The Short Title of this Act is “The Westland and Nelson Coal Fields Administration Amendment Act, 1881.”

The land described in the Schedule hereto shall be deemed to have been reserved for the purpose in the said Schedule mentioned, and the railway constructed thereon by the Wellington Coal Company, being a company in existence at the time of such construction, shall be deemed to have been constructed under the said Act, and to be and to have been, from the commencement of the said Act, subject to all the provisions thereof.

The Governor may, if he thinks fit, by warrant duly gazetted, empower the Minister to run trains and rolling-stock, at such times and in such manner as the Minister may think fit, for the conveyance of goods and passengers over any railway or tramway constructed or deemed to be constructed under the authority of the said Act, and to do all things necessary in connection with the running of such trains and rolling-stock; and thereupon such railway or tramway, for all purposes of conducting such traffic, or for levying rates, fares, and other charges, or for the operation of by-laws and regulations in connection therewith, shall be deemed to be a railway constructed under “The Public Works Act, 1876,” or any amendments thereof; and the Minister may, from time to time, determine what payment shall be made to the owners of such railway or tramway for its use: Provided that no arrangements for such payment entered into under this section shall be binding for a longer period than twelve months, and that a statement of the amounts so to be paid, or the table or tariff of charges according to which such amounts are to be ascertained, and the terms of the payments as so determined by the Minister, shall be printed and laid before both Houses of the General Assembly within thirty days after the beginning of the session of Parliament following the making thereof.

Section thirty-two of the said Act is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof the following is hereby substituted:—

When any person shall, without any right, title, or license, or whose right, title, or license has expired or been forfeited or cancelled, be in occupation of any of the lands described in the First, Second, Third, or Fourth Schedules to the said Act, and whether such lands be within or outside of any mining district, the Minister of Lands, or the Minister for Public Works, or any person appointed in writing by either or both, may enter a plaint in the Resident Magistrate’s Court of the district in which the land lies to recover possession thereof; and the jurisdiction of the Court or Magistrate shall not be ousted on the plea that a question of title is involved in any such case, or that the value of the premises of which possession is sought to be recovered is in excess of the ordinary jurisdiction of such Court or Magistrate.