This Act may be cited as the Greytown Trust Lands Trustees Empowering Act, 1927, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Masterton and Grey town Lands Management Act, 1871, and its amendments.

In this Act—

For the purpose of the erection of buildings on Trust lands the Trustees are hereby empowered to borrow from time to time a sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of six thousand pounds, and not exceeding three thousand pounds in any year;

Provided that if in any year the amount of three thousand pounds is not borrowed as aforesaid the unborrowed balance for any such year may be borrowed in any subsequent year in addition to the amount otherwise authorized to be borrowed in that subsequent year.

Every such loan shall be raised by the issue of debentures of not less than twenty pounds and not more than one hundred pounds each, with a currency not exceeding forty years, terminable on the thirty-first day of March, bearing interest at the rate of not more than five pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, except with the consent of the Minister of Finance, such interest being payable half-yearly on the thirty-first day of March and the thirtieth day of September in each year.

The revenues of the Trust lands shall be charged with the payment of the interest and principal secured by such debentures.

No debentures issued under the provisions of this Act shall be sold at a price to produce to the purchaser by way of interest more than five pounds ten shillings per centum per annum on the price paid, or such higher rate as is approved by the Minister of Finance pursuant to section four hereof.

The debentures shall be in the form No. 1 in the Schedule hereto, and shall have coupons attached in the form No. 2 in that Schedule. The debentures and coupons shall be numbered consecutively so that no two debentures or coupons respectively shall bear the same number. Debenture-holders shall not be affected by any informality in the issue of the debentures.

There shall be a sinking fund created for the redemption of every loan under this Act, which shall be under the control of two Commissioners to be appointed in that behalf by the Trustees, such fund to consist of moneys appropriated by the Trustees from time to time out of the revenues of the Trust and paid to such Commissioners:

Provided that the contributions to such fund shall not be less in any year than one per centum of the amount of the debt for the time being outstanding.

The Trustees may in their discretion remove or suspend any Commissioner appointed under this section and reappoint him or reinstate him or appoint another in his stead, and may appoint another in the place of any deceased, absent, or other incapacitated Commissioner.

The Commissioners shall invest the moneys paid to them, together with all interest and profits accruing therefrom, in such securities as the Trustees from time to time direct. The purchase by the Commissioners of any debenture issued in respect of any part of the loan for which the sinking fund is created shall be deemed to be an investment of the sinking fund within the meaning of this subsection.

Upon or at any time before the maturity of the debentures hereinbefore mentioned the Trustees shall have power to renew the same or any of them not provided for by the accumulated sinking fund, for such period as they shall determine, or the Board may borrow money for the purpose of paying so much of the principal of any loan when the same becomes payable as is not provided for by the accumulated sinking fund held for the payment thereof or by the renewal of the former debentures. Any moneys borrowed as aforesaid shall be raised by debentures issued and secured in the same manner and on the same terms as in the case of the original issue of debentures.

In respect of any debentures renewed or issued [under the authority of this section payment into the sinking fund shall be made by the Trustees from its revenue at such rate as will be sufficient to redeem such debentures at maturity.

Before any steps shall be taken to raise a loan under the provisions of this Act (other than a loan raised under the provisions of the last preceding section) the consent of the persons whose names are on the voters list of the Trust shall be obtained by taking a poll in manner hereinafter provided.

The Trustees shall appoint a day and place or places for taking a poll. The day so appointed shall be not less than fourteen nor more than twenty-one days after the first publication of the notice required by the next succeeding subsection.

The Chairman of the Trust shall publish for six consecutive days at least a notice in a daily newspaper circulating in Greytown setting forth—

The Chairman shall give notice in writing to the returning officer as referred to in the next succeeding subsection requiring him to take the poll on the day appointed.

The clerk of the Trust, or some other officer appointed by the Trustees, shall act as returning officer, and shall on the appointed day proceed to take the poll in the manner provided by the Local Elections and Polls Act, 1925, for taking a poll on a proposal, and shall provide voting-papers and all other things necessary for taking the poll.

A proposal shall be deemed to be carried if the number of votes given in favour of it exceeds three-fifths of the total number of valid votes recorded at the poll, but not otherwise.

The Chairman of the Trust shall forthwith give public notice of the number of votes recorded for and against the proposal, and shall declare the proposal to be carried or rejected, as the case may be.

When any such proposal is carried the Chairman of the Trust shall send a notice thereof to the Minister of Finance, together with a statutory declaration by the Chairman or the returning officer to the effect that all proceedings required by this Act to be taken in or towards obtaining the sanction of the voters on the proposal have been duly taken, and that the proposal has been duly carried.

The Minister of Finance shall cause a copy of such notice to be published in the Gazette, and the notice so published shall be conclusive evidence that the raising of the loan to which it refers has been duly authorized under the provisions of this Act.

If the said proposal is rejected a fresh poll may be taken, and all the provisions of this Act relating to or arising from the taking of the original poll shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to the second poll:

Provided that such second poll shall not be taken sooner than twelve calendar months after the day on which the original poll was taken.

The Trustees shall have power out of the moneys so borrowed as aforesaid—

If the amount of any loan authorized to be raised under this Act is found insufficient to complete the undertaking in respect of which it is raised, the Trustees may for the purpose of completing the undertaking borrow from the same or any other lender a further sum not being greater than one-tenth of the amount originally authorized by the voters, and in any such case it shall not be necessary to give any notice or take a further poll.

The provisions of this Act other than those relating to the poll shall apply to such additional loan in the same manner in all respects as in the case of the original loan.

If the sum secured by any debenture or any coupon issued under this Act is not paid upon presentation of such debenture or coupon respectively at the place where and not earlier than the time when the same is payable, the holder thereof may apply to a Judge of the Supreme Court by petition in a summary way for relief under this Act; and the Judge may, if satisfied of the truth of the matters alleged in such petition, appoint a receiver of the whole or of such part of the revenues as are liable under the provisions of this Act for the payment of the sum secured by such debenture or coupon.

Such part of the revenues as are liable under the provisions of this Act for the principal and interest of the loan secured by any such debenture or coupon respectively and as is specified in the order of the Judge in that behalf shall from the date of the said order, or from such other date as may be specified in that behalf in the order, vest in the receiver and shall cease to be vested in the Trustees.

All powers and rights for the recovery of the said revenues shall after the appointment of a receiver, and in respect of all moneys hereby vested in him, cease to be exercised by the Trustees and shall be exercised by the receiver.

Save as provided in the last preceding section, the receiver shall in respect of any revenues vested in him have the powers given to the Trustees, but such powers shall be exercised only upon an order made by a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Every receiver shall before entering on his office give such security for the faithful execution thereof as the Judge directs.

All moneys received by the receiver shall be applied, pursuant to the order of a Judge of the Supreme Court, and not otherwise, as follows:—

The receiver shall account for all such moneys in such manner as the Judge directs.

When all the principal and interest of the loan in respect to which the receiver was appointed is paid, or at any time by an order of the Judge of the Supreme Court upon the application of the Trustees, the powers of the receiver shall cease, and he shall forthwith pay all moneys in his hands to the Trustees.