This Act may be cited as the Honey-export Control Act, 1924.

This Act shall come into operation on a date to be specified in that behalf by the Governor-General, by Proclamation approved in Executive Council.

A Proclamation shall not issue for the purpose of bringing this Act into operation unless and until a proposal to that effect has been carried at a poll of producers to be taken as hereinafter provided.

At the poll to be taken as aforesaid proposals shall be submitted in the form in the Schedule hereto.

No person shall be qualified to vote at the poll to be taken under this section unless at the date of the poll he is the occupier of an apiary registered under the Apiaries Amendment Act, 1913, from which at least two hundredweights of honey the produce of that apiary were exported in any one of the three years immediately preceding the year commencing on the first day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-four. Save as aforesaid, every producer, within the meaning of this Act, shall be entitled to vote at the said poll.

Every voter at the poll on the proposals submitted under this section shall be entitled to one vote only, and shall record his vote by striking out the proposal for which he does not wish to vote.

A proposal under this section shall be deemed to be carried if a majority of the valid votes recorded at the poll is in favour thereof, but not otherwise.

For the purposes of a poll under this section an officer of the Public Service shall be appointed as Returning Officer, and the Returning Officer shall make all necessary arrangements for the conduct of the poll.

The poll to be taken under this section shall be taken on a day or days to be appointed in that behalf by the Minister, being not later than the first day of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-five, and may be taken by post.

On the completion of the poll the Returning Officer shall make a declaration as to the result, and shall forward the same to the Minister, who shall cause notice of the same to be published in the Gazette.

The notice published in the Gazette shall be conclusive evidence of the result of the poll.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

There is hereby established a Board to be known as the New Zealand Honey Control Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board).

The Board shall consist of—

The producers’ representatives shall be elected in the prescribed manner by direct vote of the producers of the Dominion engaged in the production of honey for export.

No person shall be qualified to vote at an election under this section as a producer unless at least two hundredweights of honey produced in the apiary of which he is the occupier were exported from New Zealand in any one of the three years immediately preceding the year in which such election is held.

At an election under this section every elector shall be entitled to one vote only.

Any corporate body entitled to vote at an election under this section may, by writing under its corporate seal, appoint some person to exercise its voting-power.

The person appointed as the Government representative under the last preceding section shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor-General.

With respect to the first members appointed as producers’ representatives the following provisions shall apply:—

Except as provided in the last preceding subsection, every person appointed as a producers’ representative shall hold office for a term of two years, save that he may be reappointed in the manner prescribed by paragraph (b) of subsection two of the last preceding-section, or may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Board.

On the death, resignation, or removal from office of any member of the Board appointed as a producers’ representative the Governor-General shall, on the recommendation of the Board, appoint some fit person to be a member of the Board for the residue of the term for which such first-mentioned person was appointed.

The powers conferred on the Board by this Act shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership thereof.

The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall be capable of holding-real and personal property and of doing and suffering all that bodies corporate may do and suffer.

Any contract which, if made between private persons, must be by deed shall, if made by the Board, be in writing under the seal of the Board.

Any contract which, if made between private persons, must be in writing signed by the parties to be charged therewith shall, if made by the Board, be either under the seal of the Board or signed by two members of the Board on behalf of and by direction of the Board.

Any contract which, if made between private persons, may be made verbally without writing may be similarly made by or on behalf of the Board by any two members acting by direction of the Board, but no verbal contract shall be made of a value exceeding twenty pounds.

In any case in which the Governor-General is satisfied that any member of the Board is incapacitated by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, the Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister if the member so incapacitated is the Government representative, or on the recommendation of the Board in any other case, may appoint some fit person, to be named by the Minister or the Board, as the case may require, to be a deputy to act for that member during such incapacity; and any deputy shall, while he acts as such, have all the powers and authorities of the member for whom he is so acting.

No such appointment of a deputy, and no acts done by him as such, shall in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for his appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

The first meeting of the Board shall be held on a day to be appointed in that behalf by the Minister.

At the first meeting the Board shall appoint one of its members to be the Chairman of the Board.

Except as provided in the last preceding section, meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as the Board shall from time to time appoint.

The Chairman or any two members of the Board may at any time call a special meeting of the Board.

At all meetings of the Board two members, of whom one shall be the Government representative, shall form a quorum.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board at which he is present.

In the event of the absence of the Chairman from any meeting of the Board the members present at such meeting shall appoint-one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting.

At any meeting of the Board the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting-vote. A decision of the majority of the members present at a meeting of the Board shall be the decision of the Board.

The Board may appoint such officers and servants as it deems necessary for the efficient carrying-out of its functions under this Act.

