War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations 1917 (Cth)

STATUTORY RULES.

1917. No. 99.

____________

REGULATIONS UNDER THE WAR PRECAUTIONS ACT 1914-1916.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth ofAustralia, 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 first day of May, 1917.

R. M. FERGUSON,

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

W. M. HUGHES,

for Minister of State for Defence.

____________

War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations.

Short title.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations 1917.

Constitution of Commonwealth Winter Butter Pool Committee.

2. (1) For the purpose of securing an adequate supply of butter throughout the Commonwealth during the forthcoming winter, the Prime Minister may appoint a Commonwealth Winter Butter Pool Committee (in these Regulations referred to as “the Committee”).

(2)The Committee shall consist of one representative of the butter producers in each State (to be nominated by the Commonwealth Butter Advisory Committee in that State), the Commonwealth Prices Commissioner and the dairy experts of the States of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland.

(3) The nomination of the representatives of the butter producers in each State shall be subject to the approval of the Prime Minister.

(4) The Commonwealth Prices Commissioner shall be the Chairman of the Committee, and in his absence, the dairy expert of the State in which the meeting is hold, shall act as chairman.

Appointment of substitute members.

3. In the event of any member of the Committee, who is a representative of the butter producers in any State, being unable, for reasons which, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, are good and sufficient, to attend to the work of the Committee, the Prime Minister may, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee of that State, appoint a substitute for that member of the Committee.

Quorum.

4. Four members of the Committee shall be sufficient to form a quorum of the Committee.

Executive officers of Committee.

5. All appointment of executive officers of the Commit fee shall be subject to the approval of the Prime Minister.

Appointment of official graders.

6. For the purposes of those Regulations, the expert butter graders in each State who are gazetted as officers of Customs shall be official graders.

C.5403.—Price 3d.

Declaration by executive officers and graders.

7. (1) Every executive officer of the Committee and every official gradershall, before entering on his duties under these Regulations, make a declaration in accordance with the form, in the first schedule.

(2) If any executive officer or grader makes, under any declaration signed in pursuance of these Regulations, any false statement, or is guilty of a breach of any duty, or of negligence or carelessness in discharge of any duty imposed upon him by these Regulations, he shall be guilty of an offence.

8. The trade in butter in the Commonwealth shall proceed as under normal conditions subject to the following provisions:—

(a) It shall be the duty of the Committee—

(i) To determine from time to time the quantities of butter which are to be acquired for purposes of the Winter Butter Pool;

(ii) To cause all butter required to be purchased for purposes of the Pool to be brought in specified containers and delivered at specified places; and

(iii) To have all butter which is required for purposes of the Pool and is so brought and delivered to be graded by official graders.

(b) Each manufacturer of commercial butter may be called upon to contribute to the Pool such quantity of butter of the grade and quality specified in the second schedule as the Committee deems necessary;

(c) Existing contracts for the sale of butter shall, after investigation, be voidable upon the recommendation of the Committee approved by the Prime Ministers

(d) It shall be the duty of each officialgrader to issue a certificate in accordance with the form in the third schedule for any butter which is submitted to him by the Committee and is found by him on examination to be of the grade and quality specified in the second schedule and to be of such a nature as to score not less than 42 points for flavour, and not less than 90 per cent. of the maximum points set forth in that schedule;

Provided that if the official grader is satisfied that as regards any butter examined by him notwithstanding its compliance with the standard specified in this paragraph, the butter is of a nature unfit for storage he may decline to issue a certificate;

(e) The grade certificate shall be in triplicate, and one copy shall be retained by the official grader, one copy shall be transmitted to the supplier of the butter, and one copy shall be forwarded to the Committee;

(f) The Committee may for and on behalf of the Commonwealth Government purchase such quantity of butter as is approved by the Prime Minister and which complies with the standard specified in paragraph (d), and the price payable for the butter so purchased shall be at the rate of 149s. 4d. per cwt. delivered in the cool stores specified by the Committee;

(g)Upon any butter purchased for the purposes of the pool being placed in cool stores as specified by the Committee a storage warrant shall be obtained by the Committee for the butter;

(h) Upon the issue of a storage warrant under these Regulations the copy of the official grader's certificate which has been transmitted to the supplier of the butter and the storage warrant shall be submitted to the dairy expert appointed by the Prime Minister for counter signature;

(i) The Committee shall take precautions for the safe custody of butter placed in the cool stores and shall insure it on behalf of the Commonwealth at the full value plus 10 per cent.

