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Canterbury Provincial Ordinances |
4. The Cemetery Reserves Management Ordinance 1870
[23rd March 1870.]
Whereas by authority of the “Public Reserves Act 1854” certain lands have been and are now vested in the Superintendent of the Province of Canterbury upon trust for Public Cemeteries And whereas by the said “Public Reserves Act 1854” it is provided that the Superintendent and Provincial Council of any Province may by any Act or Ordinance duly passed in that behalf regulate the management and administration of the lands vested in the Superintendent as aforesaid and whereas it is expedient to make provision for such management and administration of all such reserves as are now vested in the Superintendent for the purposes aforesaid.
Be it therefore enacted by the Superintendent of the said Province with the
advice and consent of the Provincial Council thereof as
follows:
1. Superintendent with advice of Executive Council may appoint persons to be managers of reserves.
It shall be lawful for the Superintendent with the advice of the Executive
Council from time to time to appoint so many persons as
he may think fit to be
Managers of all or any of the said reserves and to remove from the said
management any person so appointed
as and when it shall be deemed proper and
upon the death resignation or removal of any Manager to appoint another in his
stead and
every such appointment and removal shall be published in the
Provincial Government Gazette.
2. Managers of Cemetery shall have power to enclose some or any part thereof: to lay out and ornament same: and preserve and maintain same in proper order and expend moneys in their hands in such matters and in burial of poor persons.
The Managers of any such Reserve and Cemetery shall have power to enclose
power to enclose the whole or any part of the land reserved
or set apart for
such purposes as aforesaid with proper and sufficient walls rails fences or
palisades and to erect suitable gates
and entrances and to lay out and ornament
such Cemetery in such manner as may be most convenient and suitable for the
burial of the
dead and to embellish the same with such walks avenues roads and
shrubs as may to them seem fitting and proper and to preserve maintain
and keep
in a cleanly and orderly state and condition and cause to be so maintained and
kept the whole of any such Cemetery and its
walls and fences and all monuments
tomb-stones enclosures buildings erections walks and shrubberies therein and
belonging thereto
and shall lay out and expend subject to the directions of the
Superintendent with the advice aforesaid the moneys in their hands
from time to
time to be received by them under this Ordinance in and about the matters
aforesaid and in the burial of poor persons.
3. Managers may make rules and regulations to be submitted to the
Superintendent and Executive Council and published in Gazette.
The Managers of any such Cemetery shall have power and authority to make such
rules and regulations and to do and perform all such
acts matters and things as
may be necessary and proper for any of the purposes aforesaid for directing the
positions of all graves
vaults monuments and tomb-stones to be made erected and
placed in the said Cemetery the depths of graves the construction of coffins
to
be admitted into vaults and the covering of vaults so as to prevent the escape
of any noxious exhalation or evaporation in the
said Cemetery and for protecting
the buildings monuments shrubberies plantations and enclosures therein and
thereof from destruction
or damage and for prosecuting all persons who shall or
may at any time do or cause to be done any damage to any such buildings
monuments
tombstones shrubberies plantations or enclosures : Provided that no
such rule or regulation shall be in force until the same has
been submitted to
the Superintendent and Executive Council and published in the Provincial
Government Gazette.
4. Managers not to interfere with performance of any religious ceremony: Minister to have free access and admission to portion of specially set apart for his denomination.
The said Managers shall not by any rule or regulation or any act matter or
thing at any time interfere directly or indirectly with
the performance of any
religious ceremony in the burial of the dead according to the usage of the
communion to which the deceased
may have belonged: And it shall be lawful for
any Minister of any denomination for which any portion of such Cemeteries shall
be
specially set apart to have free access and admission to such portion of the
said Cemeteries at all times as they respectively shall
think fit and freely to
exercise their spiritual functions therein without any hindrance or disturbance
from the Managers of any
such Cemetery or any person whatever.
5. Managers may permit graves or vaults to be dug or made and monuments and tombstones to be erected or placed in Cemetery upon payment to them of such fees as they may establish: Register to be kept of graves vaults monuments or tombstones.
It shall be lawful for the Managers of any such Cemetery to permit any grave
or vault to be dug and made in such Cemetery and any
monument or tomb-stone to
be erected or placed in any parts of such Cemetery as they may think proper upon
payment to them by the
person desiring to dig and make such grave or vault and
to erect or place such monument or tomb-stone of such fees as shall from
time to
time be established by the said Managers and any person so digging making
erecting or placing such grave vault monument or
tomb-stone by and with such
permission and upon payment of the fees as aforesaid shall be entitled to have
such grave vault monument
or tombstone reserved maintained and kept up according
to the terms of such permission to and for the sole and separate use of such
person and his representatives for ever Provided that a plan of every monument
proposed to be erected and placed shall be exhibited
to the said Managers before
such permission is given and that the said Managers shall be at liberty to
withhold such permission and
to prevent the erection of any monument or
tombstone which shall appear to them to be inappropriate or unbecoming and shall
determine
and fix the position of any monument or tombstone which may be
proposed to be erected or placed according to the description size
and character
thereof having reference to the general plan for ornamenting the said Cemetery
in an appropriate manner A Register
of such permissions and of the terms and
conditions thereof shall be kept by the Managers and within fourteen days after
any such
permission has been given an entry of the date thereof and of the
parties thereto and a proper description of the ground set apart
for such grave
or vault so as the situation thereof may be ascertained shall be made in the
said Register by the Managers or their
Clerk for making which entry a fee not
exceeding two shillings and sixpence may be charged to the person receiving such
permission
and the said Register may be perused by any person at all reasonable
times upon payment to the Managers of a fee of one shilling.
