STATUTORY RULES.

1916. No. 323.

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REGULATIONS UNDER THE WAR PRECAUTIONS ACT 1914–1916.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations, under the War Precautions Act 1914–1916, to come into operation forthwith.

Dated this twentieth day of December, One thousand nine hundred and sixteen.

R. M. FERGUSON,

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

W. M. HUGHES,

for Minister of State for Defence.

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War Precautions (Mining) Regulations 1916

Short title

1. These Regulations may be cited as the War Precautions (Mining) Regulations 1916.

Definitions.

2. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“Natural-born British subject “ means a person who was born in some part of the British Dominions and who is still a British subject residing or carrying on business in some part of the British Dominions, and includes the wife or widow of any such person, but does not include a woman born in a part of the British Dominions who is the wife of a person other than a natural-born British subject;

“Mining or Metallurgical Company” means any Company incorporated in the Commonwealth, which carries on, or is formed for the purpose of carrying on, the business of mining for minerals or metals or of extracting minerals or metals from ores, or of refining minerals or metals;

“Mining or Metallurgical business “ means any business in connexion with which there are carried on such operations as mining for minerals or metals, extracting minerals or metals from ores, or refining minerals or metals;

“Mining Lease” means a lease granted under the law of any State or Territory for the purpose of mining.

C.16490.—Price 3d.

Certain contracts giving interest in mining or metallurgical business require consent of Attorney-General.

3. (1) From and after the date of these Regulations no contract or agreement for the purchase or acquisition of any mining or metallurgical company or business, or of any share or interest in any mining or metallurgical company or business, or of any security issued by any mining or metallurgical company or business for the purpose of raising money, by or on behalf of any person other than a natural-born British subject shall be entered into or made unless the consent in writing of the Attorney-General has first been obtained.

(2) The Attorney-General may, if he thinks fit, grant to any person a general or limited consent in writing to acquire shares in any mining or metallurgical company.

(3) The secretary or other proper officer of a mining or metallurgical company shall refuse to register the transfer of a share or interest in the company unless the provisions of sub-regulation (1) of this regulation have been complied with, and any person who registers a transfer in contravention of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Every person applying to be registered as the proprietor of any share or interest in any mining or metallurgical company shall, if so required by the Secretary or other proper officer of the company, make, before a Police, Stipendiary, or Special Magistrate, a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner for Affidavits, a Commissioner for Declarations, or the Secretary or other proper officer of the company, a declaration in one of the following forms:—

I,

of

in the State of

do solemnly and sincerely declare:—

1. That I am acquiring the shares on my own behalf.

2. That I was born at   and am at the present time a   subject of  , and [in the case of a married woman] my husband was born at                             and is at the present time a                                           subject of

(Signature)

Declared at  this

day of  , 191

Before me

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I,

of

in the State of

do solemnly and sincerely declare:—

1. That I am acquiring the shares on behalf of , who was born at   , and is at the present time a              subject of residing in                                           and [in the case of a married woman] whose husband was born at              , and is at the present time a               subject of               residing in

(Signature)

Declared at  this

day of  , 191

Before me

and any person who makes in any such Declaration any statement which is untrue in any particular shall be guilty of an offence.

Applications by persons other than natural-born British subjects for mining leases.

4. (1) From and after the date of these Regulations—

(a) No application for the grant of a mining lease to or for the benefit of any person other than a natural-born British subject for a term of more than five years shall be made; and

(b) No contract or agreement—

(i) for the assignment to or for the benefit of any person other than a natural-born British subject of a mining lease of which a period of five years is unexpired, or

(ii) providing for the acquisition in any contingency by or on behalf of any person other than a natural-born British subject of a mining lease of which a period of five years is unexpired,

shall be entered into or made,

unless the consent in writing of the Attorney-General has first been obtained.

(2) Where any mining lease contains provisions enabling the mining lease to be renewed for any further period upon the expiration of the original term thereof, such further period shall for the purposes of these Regulations be regarded as part of the term of the mining lease.

Contracts made in contravention of Regulations void.

5. (1) Any contract or agreement entered into or made, or mining lease granted, in contravention of Regulation 3 or 4, or of any Regulation repealed by those Regulations, shall be void and of no effect:

Provided that where the Attorney-General in writing declares that he is satisfied that the contravention was due to inadvertence and gives his consent to the contract, agreement, or mining lease, sub-regulation (1) of this Regulation shall not apply.

(2) A request for the consent of the Attorney-General under the provisions of Regulation 3 or 4 shall be made in writing to the Attorney-General, and shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration giving full particulars of the name, address, date, and place of birth, parentage, nationality, and occupation of the person making the request, and if the request is made on behalf of any other person, full particulars of the name, address, date and place of birth, parentage, nationality and occupation of such person, and the full particulars of the proposed contract, agreement, or application, and the grounds upon which the request for the consent of the Attorney-General is based, and (in the case of a mining lease) the area, situation and value of the land.

Consent of Attorney-General may be revoked.

6. Any general or limited consent granted by the Attorney-General under Regulation 3 hereof may be revoked by the Attorney-General as from a date specified by him, and shall from that date cease to have effect; and any letter, certificate, or other document containing a notification of the granting of such consent shall on demand in writing be delivered up to the Attorney-General.

Application of Regulations to certain natural-born British subjects.

7. Where in the case of any person who is a natural-born British subject, and whose father was or is a subject of a country with which the United Kingdom is now at war, the Attorney-General declares that there is in his opinion good reason to believe that that person is disloyal, or that it is desirable that these Regulations should apply to him as if he were a person other than a natural-born British subject, that person shall, for the purpose of these Regulations, be deemed to be a person other than a natural-born British subject.

Repeal of certain War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations.

8. (1) Regulation 4e of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 is hereby repealed, but such repeal shall not affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred under such repealed Regulation, and all matters arising under such repealed Regulation may be continued or dealt with under these Regulations, and all references in any documents prepared for the purpose of such repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to these Regulations.

(2) Regulation 5 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 is amended by omitting the words “4c or 4e” wherever they occur, and inserting in their stead the words “or 4c”.

(3) Regulation 7 of the War Precautions (Land Transfer) Regulations 1916 is amended by omitting the words “4c or 4e” and inserting in their stead the words “or 4c”.

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Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.