| 7. | What deemed a sufficient fence. A fence of any of the kinds mentioned in Schedule A hereto is a sufficient fence within the meaning; of this Act. |
| 8. | Barbed-wire fence may be prohibited in towns. Any Borough Council or Town Board may prohibit the erection of any fence composed wholly or partly of barbed wires within the limits of the borough or town district, or within such portions thereof respectively as are provided by any by-law from time to time made in that behalf. |
| 9. | Existing fences preserved. Where a sufficient fence has been erected within the meaning of any Act hereby repealed, such fence need not be made a sufficient fence within the meaning of this Act until the erection of a new fence. |
| 10. |
| (1.) | Adjoining occupiers to share cost of fencing. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the occupiers of contiguous lands not divided by a sufficient fence are liable to join in or contribute in equal proportions to the erection of a fence between such lands, notwithstanding that such fence may not extend along the whole boundary-line. |
| (2.) | But no occupier shall be liable to contribute to any fence which is not, as far as practicable, continuous throughout its length. |
| (3.) | The erection of a fence includes the conversion of a non-rabbit-proof fence into a rabbit-proof fence, as described in section three of Part (2) of Schedule A of this Act. |
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| 11. |
| (1.) | Notice to fence to be given. Any person desiring to compel any other person to contribute to the erection of a fence under this Act must serve on him a notice to fence. |
| (2.) | Such notice shall be in the form or to the effect numbered one in the Schedule C hereto, and shall specify the boundary to be fenced, and the kind of fence proposed to be erected. |
| (3.) | If any person erects a fence without serving notice as aforesaid, the occupier of the contiguous land shall not be liable to pay any portion of the cost of erecting such fence, but shall not thereby be reheved from liability to pay half the cost of repairs. |
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| 12. |
| (1.) | Objections to proposed fence. If the receiver of a notice to fence objects to any of the proposals therein contained, he may, within twenty-one days after the service of such notice, serve on the giver a cross notice signifying such objection and making counter proposals to fence. |
| (2.) | Such cross notice shall be in the form or to the effect numbered two in Schedule C hereto. |
| (3.) | If he fails to serve such cross notice within the said period of twenty-one days he shall be deemed to have agreed to the proposals contained in the notice served on him. |
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| 13. | Provision in cases where fencing notices vary. If notices to fence have been duly served by both parties, and the proposals therein contained do not correspond, or if a notice and cross notice have been served, then (unless within twenty-one days after the service of the last of the said notices the parties can agree) the questions in difference shall be determined by a Magistrate in the manner hereinafter provided. |
| 14. | As to cost of rabbit-proof fence when in dispute. If the questions in difference relate to the erection of a rabbit-proof fence or the conversion of a non-rabbit-proof fence into a rabbit-proof fence, and the Magistrate decides that the receiver of the notice will not derive adequate benefit from such erection or page 5.gif) conversion, and therefore should not be required to contribute the half-cost thereof, then—
| (1.) | The giver of the notice may at his own cost erect or convert the fence, and may at any time remove the wire-netting affixed by him for the purpose of such conversion, and at all times deal with such wire-netting as his own property; |
| (2.) | The receiver of the notice shall be liable to contribute a sum equal to the half-cost of erecting a sufficient non-rabbit-proof fence (unless one already exists), together with such additional sum (if any) as the Magistrate considers equitable, having regard to the benefit received from the rabbit-proof fence; |
| (3.) | The receiver of the notice shall also be liable to bear the half-cost of repairing such fence as a rabbit-proof fence until the wire netting is removed as aforesaid. |
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| 15. | As to erection of fences not in Schedule A. If any person shall desire to erect a dividing-fence of a description different from any fence mentioned in Schedule A hereto, he shall give notice as hereinbefore provided, and if the person served with such notice shall not within twenty-one days of the service of such notice object in writing to the description of fence proposed to be erected, then the person giving such notice may proceed to erect such fence accordingly, and such fence shall be deemed to be a sufficient fence within the meaning of this Act; and in case of objection being made the questions in difference shall be determined by the Magistrate in manner hereinafter provided. |
