SUPREME COURT ACTION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 97, 27 April 1939, Page 7

SUPREME COURT ACTION

CONTROL OF IMPORTS REGULATIONS CHALLENGED IMPORTER BRINGS SUIT [ Per Press Association j AUCKLAND, April 26. The action beguai on Monday to determine the validity of the import control regulations introduced last December, was continued before Mr. Justice Callan in the Supreme Court. The action was a test case brought by F. E. Jackson and Company, importers and hardware merchants, against the Collector of Customs at Auckland, claiming possession of certain goods, plus £lOO as damages for wrongful detention. Mr. A. H. Johnstone K.C., and Mr. Munro appeared for plaintiff, and for the Collector of Customs the Solici-tor-General, Mr. H. H. Cornish, appeared in person and with him Mi V. R. Meredith and Mr. N. I. Smith. Plaintiff had ordered from Sydney and endeavoured to land, a line of kerosene pumps valued at £l4 4s, but although he had paid the dues the Collector of Customs refused to deliver the goeds unless a licence under the import control regulations was produced. Plaintiff contended that those regulations were without authority and void. Mr. Munro continued his argument, submitting authorities ir .support or the proposition that in the absence of express authority so to do the Gov-ernor-General could not sub-delegato the powers conferred upon him by Section 46 of the Customs Act to any other person or body. Mr. Munro said that if his argument were correct that the regulations were invalid under the Customs Act, then hits friends were driven to the assertion that the Reserve Bank Amendment Act gave power to regulate the whole economic life of the community. The claim to exercise economic dictator-1

ship over this country must rest on j more definite language than that contained in Section 10 of the Reserve, Bank Amendment Act. Case For Defence. Opening his case, Mr. Cornish said that the general purpose of the Reserve Bank was to give eßect to the monetary policy of the Government. To enable the bank to fulfil the functions laid down for it, the Governor-General might make such regulations as he considered necessary and these regulations were subsequently to be laid before Parliament Part of the function of the bank was to put into operation exchange control and to control credit and currency in New Zealand. All the Governor-General was concerned to do was to pass measures that would enable the Reserve Bank to carry out its functions. His Honour said it waz a strong thing to have done, but Parliament had sanctioned control of New Zealanders transferring money out of the country or receiving it into New Zealand. He understood that, but why was it itecessary in the exercise of that power to prevent an importer from buying goods? It might be very expedient if the importers’ good sense did not prevent them buying what they could not pay for. but how was it necessary? Mr. Cornish said that if imports were not paid for the good name of New Zealand would be affected and the Governor-General was concernea with that. Part of the monetary policy of the Government was that the people of New Zealand should not contract debts that they were not able to pay. His Honour said that as at present advised, he thought the GovernorGeneral had deemed something necessary which His Honour did not. think necessary. Mr. Cor.nish said the Governor- ’ General was the judge of what was ’ necessary and the Court could not ’ control him as to that unless he had deemed necessary something that was

expressly or impliedly forbidden. Monetary Policy. His Honour said that if it was the monetary policy of the Government to keep down imports and control the London funds, it seemed to him that that had been accomplished by not allowing New Zealanders to send money away. In order to accomplish that purpose it was not necessary to forbid them trying to import, though it might be very expedient. Mr. Cornish submitted that if there was no proclamation under the export

or import control regulations, the Reserve Bank would have been given power to put an embargo without guidance of how to exercise that power. It would still have been necessary to have framed regulations! making the Reserve Bank itself the licensing authority. Power to regulate the transfer of goods, was necessarily implied in the power vested in the j Governor-General to prescribe mea-j sures that he deemed necessary to enable the Reserve Bank to regulate ano j control the transfer of moneys from New Zealand. The question was could import control be regarded as a legitimate means of carrying out an intelligible monetary policy consistent with the controls maintained in the Statute? If so, it would be the duty of the Reserve Bank to carry out that policy. Import control was a recognised incident of exchange control. The Court adjourned until 10-mor-row, when Mr. Cornish will continue his argument.