CO129-300 - Administrator Major Gen Gascoigne Governor Sir Blake - 1900 [7-9] — Page 44

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ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE,

June 29th., 1900.

RPO AUG 00

Report on Ordinance No. 17 of 1900.

I have examined the accompanying Ordinance,

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An Ordinance to amend The Piers Ordinance, 1899.

and I am of opinion that the Ordinance is one which is not

contrary to the Governor's Instructions.

This Ordinance carries out the amendment suggested in the

Despatch of the Secretary of State, No.79, of 23rd. March,

1900, and also gives, for the purposes of Ordinance No.37 of

1899, an extended meaning to the expression "Crown foreshore,

as used in that Ordinance.

The following explanatory Memorandum which I appended to the

Bill explains its Objects and Reasons.

• Crown foreshore" was defined by Lord Hals to be "the ground (belonging to the Crown) between the ordinary high-water and low-water marks." The new Praya Wail will, in some instances, leave little, if any, ordinary Crown foreshora visible. But, as the bed of the sea extending from such new Praya Wall into the harbour belongs to the Crown, no person can erect or maintain a pier theroon without the permission of the Crown. It has been thought advisable, therefore, to extend, for the purposes of Tho Piers Ordinance, 1899, the meaning of Crown foreshore so as to includo Crown land covered with water below ordinary low-water mark.

As regards the revision of rents, it was arranged, when The Piers Ordinance, 1899, was under consideration, that the Governor in Council should have power to revise aud alter the scale of rents at the end of twenty-five years, such revised scale itself to remain in force for a liko period of twenty-five years. It had been assumed that the inser- tion of a clunse to that effect in the Teases of the Piers would suffice, but the Secretary of State deems it expedient that a provision authorising such revision should be inserted in the Ordinance itself. This will prevent any misunder- standing at the end of the period of twenty-five years, when the arrangement in question, assented to last year on behalf of the Pier Owners, may possibly have been forgotten or overlooked.

(Sd.) F. Meigh Goodman,

Attorney General.