| 16. | If default made by one party, other may fence and recover. If either party neglects or fails tor the space of twenty-one days to commence, or, having so commenced, neglects or fails for the space of fourteen days to continue, to erect or convert such fence, the other party may thereupon, or at any time within three months thereafter, proceed to make or complete the fence, and, at any time thereafter, recover from the defaulting party such party's proportion of the cost thereof. |
| 17. | Succeeding occupier liable for contribution. If any person becomes the occupier of any land separated from any contiguous land by a fence made by the occupier of such contiguous land, such person is subject to the same liabilities in respect of such fence as his predecessor was subject to when he relinquished occupation. |
| 18. |
| (1.) | Where adjoining lands are Crown lands or Native lands. When a fence is erected on any land, and the lands contiguous thereto are at the time of such erection excepted from this Act, or any Act hereby repealed, but subsequently become subject to this Act, then the occupier thereafter of such contiguous lands shall, within one month after demand upon him by written notice given, pay to the person who erected the fence a duly proportionate share of its then value, and shall also be liable to bear half the cost of repairing the fence so long as he continues to be such occupier. |
| (2.) |
The amount of such proportionate share shall in case of dispute be determined by a Magistrate in manner hereinafter provided:
Provided that, if such occupier holds under a lease having a less currency than five years, he shall only be liable to contribute as set forth in section five:
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Provided further that, upon the expiry or earher determination of such lease, the person who becomes the occupier shall be liable as set forth in subsection one of this section.
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| 19. |
| (1.) | Bush may be cleared along line of fence. Where the land or any part thereof on which any fence is to be erected is covered with standing bush, the person erecting such fence shall be entitled to fell and clear the bush for a width not exceeding thirty-three feet on each side along the entire length of such fence; and the cost of such clearing shall be added to the cost of erection, and be apportioned accordingly: Provided that in case of dispute such width shall be determined by the Magistrate in manner as hereinafter provided. |
| (2.) | But nothing in this section contained shall empower any person to fell any ornamental plantation, or any belt or patch of standing bush preserved for shelter, and which is not more than five chains in width. |
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| 20. |
| (1.) | Where river, &c., natural boundary, power to agree on line of fence. When a river, creek, ditch, natural or artificial watercourse, or rocky or impracticable land is on the boundary of contiguous lands, the occupiers of such lands may agree upon a line of fence on either side of such boundary, and if they cannot agree, the line of the fence shall be determined by a Magistrate in manner hereinafter provided. |
| (2.) | The Magistrate may appoint one or more persons to inspect the proposed line of fencing, and shall determine whether any fence is necessary, and, if so, what line is to be adopted; and whether any, and, if so, what compensation in the shape of an annual payment or otherwise is to be made to either of the occupiers in consideration of loss of occupation of land. |
| (3.) | The reasonable costs of such inspection, as fixed by the Magistrate, shall be costs in the cause. |
| (4.) | The occupation of lands on either side of such line of fence shall not be deemed adverse possession, and shall not affect the title to or possession of any such lands, save for the purposes of this Act. |
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| 21. |
| (1.) | Half of dividing-fence may be on adjoining land. The occupier of any land in making a ditch-and-bank fence may make the ditch on the contiguous land (Crown lands inclusive), and use the soil taken therefrom towards making the bank, or he may make the ditch on his own land and place the bank on such contiguous land. |
| (2.) | But no ditch or bank shall be made upon any such contiguous land so as to disturb or injure a live fence or hedge without the previous written consent of the occupier of such land. |
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| 22. | Posts to be on boundary-line. Where a fence is made of posts and rails, or wire, or palings, the posts of such fence shall be placed on the boundary-line, or as near thereto as is practicable. |
| 23. |
| (1.) | Person using fence on further side of road liable to pay interest on half-cost. If the occupier of any land bounded by a road has erected a fence on the boundary of his land and such road, and any other person adopts any means by which such fence is rendered of beneficial use to himself, and avails himself of such fence, such person, so long as he continues to avail himself thereof, is liable to pay to the person who erected such fence, or to the occupier of the land whereon the same is erected, interest on half the then value of such fence, at the rate of ten pounds per centum per annum, and also to bear half the cost of repairs.page 7.gif) |
