This Act may be cited as the Appropriation Act, 1918.

The Minister of Finance may issue and apply out of the Consolidated Fund, towards making good the supplies granted to His Majesty for the services of the year ending on the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and nineteen, any sums which, together with the sums that have been issued and paid under the provisions of section forty-three of the Public Revenues Act, 1910, as amended by Part I of the Finance Act, 1918, do not exceed the sum of nine million nine hundred and twenty-five thousand five hundred and fifty-five pounds, together with the amount of fees hereafter mentioned.

The sum of nine million nine hundred and twenty-five thousand five hundred and fifty-five pounds as aforesaid, together with the fees collected by such public officers as are authorized to retain the same in lieu of salary, is hereby appropriated for the services and purposes expressed in the several votes specified in the First Schedule hereto.

The Minister of Finance may issue and apply out of the Public Works Fund, towards making good the supplies granted to His Majesty for the services as aforesaid, any sums which, together with the sums that have been issued and paid under the provisions of section forty-three of the Public Revenues Act, 1910, as amended by Part I of the Finance Act, 1918, do not exceed the sum of two million four hundred and seventy-three thousand and twenty-five pounds.

The sum of two million four hundred and seventy-three thousand and twenty-five pounds as aforesaid is hereby appropriated for the works and services expressed in the several votes specified in the Second Schedule hereto.

Where any of the moneys appropriated by this section for the construction, maintenance, and supervision of roads, bridges, and other public works are by the estimates for the current financial year as approved by the House of Representatives allocated for the construction, maintenance, or supervision of any particular road or bridge, the moneys so allocated, or any portion thereof, may be expended for the construction or maintenance of any other road or bridge (within the district of the same local authority) for which no specific provision is made by the said estimates.

The Minister of Finance may issue and apply out of the respective accounts mentioned in the Third Schedule hereto, towards making good the supplies granted to His Majesty for the services as aforesaid, any sums which, together with the sums that have been issued and paid under the provisions of section forty-three of the Public Revenues Act, 1910, as amended by Part I of the Finance Act, 1918, do not exceed the sum of one million three hundred and twenty-seven thousand and forty-six pounds.

The sum of one million three hundred and twenty-seven thousand and forty-six pounds as aforesaid is hereby appropriated for the services and purposes expressed in the several votes specified in the said Third Schedule.

It shall be lawful for the Governor-General, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty the King, to enter into any contracts, or to incur any liabilities, for carrying on the works and services for which money is appropriated by this Act:

Provided that in the case of the works and services specified in the Fourth Schedule hereto the amount of liability thereby incurred shall not, together with the sum appropriated therefor, exceed the sum set down in the ninth column in that Schedule opposite to each such work or service.

Whereas the Minister of Finance has, under the authority of section fifty-four of the Public Revenues Act, 1910, issued, during the twelve months ended the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and eighteen, in excess of or without the appropriation of Parliament, the respective sums mentioned in the Fifth Schedule hereto, out of the Consolidated Fund, the Public Works Fund, and the other accounts mentioned in the said Schedule, amounting in the whole to the sum of one hundred thousand four hundred and ninety-nine pounds eleven shillings and sixpence, and has caused the said sums to be applied to the several purposes and services mentioned in the said Fifth Schedule, and has also discharged from the Public Account the sum of five thousand six hundred and sixty pounds eleven shillings and fourpence, mentioned in the said Schedule as being due to but irrecoverable by the Crown: Be it enacted that the application and discharge of the said sums are hereby sanctioned.

Out of the moneys appropriated by this Act for the construction of public roads, and such other public works as are usually constructed by or are under the control of local authorities, sums may be paid over to such local authorities as the Minister in charge of the Department in connection with which such roads or works are constructed determines, to such amounts and upon such terms and conditions as such Minister prescribes, to be expended by such authorities upon any of the works or services for which the same are appropriated by this Act; and the Minister of Finance may make all such payments accordingly.

The moneys appropriated by this Act for the construction or improvement of railways, roads, bridges, buildings, and other public works shall be available for all or any of the following purposes:—

The cost of tools, plant, provisions, clothing, or other requisites sold or lent to any worker as aforesaid may be deducted from time to time, in one or more sums of money, from the money earned, whether by day labour or by co-operative contract, by the said worker.

