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THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 72

Regulations under the Orchard-tax Act, 1927.—Notice No. Ag. 2743.

CHARLES FERGUSSON, Governor-General.

ORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the Government House at Wellington, this 1st day of October, 1928.

Present:

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN COUNCIL.

IN pursuance and exercise of the power and authority conferred on him by the Orchard-tax Act, 1927 (hereinafter referred to as “the said Act”), His Excellency the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, doth hereby make the following regulations for the purposes of the said Act.

R E G U L A T I O N S.

1. PRELIMINARY.

(1) THESE regulations may be cited as “The Fireblight Committee Regulations, 1928.”

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the date of publication hereof in the Gazette.

(3) In these regulations, unless inconsistent with the context—

“Committee” means a Fireblight Committee set up pursuant to the said Act:

“District” means a commercial fruitgrowing district declared as such pursuant to the provisions in that behalf of the Fireblight Act, 1922, and to which section 4 of the Orchard-tax Act, 1927, is made applicable:

“Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture:

“Society” means a society affiliated with the New Zealand Fruitgrowers Federation, Ltd.

2. CONSTITUTION OF COMMITTEES.

(1) Each Fireblight Committee set up in accordance with these regulations shall consist of five members.

(2) Except in the case of a casual vacancy every member of a committee shall come into office on the date of the notification in the Gazette of his election or appointment, or at the expiry of the term of office of members previously elected or appointed, whichever date is the later.

(3) Except in the case of a casual vacancy, every member of a committee shall hold office for three years from the date of his coming into office or until the date of the notification in the Gazette of the next general election of members, whichever date is the later.

(4) Every person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall come into office on the date of the notification in the Gazette of his appointment, and shall hold office only for the residue of the term of office of the person he replaces.

(5) Any person who is or becomes an alien or a mental defective or a bankrupt who has not obtained an unconditional order of discharge, or who has been sentenced to any term of imprisonment and has not received a free pardon or served his sentence, or who holds any position in the employment of a committee shall be incapable of being elected or appointed to a committee or of continuing to be a member of a committee.

(6) If any member of a committee dies or resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed to the committee, or is absent without the leave of the committee from three consecutive meetings thereof, or becomes incapable of continuing to be a member of a committee, his office shall be thereby vacated and a casual vacancy created.

(7) No act or proceeding of a committee or of any person acting as a member of a committee shall be invalidated in consequence of there being a vacancy in the number of the committee at the time of such act or proceeding, or of the subsequent discovery that there was some defect in the election or appointment of any person so acting, or that he was incapable of being such member.

3. ELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.

(1) The Public Service Commissioner shall appoint from time to time an officer of the Public Service as Returning Officer for the purpose of conducting elections under these regulations.

(2) Upon the publication by the Minister in the Gazette of a notice declaring section 4 of the said Act to be applicable to any district, the Returning Officer shall secure from the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, Ltd., a certified list of the affiliated societies in such district, and shall, by registered post, communicate with the Secretary of each society calling for the nomination of candidates for the proposed committee, and specifying the hour and date up to which nominations will be receivable.

(3) No person shall be eligible for election to a Fireblight Committee unless he has been nominated in writing by a society situated in the district in which such committee is being established, and unless his consent in writing to be nominated is delivered to the Returning Officer during the period within which nominations are receivable.

(4) The form of nomination shall be in the form No. 1 in the Schedule hereto, or to the like effect, and shall be executed under the seal of the society or be signed by the Chairman and Secretary thereof, but no person shall be concerned to inquire whether the direction of the society has been duly given for any nomination or for the affixing of the seal as aforesaid or for the signature of a nomination form by the Chairman and Secretary as aforesaid.

(5) If in respect of any district the number of candidates nominated does not exceed the number to be elected, such persons shall be deemed to have been duly elected, and shall be declared elected by the Returning Officer by notice in the Gazette.

(6) If in respect of any district the number of candidates nominated is in excess of the number to be elected, a poll shall be taken, and the Returning Officer shall cause voting-papers to be printed in the form No. 2 in the Schedule hereto.

(7) One voting-paper shall be forwarded by post to each society in the district concerned, together with an envelope addressed to the Returning Officer.

(8) Any poll taken in accordance with these regulations shall close at noon on a day to be appointed in that behalf by the Returning Officer, but the day so appointed shall be at least twenty-one days subsequent to the date fixed for the receipt of nominations.

(9) On receipt of all the voting-papers the Returning Officer shall, after ascertaining the names of the candidates for whom each society has cast a vote, allot to each such candidate in respect of each vote so cast a number of votes, hereinafter referred to as “computed votes,” equivalent to the representation of such society at the last preceding Provincial Fruitgrowers’ Conference as indicated by the official order paper issued by the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation, Ltd.

(10) The result of the election shall be determined by the allocation of computed votes in accordance with the preceding clause, and the candidates who receive the greatest number of computed votes shall be deemed to be elected. If two or more candidates receive an equal number of computed votes, and the addition of one vote would entitle one or more of such candidates to be deemed to be elected, the Returning Officer shall give a casting-vote.

(11) The names of the candidates deemed to be elected shall be notified by the Returning Officer by notice in the Gazette.

(12) If in respect of any district the number of candidates nominated is less than the number to be elected a casual vacancy or vacancies shall be deemed to be created.

(13) On the creation of a casual vacancy the Minister shall, by notice under his hand published in the Gazette, appoint a person to fill such casual vacancy.

(14) The Returning Officer shall be the sole and absolute judge of the regularity and propriety of all matters connected with an election, and no election shall be called in question on the ground that any society voted without being entitled to vote, or, being entitled to vote, did not receive an opportunity of voting, or that the vote of any society was not regularly cast, or that any computed votes were wrongly arrived at, or on the ground of any other irregularity; nor shall it be incumbent upon the Returning Officer to take notice of any irregularity unless, in his opinion, it occurred otherwise than in good faith.

4. CONDUCT OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

(1) The first meeting of the committee shall be held at such time and place as the Minister may appoint by notice under his hand published in the Gazette. Subsequent meetings shall be held at such times and places as the committee shall from time to time decide: Provided that the Chairman, or any three members thereof, may at any time call a special meeting of the committee.

(2) At its first meeting the committee shall appoint one of its members to be Chairman.

(3) The Chairman so appointed shall continue to hold office as such until he shall resign or cease to be a member of the committee, or until the Committee shall have appointed another member to be Chairman.

(4) At all meetings of the Committee—

(a) The quorum shall be three:

(b) All questions shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting: