LEGISLATION 



549 



Act was passed, referring to a matter arising out of the main Act. 

 Section 7 reads as follows : 



Notwithstanding anything in any Act it shall be lawful for any person to 

 destroy hares, weasels or stoats: Provided that the Governor in Council 

 may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture, suspend 

 within any specified area the operation with respect to hares, weasels 

 and stoats. 



An interesting piece of legislation called "The Chatham Islands 

 Animals Act" became law in 1884, an ^ was re-enacted in 1908. 

 Section 2 says: "No person shall introduce or allow to go at large 

 any rabbit or hare in that part of the Colony called the Chatham 

 Islands." 



The legal position regarding opossums in New Zealand is rather 

 interesting. By a Gazette Notice of iQth August, 1912, it was declared 

 that opossums ceased to be imported game. Just a year later, owing 

 to representations from acclimatisation societies, it was decided that 

 the animals should be absolutely protected in certain districts; and 

 a warrant to that effect was published in the Gazette of yth August, 

 1913. In 1916 a further warrant was issued specifically protecting 

 them in the Wellington Acclimatisation district. 



They have now ceased to be imported game and they have been 

 absolutely protected in certain areas. The position is now, in June, 

 1919, that: 



there is no existing law in force giving power to declare an open season 

 for the taking or killing of these animals unless they were again declared 

 to be either imported or native game, and this is not practicable as they 

 would then automatically be protected in parts of the Dominion where 

 protection is not desired; there being no existing power to enable them 

 to be declared imported game in part only of the Dominion. 



Probably an Amendment of the Law relating to these animals will 

 shortly be enacted. (See Appendix A, p. 556.) 



Insect pests due to imported species have received a good deal 

 of attention from the legislature. In 1854 the Nelson Provincial 

 Council passed an " Ordinance to prevent the increase of American 

 Blight," which imposed a penalty of forty shillings on any one not 

 clearing blight off any infected tree after due notice had been given, 

 with five pounds for a repetition of the offence, and ten pounds for 

 any one selling infected trees. 



Thirty years later the New Zealand Parliament passed " the Codlin 

 Moth Act 1884," "An Act to provide for the Destruction of the 

 Insect known as Carpocapsa pomonella, or the * Codlin Moth,' " under 

 which power was given to proclaim certain districts in which it was 

 to take effect, to levy contributions from all the orchards within these 