All advances made by the Minister of Finance under the Lands Improvement and Native Lands Acquisition Act, 1894, to settlers for improving their lands, and all expenses connected therewith, whether such advances are made directly to any member of an association or expended by or under the directions of the Minister of Lands, may be paid out of the vote taken in Class XXIX, Public Works Fund, for improved-farm settlements.

The Minister of Finance may transfer such sums as he may deem fit from the Consolidated Fund to the War Expenses Account to be issued and applied as provided for in section four of the Finance Act, 1918 (No. 2). Such sums may be refunded to the Consolidated Fund should the Minister of Finance so determine, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the said Finance Act, 1918 (No. 2).

Notwithstanding anything in section two hundred and forty-six of the Legislature Act, 1908, there may be paid to any member of the General Assembly in addition to expenses of locomotion the sum of one pound for each day of twenty-four hours occupied in travelling to and returning from a meeting of the General Assembly. In cases where a period less than twenty-four hours is so occupied the full sum of one pound shall be paid. Such payment shall be in commutation of reasonable sums actually paid by the member in so travelling.

For the purposes of this section the term “expenses of locomotion” means the expenditure actually incurred by any member in respect of passage-money or fares for the conveyance of the said member when travelling as aforesaid.

In all claims for expenses of locomotion under this section full particulars of the expenditure shall be shown for purposes of audit, and, except in the case of train fares, ordinary steamer fares, and ordinary coach fares, receipts for all payments made in excess of five shillings shall accompany the claim.

The provisions of this section shall apply in the case of members travelling to and returning from their homes during the adjournment of Parliament necessitated by the recent epidemic of influenza, and also in the case of any member who may be required to travel in any direction whilst acting as a member of the Industries and Commerce Committee and whilst performing duties in connection with that Committee.

Notwithstanding anything in the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Act, 1908, or any other Act, payment may be made to Charles Ranken Vickerman, Esquire, of a sum equal to the amount deducted from his superannuation allowance under the said Act in respect of the fees received or receivable by him for services rendered to the Government while acting as a member of the Thames Flood Damage Commission.

Notwithstanding anything in the Civil List Act, 1908,—

The period of twelve months referred to in subsection one of section forty-nine of the Public Service Act, 1912, is hereby extended to the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and nineteen.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Service Act, 1912, or in any other Act, there may be paid to officers of the classes hereinafter referred to, by way of bonus or grants for special services, such sums as may be appropriated for those purposes by Parliament.

Payments under this section may be made to any persons employed either permanently or temporarily in the Government Service, or in the service of any Education Board, or in any technical school of which an Education Board is the controlling authority, or to persons appointed to any office pursuant to the provisions of any Act and in receipt of public moneys as remuneration for services in respect of the duties of such office.

In addition to the payments authorized to be made by the foregoing provisions of this section, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Service Act, 1912, payments may lawfully be made by way of commission to any officer of the Government Life Insurance Department, the State Fire Insurance Office, or the National Provident Fund Office:

Provided that no such payment by way of commission shall be made to the administrative head of any such Department or Office.

The moneys paid under this section out of any fund or account shall not exceed such amount as may be appropriated by Parliament for payment out of that fund or account in accordance with the estimates as approved by the House of Representatives for the current financial year.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, or any other Act, all sums payable by way of bonus or otherwise, under the last preceding section to persons employed in connection with the Kauri-gum Industry Act, 1908, or the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Act, 1910, may be paid without further authority than this Act and without specific appropriation by Parliament, and the sums so paid shall be paid out of the Kauri-gum Industry Account or the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Account, as the case may be.

This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and seventeen.

When any of the votes specified in the Schedules hereto contains an item under any title which does not specifically appropriate expenditure for any particular purpose, such item shall be deemed to be an appropriation for expenditure on purposes other than those of the other items of the vote.

For the purpose of encouraging the production and refinement of mineral oil in New Zealand the Minister of Finance is hereby authorized to pay out of the Consolidated Fund, by way of loan, with such security and on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, any sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of six thousand pounds.

