H.—22

6

A number of inquiries concerning nationality have been received, and it may be of interest to quote Part I of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914, as amended by the Act of 1918 :— Part I. —Natural-born British Subjects. 1. (1.) The following persons shall bo deemed to be natural-born British subjects, namely :— (a.) Any person born within His Majesty's dominions and allegiance ; and (b.) Any person born out of His Majesty's dominions whose father was a British subject at the time of that person's birth, and cither was born within His Majesty's allegiance or was a person to whom a certificate of naturalization had been granted, or had become a British subject by reason of any annexation of territory, or was at the time of that person's birth in the service of the Crown ; and (c.) Any person born on board a British ship, whether in foreign territorial waters or not: Provided that the child of a British subject, whether that child was born before or after the passing of this Act, shall bo deemed to have been born within His JJajesty's allegiance if born in a place where by treaty, capitulation, grant, usage, sufferance, or other lawful means His Majesty exercises jurisdiction over British subjects. (2.) A person born on board a foreign ship shall not bo deemed to be a British subject by reason only that the ship was in British territorial waters at the time of his birth. (3.) Nothing in this section shall, except as otherwise expressly provided, affect the status of any person born before the commencement of this Act. (4.) The certificate of a Secretary of State that a person was at any date in the service of the Crown shall, for the purposes of this section, bo conclusive. Revocation of Naturalization. The provisions of the amending Act of 1920 in respect to the surrender of revoked letters of naturalization have been given effect, with satisfactory results. In one instance the document was withheld, but was later secured after a prosecution had been sustained. Consuls. The German and Austrian Consulates, closed as a result of the war, have not yet been reopened. During the year a Vice-Consulate for Denmark was opened at Palmerston North. The only Swiss Consulate in New Zealand (at Auckland) has been closed, and the interests of Switzerland administered by the Consul at Melbourne. Motor Regulation Act, 1908. The provisions of Part II of the Motor Regulation Act, 1908, were adopted by eight local bodies during the year. The distinguishing letters assigned to registering authorities are in relation to the name of the local body concerned, and distinguishing numbers have not been assigned in excess of 10,000. Owing to the difficulty of reading the number of a fast-travelling vehicle with five numbers it has been decided to limit the number to four, and a registering authority that has almost reached the 10,000 mark has been granted permission to continue use of the same letters with numbers Ia to 999 a. The whole of the letters of the alphabet can be used in a similar manner, and thus provide for approximately 26,000 additional numbers. Land Agents Act. There were 1,446 licenses and three transfers granted during the year, as against 1,236 licenses and one transfer during the previous year. A Land Agents Bill, which will remedy several delects that have been discovered in the administration of this Act, is now under preparation. License to dispose of Works of Art, etc., by Lottery. A large number of applications for licenses to dispose of works of art, &c, by lottery, as provided for by section 42 of the Gaming Act, 1908, have been dealt with, and in the majority of cases the application has been granted. Licenses are issued subject to conditions, which, in general, are as follows :— (1.) No articles other than those mentioned in the permit are to be raffled, or anything in substitution thereof. (2.) Prior to the date of the drawing a certificate to the effect that every ticket sold is represented in the drawing must be furnished to the police by the promoters of the aft union. (3.) The result of the drawing must, within one week of the date of drawing, be advertised in the newspaper or newspapers circulating in the town or district in which the raffle is held. (4.) No boy under the age of fourteen or girl under the age of sixteen shall be allowed to sell or offer for sale tickets in any street, hotel, shop, office, factory, boardinghouse, place of entertainment, or any gathering of the public, or in any public place ; but this condition does not apply to any such boy or girl residing in such hotel or boardinghouse in respect of sales therein respectively. During the year three prosecutions have been made for breaches of condition No. 1 as referred to above. In each case a conviction was recorded. Boxing Associations. A permit to hold a boxing contest may be issued by the Inspector of Police for the district in which it is to be held, provided that the club or association has been approved for that purpose by the Governor-General in Council. Associations applying for approval are required to lodge two copies of their rules, together with two copies of the rules under which it is proposed that boxing contests shall be held. Since the conclusion of the war eleven associations have been granted approval. Fire Brigades Act. Thirty-five Boards have been constituted under the provisions of the Fire Brigades Act, 1908. In addition to statutory duties the Assistant Fire Inspector has during the year visited 1,080 Government buildings and given practical instruction in the proper maintenance and use of fire