THE ACTS OF THE COLONY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3323, 26 November 1883, Page 3

THE ACTS OF THE COLONY.

[To THE EdITOB.] Sib, —It seems to bo the order of the day to criticise Acts of Parliament. I beg you will allow me the privilege that seems going the round. In the session of 1880, an Act was passed consolidating the Dog Acts of the defunct provinces, and the whole was repealed and brought into one. In the session of 1881, Mr E. Wakefield, then member for Geraldine, brought in and passed, an Act to amend the Act of the previous year. It contained the following clause : —“.Where any person without having been summoned to enforce such payment the license fee shall have paid the registration fee for any dog after the expiration of the time limited for such registration, he shall be exempted from the penalty imposed by the said Act, &c.” Now the funny part of the thing is [hat early in the year 1881, a dog was impounded, which afterwards was found to belong to Mr B. Wakefield, He being the owner, had to pay impounding fees, also license and what was worse, he was summoned for the breaking of a law which he had just assisted to pass. Now, no one, I am sure, would for a moment think that Mr Wakefield was acting from personal motives in bringing in a Bill to prevent a similar case. Well, when his Bill came before the R.M. Courts of the colony no one could deal with it. The first thing in the session of 1882, a Committee was formed on the Bill to amend it. They found it, however, so worthless that they reported to the House that it should be repealed, and handed in the draft of a new amended Bill which was passed, sending Mr Wakefield’s Bill to the waste paper basket. So ended the history of Mr Wakefield’s Dog Act.—l am, &0., J. H. Suttee.