Whereas by section sixty-three of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1913, it is provided that the sum of one hundred thousand pounds shall be set aside in each financial year for the formation and construction of roads and bridges within or affording access to blocks of Crown land or other land administered by a Land Board: And whereas it is desired to expend a portion of the said sum, not exceeding twenty thousand pounds, for the formation and construction of roads within or affording access to lands that may be set apart under section three or section four of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act, 1915: And whereas it is not now possible to appropriate any part of the said sum of twenty thousand pounds for any particular road or for roads within any particular block of land: Be it therefore enacted as follows:—

The sum of twenty thousand pounds (being part of the sum of one hundred thousand pounds set aside for the current financial year pursuant to section sixty-three of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1913) may be expended, without further appropriation than this section, in the formation and construction of roads within or affording access to any block of land that may be now or hereafter set apart under section three or section four of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act, 1915.

In addition to the purposes specified in section seventy-nine of the Finance Act, 1917, any moneys in the Discharged Soldiers Employment Account may, without further appropriation than this section, be expended for all or any of the following purposes, namely:—

For the purposes of this section the Governor-General may, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations prescribing the form of security, and the terms and conditions on which, and the persons or classes of persons to whom, advances may be made under paragraph (a) of the last preceding subsection.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Land and Income Tax Act, 1916, or the Finance Act, 1917, the Commissioner of Taxes may, in his discretion, exempt any society or association of persons from payment of land-tax and income-tax, either in whole or in part, in respect of land or the income derived from land used as grounds for the purposes of cricket or football or other athletic sports if he is satisfied that the revenues derived from such grounds have suffered, in consequence of the war, to such an extent as to make the payment of the said taxes a hardship.

Section twenty-nine of the Appropriation Act, 1917 (relative to the regrading of the Public Service), is hereby repealed as from the first day of April, nineteen hundred and nineteen.

A general regrading of officers employed in all Departments of the Public Service, subject to the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1912, shall be made in accordance with section seventeen of that Act as soon as practicable, and, when made, shall take effect as from the first day of April, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and all salaries may be paid as from that date accordingly.

The Third Schedule of the Public Service Act, 1912, establishing a scale of salaries and increments of salaries for officers of the Clerical Division of the Public Service is hereby repealed as from the first day of April, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and there shall be substituted for the scale so repealed a scale to be established by the Governor-General by Order in Council, and all references in the Public Service Act, 1912, to the said Third Schedule shall thereupon be read and construed as references to the said Order in Council.

The salaries and increments provided by the said Order in Council shall not be on a scale lower than that provided by the repealed Schedule.

For the purpose of facilitating such regrading the Governor-General may at any time while there is a vacancy in the office of either of the Assistant Commissioners provided for by the Public Service Act, 1912, appoint and retain in office an Acting Assistant Commissioner who shall have and exercise the powers and functions, and receive, without further appropriation than this Act, the salary of an Assistant Commissioner under that Act.

The Acting Assistant Commissioner shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-General, and shall be removed from office so soon as in the opinion of the Governor-General his services are no longer required for the purposes of such regrading, and he shall not as such be deemed to be a permanent officer of the Government service within the meaning of any Act.

If the person so appointed as Acting Assistant Commissioner already holds any other office in the Government service, he shall, so long as he holds office as Acting Assistant Commissioner, be deemed to be absent on leave without pay from such other office.

When any office in the Public Service is regraded in pursuance of section twenty-nine of the Public Service Act, 1912, the Commissioner may direct that the regrading shall take effect retrospectively as from such date within the same financial year as he thinks fit.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Service Act, 1912; any regrading of positions in excess of two hundred and sixty pounds per annum for which provision has been made in the current year’s estimates may be made from such date as the Public Service Commissioner may determine, not earlier than the first day of April, nineteen hundred and eighteen.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Public Service Act, 1912, salaries of officers in the Clerical Division of the Public Service in excess of six hundred pounds which have appeared in the current year’s estimates and been passed by Parliament may be paid.

Section thirty-nine of the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Amendment Act, 1908, as amended by section nine of the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Amendment Act, 1912, is hereby further amended by omitting the words “seventeen thousand pounds,” and substituting the words “forty-three thousand pounds.”

This section shall remain in force until specifically repealed.

Section forty-nine of the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Act, 1908, as amended by section thirty of the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Amendment Act, 1909, and by section eight of the Public Service Classification and Superannuation Amendment Act, 1912, is hereby further amended by omitting the words “forty-eight thousand pounds,” and substituting the words “eighty-six thousand pounds.”

This section shall remain in force until specifically repealed.

