Oct. 16.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3249

By-laws of the Takitimu District Maori Council, under
the Maori Councils Act, 1900, and the Health Act, 1920,
approved.

Native Minister’s Office,
Wellington, 29th September, 1941.

It is hereby notified that His Excellency the Governor-
General has been pleased to approve of the following
by-laws made by the Maori Council of the Takitimu Maori
District, under the provisions of section 16 of the Maori
Councils Act, 1900.

H. G. R. MASON,
For the Native Minister.

Approved—
C. L. N. NEWALL, Governor-General.

THE MAORI COUNCIL OF THE TAKITIMU MAORI
DISTRICT.

By-laws.

The Maori Council of the Takitimu Maori District, constituted
under the Maori Councils Act, 1900, and its amendments,
and the Health Act, 1920, hereby makes the following by-laws,
such by-laws to come into operation upon approval thereof
by the Governor-General and the publication of the same in
the Gazette.

INTERPRETATION.

In these by-laws, except where inconsistent with the
context or when otherwise expressly provided, the following
expressions shall have the meanings attached thereto :—

“The said Acts” means the Maori Councils Act, 1900, and
its amendments, and the Health Act, 1920 ;

“The Council” means the Maori Council of the Takitimu
Maori District constituted under the said Acts ;

“Committee” or “Village Committee” means the
Village Committee (Komiti Marae) of a Maori kainga,
village, or pa appointed by the Maori Council under
the provisions of the said Acts ;

“District” means the Takitimu Maori District proclaimed
by the Governor-General under the provisions of
the said Acts ;

“Native Township” means a township constituted under
the Native Townships Act, 1910 ;

“Proscribed” means prescribed by rules or regulations
made under the said Acts or by these by-laws.

A.—GENERAL PROVISIONS.

1. Upon the death of any Maori the particulars required
   to be registered concerning such death shall be furnished
   to the nearest Registrar of Births and Deaths of Maoris
   within two weeks after the date of death, and in accordance
   with Part IV of the regulations providing for the registration
   of Births and Deaths of Maoris by the persons on whom this
   responsibility is laid by those regulations.

Failure to comply shall render the offender liable for a
first offence to a penalty not exceeding £2.

2. In every case of death, where the deceased has not
   been attended by a qualified practitioner or by a district
   health nurse, the committee shall investigate the circumstances
   surrounding such death with regard to the nature of illness,
   duration, treatment, and names of persons who treated or
   were in attendance on deceased, and report the result of this
   investigation to the Registrar of Births and Deaths of Maoris.

3. Human corpses shall be buried, if the death occurs
   between the 15th day of March and the 15th day of September
   (both days inclusive) in any year, within four days after death ;
   and if the death occurs between the 16th day of September
   and the 14th day of March of the following year (both days
   inclusive), within three days after death unless the Medical
   Officer of Health or any person authorized by him shall other-
   wise direct.

4. Where death has occurred from an infectious disease,
   the corpse shall be buried within twenty-four hours after
   death. The corpse shall be removed from the dwelling,
   tent, hospital, or place where death occurred to the place
   of burial without being allowed to lie in state, and no tangi
   shall be held.

5. It shall be the duty of the nearest relatives of the deceased,
   or, in their absence, of the owner or occupier of the house
   or premises wherein deceased died, to comply with the pro-
   visions of by-laws 3 and 4 ; and all or any of them shall be
   deemed guilty of a breach thereof as the Council may deem
   fit, and shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 for each
   offence.

6. (1) No human corpse shall be buried, except with the
   permission of the Council, in any other place than a burial-
   ground recognized by the inhabitants of a Maori kainga, or
   reserved or set apart by them or some duly constituted
   authority as a burial-ground.

(2) Coffins shall be constructed of sound timber to the
satisfaction of the village committee according to the
specifications laid down by the Inspector of Health of
the district. The boring of holes in the coffin to allow of
the escape of liquids is prohibited, but when the corpse is
in such condition as to render liable the escape of fluids
sufficient absorbent material shall be placed in the coffin
to absorb such fluids.

