May 10.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1115

5. It shall be the duty of every person desiring to take or kill opossums in any State forest, provisional State forest, Crown lands, scenic reserve, or any public reserve to obtain the written consent of either a responsible officer of the Forestry Department, or the Commissioner of Crown Lands, or any Board having control over such State forest, Crown lands, or scenic or public reserve, as the case may be. Notification of consent must be endorsed on the license by the issuing officer. This authority must be presented when applying for the issue of a license to take or kill opossums in any State forest, provisional State forest, Crown land, scenic reserve, or public reserve, and no license shall be issued without the production of such written authority.

6. No person shall dispose of opossum skins for gain unless such skins are sold through a licensed broker by public auction, and are marked with a perforated device to indicate royalty has been paid. This royalty-paid stamp shall be affixed by an authorized officer.

7. It shall be an offence for any person to perforate or otherwise stamp or mark an opossum skin in such a way as to suggest that the legal stamp has been affixed by an authorized officer, and the offence shall be punishable by a fine of £50 in addition to forfeiture of the skin or skins concerned, and such skins shall, upon conviction, be forfeited to His Majesty.

8. No person shall act as a broker under these regulations without first taking out an annual license, to be called a broker’s license, in the form prescribed in the Fourth Schedule hereto. Such license may be obtained from the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, on application in the form prescribed in the Schedule hereto, upon payment of a fee of 21s., and shall expire on the 31st day of December following the date hereof.

9. It shall be the duty of every licensed broker to collect from the vendor a royalty of 1s. on every skin sold through him, upon which he shall be allowed a commission of £5 per cent., payable after his returns have been sent in as provided in regulation 11. Such royalty shall be paid to the authorized officer before the royalty-paid stamp is affixed by him.

10. Every licensed broker shall keep a register in the form prescribed in the Fourth Schedule hereto, and shall enter therein the correct name, address, and occupation of each company, firm, or person from whom opossum skins are obtained for sale, or to whom opossum skins are sold. Such register shall be produced for inspection on demand by any constable, officer of an acclimatization society, ranger, or authorized officer.

11. Every licensed broker shall immediately after the close of each sale of opossum skins forward to the secretary of the local acclimatization society a catalogue of such sale, giving the names of the sellers and buyers; and, not later than one month after the close of every season, shall forward to the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, a certified copy of the register referred to in regulation 10, together with a statement showing the number of opossum skins then in his possession.

12. It shall not be lawful for any person other than a licensed broker to have opossum skins taken during the open season in his possession for more than fourteen days after the close of the open season, or for a licensed broker to have opossum skins upon which royalty has not been paid in his possession for a period of more than one month after the close of the open season; provided that the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, may in any case extend such period subject to such conditions as he thinks fit to impose.

13. All stocks of opossum skins in the possession of any licensed broker or any dealer in opossum skins, trapper, or other person shall, on demand, be produced for inspection by any constable, officer of an acclimatization society, ranger, or authorized officer; and any person illegally in possession of skins shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of not less than £1 for each skin found in his possession, and such skin shall be forfeited and become the property of the Crown.

14. The holder of a license to take or kill opossums is not entitled by virtue of such license to enter upon any private land without the consent of the owner or occupier thereof, or upon any State forest or provisional State forest without the written authority of a responsible officer of the Forestry Department, or upon any Crown land, scenic reserve, or any public reserve without the written authority of a Commissioner of Crown Lands, or any Board having control over any such reserve.

15. There shall be paid to the acclimatization society in whose districts the opossums were taken or killed such proportion of the fees, fines, and royalties as may be decided by the Governor-General in Council.

16. (1.) No person shall export or attempt to export opossum skins without the consent in writing of the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs.

(2.) No person shall export or attempt to export opossum skins which have not passed through the hands of a licensed broker and on which royalty has been paid.

17. All opossums skins imported into the Dominion must be stamped by an authorized officer with the official stamp as proof of importation; and every person importing skins must, within three days after the receipt of such skins, notify that officer. No royalty shall be payable in respect of any such skins.

18. On or before the 31st May, 1921, all persons having opossum skins in their possession shall declare to the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, the number thereof. Such skins shall be produced for stamping or marking by an authorized officer.

19. Before any skins are delivered by a licensed broker they shall be stamped as provided for in regulation 6, signifying that the royalty has been paid to the Department of Internal Affairs.

20. For the purpose of complying with regulation 19 it shall be necessary for the licensed broker to notify the officer appointed to stamp skins and collect royalties from brokers at least three days before any sale of skins takes place.

21. (1.) Notwithstanding anything in these regulations, it shall be lawful at any time and in any acclimatization district for the occupier of any orchard registered under the Orchard and Garden Diseases Act, 1908, or for any bona fide employee of such orchardist, to kill by any means not involving unnecessary cruelty any opossums in such orchard, or elsewhere within the areas defined in the Second Schedule hereto, or for the occupier of any land adjoining any such orchard and included in any area defined in the Second Schedule hereto, or for any bona fide employee of such occupier, to similarly kill opossums in the area occupied by such occupier, provided that in any such case a notification, in the form prescribed in the Fourth Schedule hereto, of the number of opossums so killed in any week shall, within seven days thereafter, be forwarded to the nearest Postmaster, and provided further that the provisions of regulation 14 shall apply to any such occupier of an orchard or his employee as if he were the holder of a license to take or kill opossums.

(2.) The skins of all opossums so killed may only be sold through a licensed broker as provided by regulation 6 hereof. In any such case two copies of the prescribed notification or notifications relating thereto shall be sent to the broker, and the broker shall forward one copy with his returns under regulation 11. If the skins are required for personal use they shall only be dealt with subject to regulation 23 hereof.

22. Every person, company, or firm receiving opossum skins for the purposes of tanning same shall forward his or its full name and address to the Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs. No such person, company, or firm shall have in their possession any opossum skins which have not been stamped signifying that royalty has been paid, and shall at all times produce on demand all skins in their possession for inspection by any constable, officer of an acclimatization society, ranger, or authorized officer.

23. Any person who retains opossum skins for his own use shall pay a royalty of 1s. per skin as provided in the foregoing regulations, and such skins must have the royalty-paid stamp affixed by the authorized officer before such skins are tanned or prepared for tanning or other method of preservation.

24. (1.) Every person holding a license to take or kill opossums shall, on demand by any authorized person, produce such license, and after such demand if such license is not produced, or if the person gives a false name or place of residence or address, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £20.

(2.) For the purposes of this regulation an “authorized person” includes all Justices, constables, rangers, or officers of acclimatization societies, proprietors or occupiers of land upon which any person may be found in pursuit of opossums, and all holders of licenses to take or kill opossums.

25. Except as provided in these regulations, no person shall take or kill opossums or sell opossum skins, or have opossum skins or opossums in possession.

26. Any person authorized to issue licenses hereunder may refuse to issue a license to any person who within two years prior to the date of his application for a license has been convicted of any breach of any of these regulations.

27. Where the holder of a license hereunder has been found guilty of a breach of any of these regulations the Court may, if it thinks fit, revoke his license.

28. Any constable, officer of an acclimatization society, ranger, or authorized officer may seize any opossum skins in respect of which he has reason to believe an offence against these regulations has been committed.

29. Any person who commits a breach of any of the above regulations, if no other penalty is provided therein, is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding £50 in each case, and to