This Act may be cited as the Board of Agriculture Act, 1913.

There is hereby established a Board of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Board), consisting of such number of persons not exceeding twelve as the Governor from time to time determines.

The members of the Board shall from time to time be appointed by the Governor, and shall hold office for terms of three years, and may be reappointed.

Of the members of the Board a number not exceeding four shall be appointed on the recommendation of the societies in the North Island incorporated under the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act, 1908, and a like number shall be appointed on the recommendation of the societies in the South Island incorporated under that Act.

The recommendation of the said societies shall be made in such manner as is prescribed by regulations made by the Governor in Council.

If the said societies in either the North or the South Island fail to make any recommendation in accordance with such regulations or to recommend a sufficient number of persons, the Governor may from time to time appoint such number of fit persons as may be required, and the persons so appointed shall be deemed to have been appointed on the recommendation of the societies which should have made the recommendation.

No member of the General Assembly shall be qualified for appointment as a member of the Board; and any member of the Board who becomes a member of the General Assembly shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Board.

Of the members of the Board one member to be named by the Governor shall be President, and one member to be named by the Governor shall be Vice-President.

A member of the Board may resign his office by giving notice of resignation in writing to the Secretary of the Board.

A casual vacancy occurring through death, resignation, or otherwise in the office of a member of the Board may be filled by the appointment of a fit person in the same manner as the person whose office is vacant was appointed.

A person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office for so long only as the vacating member would have held it.

The Board shall advise the Minister of Agriculture with respect to such matters and questions in connection with the purposes of agriculture and other rural industries as it thinks fit, or as may be submitted to it by the said Minister.

In this section the expression “the purposes of agriculture and other rural industries” includes, without, however, limiting the meaning of such expression,—

The Board shall hold meetings at such times and places as it thinks fit, and, in particular, shall hold a meeting within one month after the appointment of its members in each term of three years.

At all meetings of the Board the President, or in his absence the Vice-President, if present, shall preside, and shall have a deliberative as well as a casting vote.

At any meeting of the Board at which neither the President nor the Vice-President is present the Board shall elect one of the members present to preside at that meeting, and the member so elected shall at that meeting have all the powers and privileges of the President.

The Public Service Commissioner may from time to time appoint some person to be Secretary of the Board, and such person may hold that office in conjunction with any other office which the said Commissioner deems not incompatible therewith.

The expenses of administering this Act (including the travelling and other expenses of the members of the Board as prescribed by regulations) shall be paid out of moneys to be appropriated for the purpose by Parliament.

The Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make such regulations as are necessary for the effective administration of this Act.