The Board is hereby empowered to assume control of all honey intended for export from New Zealand, and may determine from time to time the extent to which it is necessary for the effective operation of this Act and the fulfilment of its purposes that it should exercise control over the export of any honey.

In any such case the control of the Board shall operate as from a time to be specified in that behalf by the Board by notice given in conformity with this Act.

Notice by the Board of its intention to assume control of any honey may be given either by service on the owner of any such honey or on any person having possession thereof, or by publication in any newspaper or newspapers, in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed. Every such notice shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have effect according to its tenor.

The control to be exercised by the Board over any honey may, as the Board in any case determines, be absolute or limited.

All honey intended for export of which the Board has assumed absolute control shall be graded, packed, and shipped as the Board directs, and shall be sold and disposed of only by the Board or by direction of the Board at such times, in such manner, and on such terms as the Board in its discretion determines.

Where the Board has assumed limited control of honey intended for export the extent of its control shall be defined by notice in the manner provided by subsection three of section twelve hereof, or by agreement between the Board and the owners of such honey or other persons having authority to enter into an agreement with the Board with respect to such honey.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing-provisions of this Act, the Board shall not exercise any powers under this Act with respect to the sale of any honey if it is satisfied that there is subsisting a bona fide contract or arrangement for the purchase and sale of that honey made before the passing of this Act.

Without limiting any authority specifically conferred on the Board, the Board shall have full authority to make such arrangements and give such directions as it thinks proper for the following matters:—

For the purpose of securing any advances that may be made to the Board or to the owners of any honey at the request of the Board, the Board shall, by virtue of this Act, and without further authority, have full power on behalf of the owners of any honey to give security over such honey and to execute all mortgages and other instruments of assurance in the same manner in all respects as if the Board were the legal owners of such honey.

The Board shall have power, for the purposes of its business, to borrow moneys by way of bank overdraft or otherwise howsoever, and may give as security therefor debentures, debenture-stock, mortgages, or other securities charged on any or all of the assets of the Board.

For the purpose of enabling the Board effectively to control the export of honey, the Governor-General, acting under the powers conferred on him by the Customs Act, 1913, and its amendments, may pro¤ibit the export from New Zealand of any honey save in accordance with a license to be issued by the Minister, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be approved by the Board.

The Board shall have power to appoint from time to time an agent or agents in any places beyond New Zealand (hereinafter called overseas agents), whose duty it shall be to keep the Board advised as to current prices of honey and as to other matters relative to the disposal of New Zealand honey in such places, and generally to act as the agent or agents of the Board in accordance with the directions of the Board.

After the constitution of the Board, or after such later date as the Board may by public notice appoint, no contract for the carriage by sea of any honey to be exported from New Zealand shall be made save by the Board acting as the agent of the owners of that honey or of other persons having authority to export that honey, or in conformity with conditions to be approved by the Board.

Every contract for the carriage of honey by sea made otherwise than in conformity with this section shall be void.

After a date to be fixed in that behalf by the Governor-General in Council, there shall be payable by the producers by way of levy on all honey intended for export such charges as may from time to time be prescribed in that behalf by regulations under this Act, not exceeding a levy of one farthing a pound.

All moneys payable under this section shall be paid to the Board, and the Board shall be entitled to deduct the amount of any levies payable to it by any producer from any moneys received by the Board on behalf of that producer.

All moneys received by the Board by way of levy hereunder, or in respect of the sale of honey, or otherwise howsoever, shall be paid by the Board into a separate account at a bank to be approved by the Minister of Finance, and shall be applied by the Board as follows:—

The accounts of the Board shall be subject to audit in the same manner in all respects as if the moneys of the Board were public moneys within the meaning of the Public Revenues Act, 1910.

The Board in its corporate capacity shall in all its operations under this Act be deemed to be the agent of the owners of all honey of which the Board has assumed control, and the mutual rights, obligations, and liabilities of the Board and the several owners shall accordingly be determined in accordance with the law governing the relations between principals and agents; save that nothing herein shall be construed to limit the power of the Board to exercise without the authority of the owner of any such honey any power with respect to such honey that may expressly or by implication be conferred on the Board by or by virtue of this Act.

No member of the Board shall be personally liable for any act or default of the Board done or omitted to be done in good faith in the course of the operations of the Board.

Every person who obstructs or impedes, or attempts to obstruct or impede, the Board, or any officer, servant, or agent of the Board, in exercising any of the functions, powers, authorities, or duties vested in or conferred on the Board by this Act commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifty pounds.

Nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to affect the provisions of the Apiaries Act, 1908, or any amendment thereof, or any regulations for the time being in force thereunder.

For the purposes of elections under this Act an officer of the Public Service shall be appointed as Returning Officer, and the Returning Officer shall make all necessary arrangements for the conduct of every such election.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations—