason, of; the War Regulations Repeal Bill, which was read a first time in the House of Representatives this morning, is a reminder that there is still in existence an extensive series of these emergney regulations which have been hound together in a quite substantial volume. It is the present Government's intention to make a complete disposal of all these dormant, powers, some of which are extremely drastic. No fewer than six statutes' were passed during the period 1914-18 authorising the framing of war regulations, and some years after the Great War had ended, strong representations were made by the commercial community to have tliem repealed, as they constituted a potential, if not an actual, threat of serious interfeVence in business through the medium of forgotten regulations. The former Government actually introduced a repealing bill in 1934 under the control of the Prime Minister. It proposed to abolish all war regulations, excepting that any powers vested in the Public Trustee' as the custodian of enemy property were to be maintained. The bill was read a first time, but never reappeared until its revival this week by the National Government's successors.