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23885
Report
on an Ordinance intituled An Ordinance to make further provision for the protection of trees on Crown land and other Crown property from wilful damage,
REC READ 8 MAY 17
The principal object of this Ordinance is to alter the copposition of the Court created by the Crown Land Preservation
Ordinance, 1910, Ordinance No. 10 of 1910. The Superintend- ent of the Botanical and Forestry Department will now be a member of the Court in all cases, and not only in the old Colony. In the New Territories the other member of the Court will be the District Officer or Assistant District of- ficer, and in the rest of the Colony the other member will be either the Secretary for Chinese Affairs or one of his assist- ants.
The other object of the bill is to make the incidence of the fine faifer. Under the previous Ordinance the fine
fell on the owners who were on the Crown rent réll while the owners on the village rent roll escaped. This was probably due to an oversight at the time when the former Ordinance was passed. The intention seems to have been to make all owners
of land in the neighbourhood liable.
Sub-section (5) of section 8 gives the Governor in Council power to remit the apportioned amount in the case of any
owner who was not resident in the village or area when the
damage occurred or who was not a party to the damage, No
doubt the power of exemption will be used very carefully,
Section 9 is drawn in the form in which it appears in order to avoid giving the Ordinance a retrospective effect.