104524-1926-Supplementary-Bills-read-a-first-time--Interpretation-Amendment-Promissory-Oaths-Amendment — Page 2

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Objects and Reasons.

1. This Bill makes three amendments in the Inter- pretation Ordinance, 1911.

2. Clause 2 adds to section 25 of the Interpretation Ordinance, 1911, a sub-section which provides that in an appointment to an office it shall not be necessary to name any particular individual but that the appoint ment may be of the holder of some other office in the name of that office. The sub-section goes on to pro- vide that upon an appointment being made in that form the person who is from time to time, for the time being, performing the duties of the latter office shall be deemed to have been appointed to the former office. A particular provision to this effect was inserted recently in the Marriage Amendment Ordinance, 1926. Under that particular provision it will be possible to appoint "the Land Officer" to be Registrar of Mar- riages, and that one appointment will be sufficient for so long as the Land Office remains the Registry of Marriages. Without this power it would be necessary to make a fresh_appointment whenever a new Land Officer or acting Land Officer were appointed. Clause 2 of the Bill proposes to make a general provision for this class of case. It is possible that the express pro- vision in the Marriage Amendment Ordinance was not strictly necessary, and it is possible that the general sub-section now to be added to section 25 of the Inter- pretation Ordinance, 1911, is also strictly not neces- sary, but it has been thought better to deal with the matter expressly so as to avoid any doubts being raised. No doubt sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Interpretation Ordinance, 1911, refers to references in Ordinances.

3. In order to reduce the pressure of work on the Assistant Colonial Secretary, it is proposed that, while retaining his duties as Clerk to the Executive Council, he should be relieved of his duties as Clerk to the Legislative Council. There is at present a technical obstacle in the way of this being done, in that the Ordinances generally contemplate only one clerk for

both Councils. Clause 3 of the Bill meets this diff- culty by providing in effect, for a Deputy Clerk of Councils. The intention is to appoint a Deputy Clerk of Councils who will act as Clerk to the Legislative Council.

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4. Sub-sections (3) and (5) of section 22 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1899, give the Harbour Master certain powers over merchant ships, including, inter alia, power to allot berths, and power to give special directions for typhoon weather. It appears, however, that these powers apply only when the mer- chant ship in question is in a port of the Colony, and, therefore, so far as the port of Victoria is concerned, they do not extend beyond the harbour limits. W in the Schedule to the Merchant Shipping Ordi- nance, 1899, makes Victoria Harbour a port of the Colony, and section 39 B (7) of the Interpretation Ordinance, 1911, gives the boundaries of the Harbour of Victoria. Broadly speaking, those boundaries," as at present laid down, exclude everything east of a straight line drawn from North Point to Kowloon City, and they also exclude a large part of the area between Stonecutters Island and the mainland. It has been found in practice that ships anchoring to the eastward of the eastern boundary of the harbour, being outside the harbour limits and thus not being bound to obey orders issued by the Harbour Master under section 22 (5) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, sometimes fail in typhoon weather to raise steam or take other necessary precautions. Such ships sometimes drag their anchors down to the westward into the harbour