The Short Title of this Act shall be “The Provincial Public Works Advances Act, 1874.”

Out of the Consolidated Fund there may be issued and applied any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole forty thousand pounds, as an advance to the Province of Auckland, on such security and on such terms as have been or may hereafter be agreed upon between the Government of the colony and the Superintendent of the said province; and authority is hereby given to the Governor to make such orders and give such directions as he may think fit for carrying out and enforcing such agreement.

Such advances shall be made in instalments of not exceeding six thousand pounds during each period of three months commencing from the thirtieth day of June last.

All moneys issued and applied before the passing of this Act as an advance in pursuance of such agreement as aforesaid, shall be deemed to have been made, and shall be secured and treated, as if issued and applied under the authority of this Act.

Whereas the sum of sixty thousand pounds has been granted to Her Majesty in the present Session of the General Assembly as an advance to the Province of Wellington, to be secured on land and expended on public works in connection with settlement of immigrants:

Out of the Consolidated Fund there may he issued and applied any sum or sums not exceeding six thousand pounds as an advance to the said province.

All such moneys so advanced as aforesaid to the Province of Wellington shall be expended only on such works and purposes as are authorized by the Appropriation Act passed by the Provincial Council of the said province in its last Session, under the head “Contingent Vote,” or upon such other works as the Minister for Public Works may approve of.

The said advances shall he made on the security of a block or blocks of the waste lands of the Crown amounting in all to at least eighty thousand acres, heretofore or hereafter to be selected by some person appointed by the Governor for the purpose, and on such terms and conditions as have been agreed upon between the Government of the colony and the Superintendent of the said province; and authority is hereby given to the Governor to make such orders and give such directions as he may think fit for carrying out and enforcing any such agreement.

The Governor is hereby authorized to make from time to time such regulations as he thinks fit for the sale occupation or other disposal of the lands so selected, and all lands so selected shall be sold occupied and disposed of under such regulations so made.

There may from time to time be issued and applied out of the Consolidated Fund any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole four thousand pounds as a loan to the Province of Marlborough, to be expended in the construction of a bridge over the Clarence River. The site and description of bridge to be constructed shall be such as shall be approved of by the Minister for Public Works.

There may from time to time be issued and applied out of the Consolidated Fund any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole fifty thousand pounds as a loan to the Province of Nelson, to be paid to the Provincial Account of the said province to a separate account there, and to be expended in the construction of such public works within the said province as are specified in the Schedule hereto.

The sums heretofore advanced to the Province of Nelson as part of the said sum of fifty thousand pounds shall be deemed to have been advanced under the authority of this section of this Act, and be secured dealt with and repaid as if advanced after the passing of this Act.

The loans hereby authorized to be made to the Provinces of Marlborough and Nelson respectively shall be secured and made repayable in such manner as has been or shall hereafter be agreed between the Government of the colony and the Superintendents of the said provinces.

The Governor is hereby authorized to make such orders and give such directions as he may think fit for carrying out and enforcing any such agreement.

Until such agreement is made, the said provinces shall respectively be charged with interest at the rate of five pounds per centum per annum, and one pound per centum per annum for sinking fund, on all moneys lent under the authority of the two preceding sections of this Act.

Out of any moneys for the time being applicable to immigration purposes, there may from time to time be issued and applied any such sum or sums as shall be appropriated by the General Assembly for the purpose as loans to provinces to be expended on works in connection with settlement and location of immigrants, including the construction of cottages for the use of immigrants.

All such moneys heretofore advanced to any province for the purpose of being expended on such works as aforesaid, and unpaid, as the Governor shall direct, shall be deemed to have been advanced under the authority hereof.

All moneys issued to any province under this section of this Act shall be secured and repaid in such manner, and shall bear such interest, as shall be agreed upon between the Government of the colony and the Superintendent of such province.

The Superintendents of provinces are hereby authorized to agree with the Colonial Treasurer on terms for such repayment, and such terms shall be binding on the said province and its revenues. Amongst such other terms as may appear proper, it shall be stipulated that the moneys advanced and interest thereon may be deducted from the Land Fund of the province at such times and in such instalments as shall be agreed upon.

If at any time the moneys at the credit of the Land Fund of any province shall not be sufficient to enable such deductions as in this section aforesaid to be made, the deficiency shall be a charge against the province and its revenues, to be repaid to the colony in such manner as may hereafter be provided.

In addition to the special allowance which under the fourth section of “The Payments to Provinces Act, 1872,” is to be credited to the Province of Auckland for the year ending the thirtieth day of June next, the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds sterling shall be credited to the said province as a special allowance for the said year, under and for the purposes of the said Act.

The following amounts shall be credited to the Provinces of Nelson and Westland respectively, as special allowances under and for the purposes of the said last-mentioned Act, for the year ending the thirtieth day of June next, that is to say,—

and two shillings and sixpence in addition to the said sum for every head of the population of the said Province of Westland for the said year.

For the purpose of enabling such expenditure aforesaid as is authorized to be made out of the Consolidated Fund as advances to the provinces to be made thereout, it shall be lawful for the Colonial Treasurer from time to time, in aid or in anticipation of Revenue, to cause any number of Treasury Bills to be made out at the Colonial Treasury, for any sum or sums of money not exceeding in the whole the sum of eighty thousand pounds sterling; and all such Treasury Bills shall be prepared made out and issued under the authority of and in the manner prescribed by “The Treasury Bills Regulation Act, 1868,” and “The Treasury Bills Regulations Act Amendment Act, 1869,” and may bear interest at any rate not exceeding six pounds for every one hundred pounds (£100) by the year in respect of the whole moneys contained therein: Provided always that the currency of the said bills shall in no case be made to extend beyond the first day of November, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.

The plans of all works roads and buildings to be constructed out of moneys advanced or to be advanced or paid to provinces under this Act, shall, before the construction thereof is commenced, be approved by the Minister for Public Works, and no such works or buildings shall be constructed without such approval having been first given, unless constructed by agreement with or under the direction or supervision of the Public Works Department, on terms and conditions to be agreed upon by the Minister for Public Works and the Superintendent of the province in which the same are to be constructed, or unless, as far as expenditure on account of the settlement and location of immigrants is concerned, constructed under agreement with and with the sanction of the Minister for Immigration.

The moneys by this Act authorized to be advanced or expended or otherwise dealt with (except the special allowances provided for in section eight hereof), shall, in pursuance of any arrangements in connection with such advances heretofore made or hereafter to be made under the preceding section hereof, either be issued and applied by the Colonial Treasurer for the purposes authorized by this Act, or be paid to the Provincial Account of the province in which the same are authorized to be expended, at a separate account thereat, and be issued out of the Provincial Account only on the warrant of the Superintendent certified by the Provincial Auditor, as provided by “The Provincial Audit Act, 1866,” who, before giving such certificate, shall satisfy himself that the services specified in the warrant are services on which the moneys are by this Act authorized to be expended, and that the conditions imposed by this Act are fulfilled.