The authority conferred by section twenty-four of the War Legislation Amendment Act, 1916, on local authorities and other public bodies, to expend money in rendering assistance to the Recruiting Board, shall be deemed to include and at all times since the enactment of that section to have included an authority to expend money in assisting the work of recruiting, and in particular to include and to have included as aforesaid an authority to expend money in respect of the reasonable entertainment of departing and returned soldiers.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Act of Parliament, a sum of thirty pounds may be paid for the hire of a motor-car to convey the Hon. W. C. F. Carncross, M.L.C., to his home at Eltham on the occasion of a family bereavement.

Notwithstanding anything in the Public Service, Classification and Superannuation Act, 1908, or any other Act, payment may be made to William Charles Kensington, Esquire, and John William Allman Marchant, Esquire, of sums equal to the amounts deducted from their superannuation allowances under the said Act in respect of fees received or receivable by them respectively for services rendered to the Government as follows:—

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act or in any regulation affecting any local body as hereinafter defined, it shall be lawful for any such local body to expend moneys belonging to that local body for the purpose of contributing towards funds for celebrating peace:

Provided that no moneys required by law to be used for any specific purpose shall be available for the purposes of this section.

For the purposes of this section the term “local body” shall mean any Borough Council, County Council, Road Board, Town Board, Harbour Board, River Board, Drainage Board, Education Board, agricultural and pastoral society, friendly society, and any society incorporated under the Incorporated Societies Act, 1908.

Whereas the Malvern County Council, acting under a misconception of its powers in that behalf, did borrow from the Canterbury Patriotic Society a sum of two thousand pounds by way of temporary loan: And whereas such action by the said County Council was contrary to law: It is hereby enacted that the said loan shall be deemed to have been lawfully raised, and the action of the County Council as aforesaid is hereby validated.

Whereas during the financial year ended the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and eighteen, sums totalling six hundred thousand pounds were advanced out of the Consolidated Fund to certain dairy companies by the New Zealand Government, on the security of butter and cheese purchased by them for and on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, and, as no funds had been specifically appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, it is hereby enacted that the sums so advanced shall be deemed to have been duly authorized and paid according to law.

For the purpose of providing funds for the relief of settlers who have suffered loss from bush-fires the Minister of Finance is hereby authorized to raise, on the security of and charged upon the public revenues of New Zealand, such sums of money as he thinks fit not exceeding seventy-five thousand pounds.

Sums so raised shall bear interest at such rate, not exceeding four and a half per centum per annum, as the Minister of Finance directs.

For the purposes of this section this Act shall be deemed to be an authorizing Act within the meaning of the New Zealand Loans Act, 1908, and the moneys hereby authorized to be raised shall be raised under and subject to the provisions of that Act accordingly.

All moneys raised under this section shall be paid into the Public Account to the credit of a special account to be called “The Waimarino Bush-fire Belief Account.”

There shall from time to time be charged to and paid out of the said account, without further appropriation than this Act,—

The Minister of Lands (hereinafter in this section referred to as the Minister) is hereby authorized to make advances out of the Waimarino Bush-fire Belief Account for the purpose of assisting settlers who have suffered by bush-fires.

Every advance made under this section shall be subject to such terms and conditions and such provision for repayment as the Minister determines:

All sums paid by way of interest or in repayment of principal shall be paid into the Waimarino Bush-fire Relief Account.

Every advance under this section shall be secured in such way as the Minister determines.

Amounts which have heretofore been advanced out of the Consolidated Fund for the purposes aforesaid shall be repaid to the Consolidated Fund out of the Waimarino Bush-fire Relief Account.

This section shall remain in operation until it is specifically repealed.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Act or in any rules or regulations affecting any building society, it shall be lawful for such society to advance, on such terms and conditions and upon such security as it may deem fit, moneys belonging to that society to any person for the purpose of subscribing to the loan under the War Purposes Loan Act, 1917, or under the Finance Act, 1918 (No. 2).

This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the fifteenth day of September, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and shall remain in operation until such time as it shall be specifically repealed.

Section two hundred and forty-four of the Legislature Act, 1908, is hereby amended by omitting the words “the expiry or dissolution of the Parliament for which he was elected,” and substituting the words “the corresponding day at the next ensuing election.”

Paragraph (d) of section two hundred and forty-five of the same Act is hereby repealed.

