CO129-379 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1911 [8-9] — Page 319

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give the results of (i) amending legislation generally, and (ii) of

the Statute Law Revision Acts so far as they go, which is not very

far.

None of these reasons exist in dealing with the laws of a Colony.

First, the bulk of legislation which has to be pruned is inconsi- derable compared with the English Statue Book, and therefore the

revision can be complete. Secondly, and consequently, the necessity for the sub-division of the Intrepretation Ordinance, which follows

that of the English Act, into the heads above indicated, does not exist, and there is no reason why the principles of intrepretation

which it lays down should not be applied by a Law Revision Ordinance

to existing legislation, and thus uniformity throughout the whole

of the laws can be obtained. A simple example will make this clear,

By section 34 of the existing Interpretation Ordinance it is provi- ded that where an Ordinance"confers a power, then, unless the con- trary intention appears, the power may be exercised fromtime to time as occasion requires". The object of this is to render unneces- sary the words "from time to time" in future legislation, in connex- ion for example, with the power to make rules under any Ordinance. Now, to show how useless the Ordinance has been from the reason pro- bably that it is unsystematic, this simple principle is often for- gotten. The provision applies to Ordinances passed after 1897, yet I open Volume 11 at random, and I find in the Rating Ordinance of 1901, the words "from time to time" used in section 39 and section 40, where they are clearly unnecessary.

cipla

The reason for limiting the rule to future legislation is hard to discover. It is a rule of common sense, and one probably which the Courts would have devised for them-selves.

The same remark applies to practically all the simple rules of con- struction. Therefore in this proposed Ordinance I have made them general, and they will be acted on by means of general provisions embodied in a Law Revision Ordinance which is in course of prepara- tion, which authorises the deletion of useless expression from existing legislation, and which will in due course be presented to

Council.