JUNE 13.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2181

QUESTION.—The next question is as to the rates, which come under questions (d) and (e) of the Commission, and they are as follows :

“ (d.) Whether general and special rates shall be levied on a uniform scale throughout the district, or whether such rates shall be levied on a graduated scale, either—

“ (i.) According to wards, and so that the rate levied in any one ward while levied equally upon all rateable property within that ward may differ in amount from the rate levied in any other ward ; or

“ (ii.) According to the local situation of the property rated irrespective of ward boundaries ; or

“ (iii.) According to the benefit directly or indirectly receivable by the property rated from any river-works constructed or maintained, or proposed to be constructed, by the Board ; or

“ (iv.) According to any other method of classifying the property rated :

“ And if such rates ought to be levied on a graduated scale, then upon what scale they should be levied as between the several wards or the several classes of property, as the case may be, or in what proportions each such rate should be imposed upon the several wards or the said several classes respectively.

“ (e.) Whether all general and special rates leviable in any ward may be compounded for by the local authority having jurisdiction in that ward for borough, town, or country purposes, and what sum of money (if any) the Board may accept from any such local authority by way of composition for any general or special rate of a given amount, or in what manner any such composition is to be calculated and assessed.”

DECISION.—We determine that the liability of the various wards for rates that shall be levied from time to time should be as follows, namely : No. 1 Ward should pay 8 per cent. of the total rates, Nos. 2 and 3 Wards combined should pay 60 per cent. of the total rates, No. 4 Ward should pay 24 per cent. of the total rates, and No. 5 Ward should pay 8 per cent. of the total rates.

We have considered question (e), but as we have fixed the rates by percentage we do not think any compounding is necessary, and we assume that the rating will be on the unimproved value.

ROBERT STOUT, Chairman.
JAMES E. FULTON
DAVID GUILD
E. GILBERTSON
J. B. THOMPSON
} Commissioners.
G. W. RUSSELL,
Minister of Internal Affairs.

Authorizing the Laying-off of all Public Roads in the Town of Hikairo of a Width of not less than 66 ft.

Department of Lands and Survey,
Wellington, 13th May, 1918.

IN pursuance of the power and authority conferred upon me by section 15 of the Land Act, 1908, I hereby authorize the laying-off of all public roads in the Town of Hikairo, Wellington Land District, of a width of not less than 66 ft. instead of 99 ft.

D. H. GUTHRIE,
Minister of Lands.

Authorizing the Laying-off of Haig Street, Domain Road, Bollard Street, and Young Street, in the Town of Frankton Extension No. 42, of a Width of not less than 66 ft.

Department of Lands and Survey,
Wellington, 14th May, 1918.

IN pursuance of the power and authority conferred upon me by section 15 of the Land Act, 1908, I hereby authorize the laying-off of Haig Street, Domain Road, Bollard Street, and Young Street, in the Town of Frankton Extension No. 42, Auckland Land District, of a width of not less than 66 ft. instead of 99 ft.

D. H. GUTHRIE,
Minister of Lands.

Notice fixing the Closing-hours of Chemists’ Shops in the City of Auckland, under the Shops and Offices Act.

WHEREAS a requisition in writing, signed by a majority of the occupiers of all the chemists’ shops in the City of Auckland, has been forwarded to me, desiring that all such shops in the city (save and except that shop established at No. 4, Khyber Pass, in the City of Auckland, for the purpose only of the sale of medicines and surgical appliances that are urgently needed) be closed in the evenings of working-days as follows : Subject to the closing at not later than 1 p.m. for the statutory half-holiday in each week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 6 p.m., Friday, 9.30 p.m., Saturday, 9 p.m. on every Saturday in the year, except on the Saturday after Good Friday and on the Saturday in the Christmas and New Year weeks, when the closing-hour shall be 9.30 p.m., and except on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when the closing-hour shall be 11 p.m. :

And whereas the Auckland City Council has certified that the signatures to such requisition represent a majority of the occupiers of all the chemists’ shops within the City of Auckland :

And whereas I, William Herbert Herries, Acting Minister of Labour, am satisfied that all the occupiers of chemists’ shops in the City of Auckland affected by section 3 of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1915, as amended by section 3 of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1917, have been afforded an equal right to share in the profits of the business carried on by such specified shop :

Now, therefore, in pursuance of section 25 of the Shops and Offices Act, 1908, and of section 3 of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1915, I do hereby direct that on and after the 17th day of June, 1918, all chemists’ shops in the City of Auckland, except such specified shop, shall be closed in the evenings of working-days as follows : On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 6 p.m., and on Fridays at 9.30 p.m., with the following exceptions—

(a) Should the occupier of any chemist’s shop in the City of Auckland, pursuant to section 19 of the Shops and Offices Act, 1908, observe the weekly half-holiday on Good Friday or Christmas Day or New Year’s Day (not being Saturday), then and in such case the closing-hour for any such shop on the day usually observed as the statutory closing-day in the week in which any of such before-mentioned holidays fall shall be 9.30 p.m. ;

(b) the working-day immediately preceding Christmas Day and the working-day immediately preceding New Year’s Day, when the closing-hour shall be 11 p.m.

All notices previously gazetted fixing the closing-hours of chemists’ shops in the City of Auckland shall be cancelled, in so far as they relate to chemists’ shops in the City of Auckland, after the date of the coming into operation of this notice.

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of June, 1918.

W. H. HERRIES,
Acting Minister of Labour.

NOTE.—Pursuant to section 3 of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1915, as amended by section 3 of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1917, it will not be lawful for any chemist whose shop is situated within two miles of the exempted shop, by the nearest route as determined by the Inspector of Factories, to supply any goods after the hours fixed by this notice, nor after 1 o’clock on the statutory half-holiday, except that, pursuant to section 18 (d) of the Shops and Offices Act, 1908, any chemist’s shop may on that day be reopened between the hours of 7 and 9 p.m. only for the supply of medicines and surgical appliances.

Result of Poll for Proposed Loan.

Wellington, 11th June, 1918.

THE following notice, received from the Mayor of the Borough of Port Chalmers, is published in accordance with the provisions of the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913.

ARTHUR M. MYERS,
Acting Minister of Finance.

BOROUGH OF PORT CHALMERS.

Result of Poll for Proposed Loan of £4,000 for the Purpose of purchasing the Plant, &c., of the Port Chalmers Gas Company (Limited), in Liquidation.

PURSUANT to the provisions of section 12 of the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913, I hereby give notice that at a poll of the ratepayers of the Borough of Port Chalmers taken on Wednesday, the 22nd day of May, 1918, on the proposal of the Port Chalmers Borough Council to raise a special loan of £4,000 under the said Act for the purpose of purchasing the lands, premises, works, plant, and other property of the Port Chalmers Gas Company (Limited), in Liquidation, at a price to be agreed upon, and for the further improvement and extension of the said gasworks and plant, the result of the said poll was as follows : The number of votes recorded for the proposal was 152 ; the number of votes recorded against the proposal was 116 ; informal, 8.

I therefore declare the said proposal to be carried.

Dated this 23rd day of May, 1918.

JOHN TAIT, Mayor.