This section shall remain in operation until specifically repealed.

The provisions of the Legislature Act, 1908, shall not apply to the payment under the authority of an appropriation by Parliament of a sum not exceeding twenty pounds to J. T. M. Hornsby, Esquire, a member of Parliament, by way of refund of expenses incurred by him in connection with the inquiry into the administration of the estate of Rangi Kerehoma.

In addition to the amount appropriated by Parliament for the payment of the salaries and allowances of public-school teachers, Native-school teachers, pupil-teachers, probationers, and training-college students, as authorized by the Education Act, 1914, and regulations thereunder, it shall be lawful for the Minister of Finance to issue and apply out of the Consolidated Fund such amount as may be appropriated by Parliament, not exceeding in any financial year the sum of one hundred and eighteen thousand pounds, for the purpose of increasing the salaries and allowances of the persons aforesaid, and for the purpose of increasing the staffs of public and Native schools.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Education Act, 1914, the Governor-General in Council may make regulations under that Act prescribing the salaries and allowances of the persons aforesaid, the grading and staffing of public schools, the positions that shall be filled by male and female assistant teachers respectively, the conditions for the transfer of teachers when the grade of a school is reduced or increased, the conditions of leave of absence of teachers, including the rate of pay during such leave, the allowances payable towards the cost of the removal of teachers from one school to another, and generally making provisions for carrying this section into effect:

Provided that a teacher employed in a public school at the commencement of this Act shall not, so long as he remains in the same position, receive a salary lower than that to which he would have been entitled had this Act not been passed.

This section shall remain in force until specifically repealed.

The maximum cost of maintenance of a patient or resident in an institution under the Mental Defectives Act, 1911, that may be charged and recoverable is hereby increased to forty-two shillings a week:

Provided that under special circumstances arrangements may be made in any particular case for charging and recovering a higher sum.

This section shall remain in force until specifically repealed.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section two of the Finance Act, 1918, the provisions of Part I of that Act shall remain in operation until the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and no longer.

The Second Schedule to the Civil List Act, 1908, is hereby amended by substituting for the sum of fifteen hundred pounds, as allowance for the salaries and expenses of the Governor-General’s establishment, the sum of two thousand pounds.

The Official Secretary, who is an officer of the Public Service, is paid such salary as may be annually appropriated by Parliament, and such salary is not included in the said allowance to the Governor-General.

This section shall be deemed to have been in force on and after the first day of April, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and payment shall be made accordingly.

This section shall continue in force until specifically repealed.

Part II of the Second Schedule of the Civil List Act, 1908, is hereby amended by adding the following thereto:—

This section shall be deemed to have been in force on and after the first day of April, nineteen hundred and eighteen, and payment shall be made accordingly.

This section shall continue in force until specifically repealed.

Section sixty-two of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1913, is hereby amended by omitting from subsection one the words “six hundred thousand,” and substituting the words “seven hundred and fifty thousand”; and section sixty-three of the said Act is hereby amended by omitting from subsection one the words “one hundred thousand,” and substituting the words “two hundred and fifty thousand.”

Section two of the Hauraki Plains Amendment Act, 1913, as amended by section two of the Hauraki Plains Amendment Act, 1914, is hereby further amended by omitting from subsection one the words “one hundred and seventy thousand,” and substituting the words “two hundred and fifty thousand.”

Section two of the Rangitaiki Land Drainage Amendment Act, 1913, as amended by section two of the Rangitaiki Land Drainage Amendment Act, 1914, and by section eighty-one of the Finance Act, 1917, is hereby further amended by omitting from subsection one the words “one hundred and forty thousand,” and substituting the words “one hundred and ninety thousand.”

Section four of the Kauri-gum Industry Amendment Act, 1914, is hereby amended by omitting from subsection one the words “fifty thousand,” and substituting the words “seventy-five thousand.”

Section four of the Swamp Drainage Act, 1915, is hereby amended by omitting from subsection one the words “seventy-five thousand,” and substituting the words “one hundred and fifty thousand.”

Subsection one of section four of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908, is hereby amended by omitting the words “or land,” and substituting the words “land, or air.”

The Seventh Schedule to the Finance Act, 1915, is hereby amended as follows:—

The last preceding sections numbered from forty-two to forty-eight inclusive shall remain in force until specifically repealed.