6. Fees to be according to a scale made by Managers with the consent of the Superintendent and Executive Council and published in Gazette.
The fees to be established by the Managers of any such Cemetery and paid by
the person desiring to dig and make any grave or vault
or to erect or place any
tombstone or monument in the said Cemetery as aforesaid shall be according to a
scale of all such fees to
be made by the said Managers with the consent of the
Superintendent and Executive Council and published in the Provincial Government
Gazette Provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prevent the
said Managers from allowing the burial of any poor
person in such Cemetery free
from any charge whatsoever.
7. Before any corpse shall be permitted to be interred in any vault or grave evidence may be required that the person, if any, in whom for the time being the exclusive right of burial or interment therein is vested has consented thereto.
Before any corpse shall be permitted to be interred in any vault brick grave
or in any place of burial the exclusive right of burial
or interment wherein
shall have been sold or granted by the said Managers as a family or private
burial place it shall be lawful
for the said Managers or any officer employed by
them to require and they or he shall be entitled to have to them or him
satisfactory
evidence that the person for the time entitled as owner to the
exclusive right of burial or interment in such vault brick grave or
other burial
place has consented or would not object to such interment taking place
therein.
8. Managers may take down and remove any tombstone monuments or other erections placed or built contrary to terms and conditions.
It shall be lawful for the said Managers to take down and remove any
tombstones monuments or other erections which shall have been
placed erected or
built contrary to the terms and conditions upon which permission to place erect
or construct the same was granted
or in case such terms and conditions as well
as the regulations of the said Cemetery shall not have been complied
with.
9. Managers may set apart portions of Cemetery for religious denominations such portions may be consecrated and Mortuary Chapel may be built.
It shall be lawful for the Managers of any Reserve on the application of
members of any religious denomination whose principles demand
that land used for
the burial of their dead should be consecrated to set apart a portion of the
said Reserve for the burial of the
dead according to the rites of such
denomination And the Managers shall permit such portion so set aside to be
consecrated according
to the rites of the particular denomination and the part
which is so consecrated shall be used only for burials according to the
rites of
the particular denomination And the Managers shall define by suitable marks not
being dividing fence the portions so set
aside or consecrated Provided that if
the Managers shall be of opinion that the members of the religious denomination
residing in
the Town or District for the use of which Town or District the
Cemetery is set apart are inconsiderable in number it shall be lawful
for the
Managers to refuse the application and the members so applying as aforesaid may
thereupon appeal to the Superintendent against
the decision of the Managers and
the Superintendent with the advice of his Executive Council shall consider the
appeal and make such
order thereupon as shall seem to meet the justice of the
case And the Managers of any such Cemetery may out of any funds at their
disposal which may accrue erect a Mortuary Chapel for general use and may allow
the members of any religious denomination at their
own expense to erect and
build within such part of the said Cemetery as shall be specially set apart to
be consecrated for that denomination
a suitable Mortuary Chapel for the
performance of the rites and ceremonies in the burial of the dead according to
the usage of such
denomination. Provided that the plans specifications
elevations and models thereof with lodges and other buildings and conveniences
thereto shall be first submitted for the approval of the said Managers and shall
be approved by them.
10. Meetings of Managers.
All meetings of the Managers of any such Cemetery shall be convened according
to the rules to be adopted by them for such purpose
and all questions matters
and things which shall be discussed or considered at any such meeting shall be
decided and determined by
the majority in number of the Managers then present;
provided that the said Managers being three or more in number shall not be
competent
to proceed to business unless there be at least three of them present
and all such Managers shall have power to make such rules and
regulations as may
be necessary for their own guidance and management.
11. Managers may appoint grave diggers and other servants and pay same.
The Managers may appoint grave diggers and other servants necessary for the
care and use of the Cemetery and may pay them such wages
and allowance as they
think fit out of the fees and other moneys received by the Managers under this
Ordinance and may remove them
or any of them at their pleasure.
12. Managers to keep full and particular account of all sums of money received and expended by them.
A full and particular account shall be kept by the Managers of every such Cemetery of all sums of money received and expended by them and an abstract of such account shall be made up from the day of their first appointment to the Thirty-first day of December in the first year of their appointment and from the first day of January to the Thirty-first day of December both inclusive in each subsequent year and such account and abstract shall be transmitted to the Superintendent as early as practicable and not later than the Twentieth day of January in every year and shall be verified respectively by a declaration by three at least of such Managers to be made before a Justice of the Peace of the
Colony of New Zealand and every such abstract shall be published in some
newspaper circulating in the district and if such Managers
shall omit to make
and transmit such accounts and abstracts they shall forfeit and pay for every
such offence a sum not exceeding
five pounds.
13. Manager to send to Superintendent along with accounts a statement of the condition of Cemetery.
The said Managers shall send to the Superintendent along with such accounts a
statement of the condition of such Cemetery as to repairs
order and ornament and
suggestions as to the work or alterations necessary or expedient in the ensuing
year for such repairs order
and ornament and an estimate of the expense which
may probably be incurred in effecting the same.
14. Proceedings to be taken and fines and penalties recovered in a summary way.
All proceedings under this Ordinance shall be had and taken and all fines and
penalties shall be recovered in a summary way.
15. Title.
This Ordinance shall be termed and may be cited and referred to as the “Cemetery Reserves Management Ordinance 1870.”
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URL: http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/can_ord/crmo1870346