7. No human corpse shall be permitted to lie in state
   inside or in front of any meetinghouse, but may, if encased
   in a casket, lie in state at some other spot in the vicinity
   that may be indicated by the chairman of the committee.

B.—BUILDINGS.

8. No person shall erect a dwellinghouse upon any site
   not having natural or artificial subsoil drainage sufficient
   to prevent such site being damp, or upon any site having
   matter thereon which may prove injurious to the health of
   the occupants of such buildings. The ground underlying
   every dwellinghouse shall be so formed and graded that no
   water can flow or lodge thereon or under any part of such
   building. Where the site of an erected dwellinghouse is
   considered injurious to the health of the occupants, the
   Council may order the owner or occupier to remove such
   building to a more healthy site.

9. Every person who shall erect a dwellinghouse shall
   construct every room intended to be used as a living-room
   or sleeping-room so that the same shall be not less than
   8 ft. 6 in. in height from the floor to the ceiling in every part ;
   provided that every room intended to be used as aforesaid
   with a sloping roof shall be not less than 8 ft. in height from the
   floor to the roof, over one-half the superficial area of such
   room, and no wall thereof shall have a height of less than 5 ft.
   before any slope of the roof commences.

10. Every person who shall erect a dwellinghouse shall
    provide that for every sleeping-room therein shall be at least
    63 square feet of floor space to each adult or every two children
    under ten years of age sleeping in that room, and there shall
    be a window space clear of frames equal in area to at least
    one-tenth of the area of the floor of such room, of which
    window space at least one-half shall be made to open.

11. Every person who shall erect a dwellinghouse must
    provide each sleeping-room with a boarded floor so that there
    shall be between the underside of every joist, plate, stringer,
    and bearer on which such floor may be laid or supported, and
    the upper surface of the ground a space of 9 in. at the least
    in each part, and he shall cause the area below such floor
    to be thoroughly ventilated by some effectual method.

12. In the case of houses already erected, the Council
    may require the owner or occupier of any dwellinghouse
    which does not comply with section B, clauses 10 and 11,
    to make such alterations or additions as may be deemed
    necessary.

13. The Council may, or shall, if the Medical Officer of
    Health so directs, order the removal or destruction of any
    building in a dirty and unwholesome state, if in its opinion it
    is unsuitable for human habitation, or if the owner or occupier
    thereof fails, after due notice, to clean, renovate, or himself
    remove or destroy the same.

14. The chairman of the committee, or any person duly
    authorized by the committee in that behalf, may, by notice
    in writing, direct the owner or occupier of any house or other
    building in a dirty and unwholesome state to clean or cause
    the same to be cleaned within a time to be specified in such
    notice.

15. Any person refusing or neglecting to comply with
    notice for removals, alterations, or cleaning under clauses
    8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding
    £1 for the first offence and £5 for every subsequent offence,
    and in the case of persistent refusal or neglect to comply,
    the committee may order the work to be done. Any costs
    incurred by the committee in and about such removals,
    alterations, or cleanings shall be a debt due to the committee,
    recoverable as liquidated damages by process in a Magistrates’
    Court.

16. The committee may, in its discretion, ease or modify
    the application of the foregoing clauses 8, 12, 13, and 14, in
    the case of any old, ill, or feeble person occupying any such
    buildings as aforesaid, so that such clauses shall not press
    heavily on such person. The chairman of the committee
    shall report the case and all the circumstances to the chair-
    man of the Council, whereupon the Council shall consider
    such case and decide whether it shall devote part of its funds
    towards cleaning and otherwise improving the dwellings of
    such sick, old, or feeble persons.

17. The occupier of a dwellinghouse shall be held respon-
    sible for preventing more persons sleeping in any room thereof
    than are allowed by the floor-space laid down in clause 10.
    Failure to comply with this shall render him liable to a penalty
    not exceeding 5s. for a first offence and not exceeding 10s.
    for every subsequent offence.

Movable and Temporary Dwellings.

18. Every person who shall own or occupy temporarily
    a tent, shed, whare, or similar structure shall be responsible
    that the same is clean, dry, weatherproof, and ventilated.
    Each adult and every two children under ten years of age
    shall be provided with 20 square feet of floor-space.