CO537-4320 — Page 40

(7) "Licensed person" means a person holding a licence granted by the Governor in Council under section 3 or section 30.

Part II.

Exclusive

privilege in respect of telegraphs and power to grant licences.

Power in Government to take possession

of licensed

telegraphs

PRIVILEGES AND POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENT.

3.-(1) Within the Colony the Governor in Council shali have the exclusive privilege of establishing, maintaining and working telegraphs.

(2) The Governor in Council may grant a licence, on such conditions and in consideration of such payments as he thinks fit, to any person or to the representative for the time being in the Colony of any corporation or administration to establish, maintain or work a telegraph within any part of the Colony, and to place, lay, carry or maintain any posts, cables or wires for the purpose of such telegraph in, along, through, across or under any roads or other property vested in the Crown.

4.-(1) On the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of the public safety the Governor or any officer specially authorized in this behalf by the Governor may-

(a) take temporary possession of any telegraph establish- and to order ed, maintained or worked by any person licensed under this

Ordinance; or

interception

of messages.

Power to require production

of messages.

(b) withdraw either partially or totally the use of any telephone trunk line or exchange system from any person or class of persons or from the public at large; or

(c) order that any message or class of messages to or from any person or class of persons or relating to any particular subject, brought for transmission by or trans- mitted or received by any telegraph, shall not be transmitted or shall be intercepted or detained or shall be disclosed to the Government or an officer thereof mentioned in the order.

(2) If any doubt arises as to the existence of a public emergency or whether any act done under sub-section (1) was in the interest of the public safety, a certificate, signed by the Governor within fourteen days from the taking of such temporary possession, and delivered to the person in charge of the telegraph, shall be conclusive proof on the point.

5.-(1) Where it appears to the Governor that such a course is expedient in the public interest he may by warrant under his hand require any person who owns or controls any telegraph line or any apparatus for radiocommunication, used for the sending or receipt of messages to or from any place outside the Colony, to produce to any person named in the warrant the originals and transcripts either of all messages or of messages of any specified class or description sent or received to or from any place outside the Colony by means of any such line or apparatus, and all other papers relating to any such messages.

(2) In this section the expression "radiocommunication" shall have the same meaning as in section 27.

}

1

Page 40Page 41