(j) On completion of the purchase of any butter under these Regulations the Committee shall submit to the Commonwealth Bank a statement accompanied by—

(i) Certificate of the official grader;

(ii) Storage warrant; and

(iii) Insurance cover;

(k)When any butter purchased by the Committee under these Regulations is placed in cool stores, the Committee shall have containers of the butter marked with an indelible brand in order that the identity of the butter may be effectively secured;

(l)Before any butter is paid for by the Committee, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government, the agent or manufacturer who has placed the butter in the pool shall give an undertaking in the form contained in the third schedule of these Regulations that he will, when called upon to do so, sell such butter free of commission charges on account of the Federal Government, and any agent or manufacturer who, after having given such an undertaking, as aforesaid, subsequently fails to carry out that undertaking shall refund to the Federal Government a sum equal to 3 per centum commission on the price originally accepted by him for the butter;

(m)In the event of any agent or manufacturer declining to give an undertaking, specified in the last preceding paragraph, the price payable by the Commonwealth Government for the butter, in respect of which an undertaking has not boon given, shall be 149s. 4d. per cwt. less 3 per centum commission;

(n)When any shortage of butter occurs in any State of the Commonwealth, the Committee shall notify the agents who have usually had the handling of such butter that butter to fill the shortage is available from the Pool, and shall require the agent to sell such quantity of butter as the Committee specifies;

(o) In the event of there being more agents than one handling such butter, the Committee shall in exercising its powers under the last preceding paragraph apportion the amount to be supplied by each agent on the basis of the usual volume of business of the agent in that locality;

(p) The price to be obtained by the agent for butter from the Pool in pursuance of these Regulations shall be determined by the Committee;

(g) Before any butter is withdrawn from the Pool the agent entrusted with the sale of such butter shall pay to the Commonwealth Bank the amount determined by the Committee as the amount to be paid for the butter, and shall

produce to the Committee the pay-in slip in respect of such payment and the Committee shall thereupon issue an order on the store for the delivery of the butter.

Producers to supply weekly return to Committee.

9. (1) For the purposes of these Regulations the Committee may, if it thinks fit, require any producers of commercial butter in the Commonwealth to supply to the Committee a weekly return, in such form as the Committee specifies, of all butter produced by him, and may, if it thinks fit, require any distributor of butter, whether recognized or not, to furnish, such weekly estimates of the requirements of his own portion of the trade.

(2) A requirement under this Regulation may be served personally or by publication in the Commonwealth Gazette.

(3) Any person who, upon being required to furnish a return in accordance with this Regulation, fails to do so, or supplies a return which is false or misleading in any particular shall be guilty of an offence.

_______

first schedule.

Commonwealth of Australia.

The War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations.

Declaration by Officer under Regulation 7.

I of

being appointed under the above-named

Regulations, do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will faithfully and to the best of my ability perform the duties imposed on me as  and that I will not, except in the course of my duties, disclose any information which comes into my possession in the course of the performance of my duties as

Declared at this

day of 19

Before me*

*Signature of Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Affidavits or Commissioner for Declarations.

________

SECOND SCHEDULE.

The War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations.

Grade of Butter to be contributed by Manufacturers to the Pool.

Superfine or First Grade in accordance with the Regulations for the time being in force under the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905.

Quality of Butter to be contributed by Manufacturers to the Pool.

For the purpose of determining the quality of butter which may be contributed by manufacturers to the Pool, butter shall be graded as follows:—

Flavour and aroma, a maximum of 50 points.

Texture, including body, grain, and moisture, a maximum of 30 points.

Condition, including colour, salting, packing, and covering, a maximum of 20 points.

Butter so contributed must score not less than forty-two points for flavour, and not less than 90 per centum of the maximum points specified above.

THIRD SCHEDULE.

The War Precautions(Winter Butter Pool) Regulations.

I  an official grader for the purposes

of the above-mentioned Regulations, do hereby certify that I have examined (here specify quantity of butter submitted, by whom submitted, distinguishing marks) and find that the butter is of the following grade and quality:—

Dated this day of 19 .

Official Grader.

Note.—A certificate in this form is not to be issued unless the official grader is satisfied that the butter submitted to him is of the grade and quality specified in the Second Schedule, and is of such a nature as to score not less than 42 points for flavour and not less than 90 per cent. of the maximum points set forth in the Second Schedule.

Notwithstanding that any butter examined by him complies with the standard specified in the last preceding paragraph, an official grader may decline to issue a certificate if he considers the butter to be of a nature unfit for storage.

_____________

FOURTH SCHEDULE.

The War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations.

I (here insert name, address and occupation of agent or manufacturer) hereby undertake that in consideration of the Commonwealth Government accepting from me the following butter (here specify quantity and distinguishing marks) under the War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations, I (or we) will, when called upon by the Chairman of the Commonwealth Winter Butter Pool Committee to do so, sell such butter free of commission charges on account of the Commonwealth Government.

Dated this day of 19 .

Witness—

Note.—Paragraph (1) of Regulation 8 of the War Precautions (Winter Butter Pool) Regulations provides that any agent or manufacturer who, after having given such an undertaking as aforesaid, subsequently fails to carry out that undertaking, shall refund to the Commonwealth Government a sum equal to three per centum commission on the price originally accepted by him for the butter.

______________________

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

C.5403.—2