This Act may be cited as the Indecent Publications Act, 1910, and it shall come into operation on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eleven.

In this Act, unless a different intention appears,—

Every person commits an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifty pounds, or, when the offence is wilfully committed, to a fine of one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for three months, who—

If any newspaper printed, or published, or sold, or offered for sale, or kept for the purpose of sale in New Zealand contains any matter or thing whereby it becomes an indecent document, every person who at the date of the publication of that newspaper is or acts as a printer, publisher, proprietor, manager, editor, or sub-editor thereof, and every person who consented to the insertion therein of that matter or thing, shall, without excluding the liability of any other person, be conclusively deemed to have caused that matter or thing to be inserted in the newspaper, and shall be severally guilty of an offence against this Act accordingly.

In determining whether any document or other matter is indecent within the meaning of this Act the Magistrate shall take into consideration not merely the nature of that document or matter itself, but also the nature and circumstances of the act done by the defendant with respect thereto, and the purpose with which the act was done, and the literary, scientific, or artistic merit or importance of the document or matter; and no document or matter shall be held to be indecent unless, having regard to these and all other relevant considerations, the Magistrate is of opinion that the act of the defendant was of an immoral or mischievous tendency.

Subject to the provisions of the last preceding section, any document or matter which relates or refers, or may be reasonably supposed to relate or refer, to any disease affecting the generative organs of either sex, or to any complaint or infirmity arising from or relating to sexual intercourse, or to the prevention or removal of irregularities in menstruation, or to drugs, medicines, appliances, treatment, or methods for procuring abortion or miscarriage or preventing conception, shall be deemed to be indecent within the meaning of this Act.

When an indecent document is sold, or delivered by way of hire, or offered for sale or hire, by a servant or agent in the course of his employment or agency, whether with or without the authority of his employer or principal, the document shall, for the purposes of this Act, be conclusively deemed to have been so sold, delivered, or offered, as the case may be, both by the servant or agent and by his employer or principal, and each of those persons shall be severally guilty of an offence against this Act accordingly.

Except as is otherwise provided in paragraph (h) of section three hereof, it shall be no defence in a prosecution for any offence against this Act that the defendant had no knowledge that the document, matter, or thing to which the prosecution relates was of an indecent nature.

When, in the case of any prosecution for an offence against this Act, the indecent document which is the subject of the prosecution contains a statement that the document was printed, published, or sold by the defendant, the statement may be received as sufficient evidence of the fact so stated unless the contrary is proved.

On the complaint on oath of any constable that he has reason to believe and does believe that any indecent documents are kept in any place for the purpose of being so dealt with as to constitute an offence against this Act, a Magistrate may, if satisfied that any indecent documents are so kept, give authority, by warrant in the form set forth in the Schedule hereto or to the like effect, to any constable to enter into or upon that place, with such assistance as may be necessary, whether by day or night, and if necessary to use force by breaking open doors or otherwise, and to search for and seize all such indecent documents as aforesaid.

All the articles so seized shall be brought before the same or any other Magistrate, who shall thereupon issue a summons calling upon the occupier of the place so entered to appear before him to show cause why the articles seized should not be destroyed.

If, on the hearing of the summons, the Magistrate is satisfied that any of the articles so seized are of the character stated in the warrant, and have been kept for the purpose aforesaid, he may order that those articles (except such of them as he considers necessary to be preserved as evidence in any further proceedings) be destroyed at the expiration of fourteen days from the making of the order, and the articles shall in the meantime be impounded.

If the Magistrate is satisfied that any articles so seized are not of the character stated in the warrant, or have not been kept for the purpose aforesaid, he shall forthwith direct them to be restored to the occupier of the place in which they were seized.

Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section for the destruction of any articles may (whatever the amount involved) appeal therefrom in manner provided by the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908, and until such appeal is determined or abandoned the order shall be suspended and shall not be carried into effect.

No action shall lie against any person for any act done in good faith in pursuance or intended pursuance of this section or of any warrant or order issued or made in pursuance or intended pursuance thereof.

Subject to the provisions of this section, all proceedings under this section shall be in accordance with the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908, and that Act shall apply thereto accordingly.

Every information and prosecution for an offence against this Act shall be taken, heard, and determined by a Magistrate only.

No prosecution for an offence against this Act shall be commenced except with the leave of the Attorney-General.

Nothing in this Act shall affect the law relating to any indictable offence; but no person shall in respect of the same act be convicted both summarily under this Act and also on indictment under the Crimes Act, 1908.

Section forty and sections forty-three to forty-eight of the Police Offences Act, 1908, are hereby repealed.