The Short Title of this Act shall be “The Interpretation Act 1868” and it shall come into operation on the day on which it shall receive the Governor’s assent.

The Ordinance and the Acts mentioned in the Schedule hereto shall be and the same are hereby repealed but nothing herein contained shall affect any act or thing lawfully done under the said Ordinance or the said Acts or either of them or any insertion of a date lawfully made by any Clerk of the Executive Council under “The Interpretation Act 1858” before the coming into operation of this Act and all such acts and things and all such insertions of dates shall continue to have the same force and effect as if this Act had not been passed.

In any Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand when any former Act is referred to it shall be sufficient if such Act be of the Imperial Legislature and was made before the seventh year of Henry the Seventh to cite the year of the King’s reign in which it was made and where there are more statutes than one in the same year the statute and where there are more chapters than one the chapter and if such Act referred to was made after the fourth year of Henry the Seventh to cite the year of the reign and where there are more statutes or sessions than one in the same year the statute or the session (as the case may require) and where there are more chapters numbers or sections than one the chapter number or section or chapter or number and section (as the case may require) without reciting the title of such Act or the provision of such section so referred to and the reference in all cases shall be made according to the copies of statutes printed by the Queen’s Printer or to the copies thereof contained in the reports of the Commissioners of Public Records and in all cases of Acts passed by the General Assembly of New Zealand according to the copies of such Acts published by the Government Printer.

Every Ordinance and every Act of the General Assembly passed or to be passed shall be deemed and taken to be a public Ordinance or Act as the case may be and shall be judicially taken notice of as such unless the contrary be expressly provided by the Ordinance or Act.

Every Act to be hereafter passed shall be divided into sections if there be more enactments than one and whenever any Ordinance or any Act already or which may hereafter be passed is or shall be divided into sections such sections shall be deemed to be substantive enactments without any introductory words.

Every Act already or which may hereafter be passed which does not prescribe the time from which it is intended to take effect and which shall have been assented to in Her Majesty’s name shall be deemed to have come into operation or shall come into operation as the case may be on the day on which it shall have received or shall receive the Governor’s assent as the case may be.

Every Act already or which may hereafter be passed which does not prescribe the time from which it is intended to take effect and which shall have been or shall be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure thereon shall be deemed to have come into operation or shall come into operation as the case may be on the day on which the Governor by Speech Message or Proclamation shall have signified or shall signify as the case may be that Her Majesty has assented to the same.

The Clerk of the Executive Council shall insert in this Act and every Act to be hereafter passed immediately after the title thereof the day month and year when the same shall have been assented to by the Governor in Her Majesty’s name and when any Act shall have been reserved by the Governor for the signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure thereon then the day month and year on which the Governor by such Speech Message or Proclamation as aforesaid shall have signified that Her Majesty has assented to such Act and every such date shall be taken to be a part of the Act and to be the date of its commencement when no other commencement shall be therein provided.

Every Act may be altered amended or repealed in the same Session of the General Assembly of New Zealand in which it may be passed.

Whenever any Ordinance repealing in whole or in part any former Ordinance or any Act of the General Assembly passed or to be passed repealing in whole or in any part any former Act whether of the Imperial Parliament in operation in New Zealand or of the General Assembly or any Ordinance of the Governor Governor-in-Chief or Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Council of New Zealand or of any Provincial Legislature shall be repealed such last repeal shall not revive the Act Ordinance or provision before repealed unless words be added reviving such Act Ordinance or provision and whenever any Act of the General Assembly shall be made repealing in whole or in part any such Act or Ordinance as in this section aforesaid and substituting some provision or provisions instead of the provision or provisions repealed such provision or provisions so repealed shall remain in force until the substituted provision or provisions shall come into operation by force of the Act last made.

Every Act passed or to be passed having a Short Title may for all purposes be cited by such Short Title.

In the construction of all Acts of the General Assembly passed or to be passed and of all Ordinances of the Governor Governor-in-Chief or Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Council of New Zealand the words and expressions following shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them that is to say—

The preceding sections of this Act numbered four to twelve inclusive shall be deemed to apply to this Act.

The term “Governor in Council” where used in any Ordinance or in any Act of the General Assembly passed or to be passed shall mean the Governor with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of New Zealand and whenever in any Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand or in any Act or Ordinance of the Governor Governor-in-Chief or Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Council of New Zealand or of any Provincial Legislature it is provided that any order warrant appointment rules regulations or proclamation or any other act matter or thing whatsoever shall or may be issued made or done by the Governor in Council or by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of New Zealand and whenever in any such Act or Ordinance any other like expression is used it shall be sufficient if the advice and consent of such Executive Council be signified to such order warrant appointment rules regulations or proclamation or other act matter or thing at a meeting of the said Executive Council though the Governor should be prevented from attending or presiding thereat by some necessary or reasonable cause if such meeting be duly convened and held in accordance with any Royal Instructions relating thereto for the time being in force and on the advice and consent of such Council being signified at any such meeting of such Council it shall be lawful for the Governor to issue make or do any such order warrant appointment rules regulations proclamation or other act matter or thing in like manner as if he had himself been present at the meeting of the Council at which such advice and consent had been signified and all such orders warrants appointments rules regulations and proclamations and other acts matters and things shall take effect from the publication thereof in the New Zealand Gazette unless some other time is named or fixed therein or is expressly provided by law for the taking effect thereof and it is hereby expressly provided that all orders warrants appointments rules regulations proclamations and other instruments whatsoever issued executed or made before the passing of this Act which would have been valid if this section of this Act had been in force at the time of the issuing executing or making thereof shall be deemed to have been valid from the issuing executing or making thereof Provided also that the validity of any such order warrant appointment rule regulation or proclamation issued made or executed before or after the coming into operation of this Act shall not be called in question in any Court of Law or before any Judge Commissioner or Justice on the ground that the Governor was not prevented by any necessary or reasonable cause from attending any such meeting of the Executive Council as aforesaid.

In this Act the word “Ordinance” shall include only an Ordinance of the Governor Governor-in-Chief or Lieutenant-Governor with the advice and consent in each case of the Legislative Council of New Zealand except where it is so expressed in the context as also referring to Provincial Ordinances.

All fines penalties forfeitures or sums of money which under or by virtue of any Act now or hereafter to be in force are or shall be authorized or directed to be imposed on any person shall and may where no other form or mode of procedure is or shall be prescribed by such Act for the recovery of the same be recovered in a summary way before any two Justices of the Peace in the manner provided by “The Justices of the Peace Act 1866” so far as the same relates to summary convictions or by any Act repealing or amending the same or for like purposes.