| (2.) | The person so availing himself of any such fence shall have all the powers and rights conferred on an occupier under sections thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-two of this Act. |
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| 24. |
| (1.) | Gorse not to be planted without consent of neighbours. No person shall, whether for the purpose of making a live fence or otherwise, plant or sow gorse or trees—
| (a.) | Upon or alongside any boundary-line or fence without the previous written consent of the occupiers of the contiguous lands; nor |
| (b.) | Upon or alongside any boundary-line or fence bounding or abutting upon any Grown lands, public reserve, or railway, without the previous written consent of the proper authority having the management or control thereof. |
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| (2.) | No person shall under any circumstances, or for any purpose, plant or sow sweetbriar, bramble, or blackberry, upon or alongside any such boundary-line or fence as aforesaid. |
| (3.) | Every person who commits a breach of any of the provisions of this section is liable, for every such offence, to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds. |
| (4.) | Irrespective of any such penalty, the occupier or proper authority, as aforesaid, may enter on the land and cut down, eradicate, and destroy all gorse or trees, sweet-briar, bramble, or blackberry, planted or sown in breach of this section, and may recover the cost of so doing from the person who planted or sowed the same. |
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| 25. | Power to construct a fence on road to protect live fence. With the consent in writing or the local authority having the control of any road, and subject to such terms and conditions as such local authority in writing prescribes, the occupier of any land bounded by such road may erect on such road a fence for the purpose of protecting, until it becomes fully grown, any live fence planted by him on the boundary of his land and such road: Provided—
| (1.) | That no part of the fence erected on the road is distant more than five feet from the nearest point on the boundary-line; and also |
| (2.) | That such fence does not reduce to less than twenty-four feet the width of the road available for traffic; and also |
| (3.) | That the occupier removes the fence whenever in the opinion of the local authority the exigencies of traffic require its removal or the live fence no longer needs protection. |
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| 26. |
| (1.) | Swing gates across roads. Subject to the provisions of the "The Public Works Act, 1894," relating to gates across roads, the local authority may by writing permit any person to erect a swing-gate or rabbit-proof gate, properly hung, and provided with an efficient fastening capable of being opened by a person on horseback, across any road or bridge, and such permission shall remain in force during the pleasure of such local authority. |
| (2.) | Every person who damages or leaves open any swing-gate erected on a road or bridge, or in any rabbit-proof fence, or who after opening such gate does not close it, is liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds for every such offence, and is also liable to the person who erected such gate for all such damage as aforesaid. |
| (3.) | The provisions of the said Act relating to gates across roads shall for the purposes of this Act apply also to gates across bridges. |
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| 27. |
| (1.) | Fences on Crown lands to be provided with gates or openings, &e. Where any person has erected any fence upon any Crown, lands, the Commissioner of Crown Lands of the district may direct such person to make such and so many gates, and at such places in the fence, as he deems necessary for the public convenience. |
| (2.) | If such person does not comply with such direction within one month after the receipt thereof, he is liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and the Commissioner may forthwith have such gates made at the expense of such person. |
| (3.) | Any person who leaves such gate open is liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds. |
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| 28. | Penalty for damaging or destroying fences. Every person who wilfully destroys or breaks down, or who injures or removes, any rabbit-proof fence or any portion thereof, whether set up on Crown lands or private lands, is liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding six months. |
| 29. | Land taken under Public Works Act, how to be fenced. In case of any piece of land being taken under the provisions of "The Public Works Act, 1894," out of land fenced with a rabbit-proof fence, the fencing to be erected in terms of the twenty-seventh section of that Act shall be rabbit-proof, and shall be so kept during the construction of the work. |
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conversion, and therefore should not be required to contribute the half-cost thereof, then—
