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7. It shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council by no- Power of the tification in the Gazette to appoint any day to be observed Governor to as a general or as a public holiday in addition to or in appoint

holidays. substitution for any day mentioned in section 3 or in section 4 and thereupon the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to such added or substituted day and shall cease to apply to any day for which another has been so substituted.

8.-(1) The Public Holidays Ordinance, 1875, (as amended by the Executive Council Relief of Duties Ordin- ance, 1910), and the Victoria Day Ordinance, 1903, are hereby repealed.

(2.) The Bills of Exchange Ordinance, 1885, is hereby amended as follows:-

(4.) in section 2 thereof by the insertion after the definition of “Delivery" of the words “General Loliday has the same meaning as in the Holi- days Ordinance, 1912”.

(5.) in sub-section (2) of section 13 thereof by the addition after the word "Sunday" of the words

or any other general holiday ".

(e) by the deletion of the provisoes (a) and (b) to section 14 thereof and by the substitution there- for of the words :-

Provided that when the last day of grace is a general holiday other than Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday, or when the last day of grace and also the second day of grace are gen- eral holidays the bill is due and payable on the succeeding business day and provided also that when the last day of grace falls on a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday which is not immediately preceded by another General Holi- day the bill is due and payable on the preceding business day.

(d.) in sub-section (4) of section 51 by the insertiou after the word "Ordinance" of the words "and of the Holidays Ordinance, 1912".

(e.) in sub-section (2) of section 92 thereof by the deletion of the words “Sundays and public holi- days and bank holidays within the meaning of these terms as used in the Holidays Ordinance, 1875," and by the substitution therefor of the words "general holidays".

(3.) The Supreme Court (Vacations) Ordinance, 1898, is hereby amended as follows:-

(.) by the repeal of section 2 thereof and by the substitution therefor of the following section :—

2. In this Ordinance :-

Public Holiday' and 'General Holiday

have the meanings respectively ax- signed to such expressions by the Holidays Ordinance, 1912.”

(b.) in section 5 and also in section 10 thereof by the insertion in each case of the words "General Holidays and" after the words "except on".

Objects and Reasons.

Under Ordinance No. 2 of 1875 all public holidays are bank holidays and there are also certain days which are bank holidays only. It is sometimes desirable to have a holiday for public and educational institutions which is nevertheless not a bank holiday, and again it is sometimes desirable to have a holiday for educational establishments which is not a holiday for banks or public institutions. Moreover section 7 of Ordinance No. 2 of 1875 appears in some measure to conflict with section 14 (1) (a) of Ordinance No. 3 of 1885. It has recently been decided with the approval of the Chamber of Commerce, which consulted the Banks, no longer to treat Victoria Day, or Empire Day as it will in future be called, as a Bank Holiday and to have instead two new holidays on Mondays in October and November respectively. This arrangement distributes the bank holidays more evenly throughout the year and provides for the due recognition of the Birthday (November the 9th) of his late Majesty King Edward VII. At the same time Empire Day will be pre- served as a holiday for public and educational institutions. Clause 2 of the Bill gives a definition of Public Holidays which excludes, and a definition of General Holidays which includes, Bank Holidays. Clauses 8 and 4 set out these holidays and clause 7 which is based on section 8 of Ordin-

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Repeals and Amend-

ments.

Definition.

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