Be It Enacted by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1.	The Short Title of this Act is "The Fencing Act, 1895"; and Short Title. it shall come into operation on the first day of January, one thousand Commencement. eight hundred and ninety-six.page 2
2.	Interpretation. In this Act, if not inconsistent with the context,— "Alienate" and "ahenation" include a limited disposal by lease or license, as well as an absolute disposal by sale or otherwise: "Crown lands" includes all lands of whatever description vested in the Crown: "Crown tenant" means an occupier of Crown lands or public reserves, or of Native lands, as provided in paragraph (c) of subsection one of section three, and includes the Wardens of Hundreds, and the trustees, managers, or other persons having the control of commonages or mining reserves; but does not include any person holding Crown lands on deferred payment, agricultural lease, license with right of purchase, perpetual lease, lease in perpetuity, small grazing-runs, or mining district occupation lease: "Pence" means a sufficient fence of any of the kinds mentioned in Schedule A separating the lands of different occupiers, and includes all necessary gates, floodgates, culverts, and channels: "Magistrate" means Stipendiary Magistrate: "Natives" means aboriginal natives of New Zealand, and include half-castes and their descendants: "Occupier" includes any person who is in the actual occupation of or entitled as owner to occupy any land ahenated from the Crown, or any Native or other land to which this Act apphes as hereinafter provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection one of section three; and also any person who has in any manner purchased or acquired any such land or any estate or interest therein; and also any local authority, trustees, or persons in whom the title to or control of any public reserve is vested: "Owner" includes a tenant in fee-simple, a tenant in tail, a tenant for life, and a tenant for any term of not less than ten years, and the trustee of any owner as herein defined who is under any legal disability, but does not include a mortgagee not in possession: "Public reserves" means all reserves of Crown or other lands made for any purpose of public use or benefit: "Rabbit-proof fence" means a fence of any of the kinds mentioned in the second part of Schedule A erected or converted for the purpose of preventing the passage of rabbits: "Road" or "street" includes any public highway, by-way, crossway, or public place, whether it be a carriage-way, horse-way, or footway: "To repair" includes to trim, keep, and maintain a live fence, and to clean, deepen, or straighten a river, creek, ditch, or natural or artificial watercourse used as a fence.
3.	(1.) Act to apply to Native lands. This Act shall apply,— (a.) To all lands owned by Natives under Crown grant, or under any title which has been determined by the Native Land Court or otherwise; and alsopage 3 (b.) To all lands vested in the Public Trustee under "The West Coast Settlement Reserves Act, 1892," or otherwise in trust for Natives; and also (c.) To all lands held by Natives under their customs or usages, or reserved for their use, the title to which has not been determined, but which are leased for the benefit of those-concerned. (2.) With respect to the lands referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection one of this section, the following provisions shall apply:— (a.) Where judgment is recovered against the Native owner for any sum in respect of the erection of a fence under this Act, the land shall stand charged with the payment to the judgment creditor of the amount of the judgment, together with interest thereon at the rate of six pounds per centum per annum, on the registration of a certificate in the form or to the effect set forth in Schedule B hereto, which the Court before whom the judgment is recovered shall issue at the request of the creditor: (b.) Such certificate shall be deemed an instrument within the meaning of "The Land Transfer Act, 1885," and an instrument affecting land within the meaning of "The Deeds Registration Act, 1868," and may be registered accordingly: (c.) No sale, lease, or other disposition of the land affected by any such charge shall be made or shall have any validity until the charge is satisfied, and a discharge thereof is registered in like manner as in the case of a mortgage. (3.) For the purposes of this Act, the Public Trustee shall be deemed to be the owner of all lands vested in him as aforesaid: Provided that he shall only be liable under this Act in his representative capacity, and to the extent of the funds from time to time available.
4.	Act not to apply to unahenated Crown lands. This Act shall not apply to unahenated Crown lands, nor to public reserves not vested in any local authority, trustees, or persons; nor shall the Crown, the Governor, any Land Board, nor any public officer having the administration, management, or control of Crown lands, or public reserves as aforesaid, be liable under this Act to make any contribution towards the erection or repair of any fence.
5.	(1.) Where any fence is erected under the provisions of this Act dividing any land held by any person as Crown tenant from any contiguous land, it shall be at the option of such Crown tenant, instead of paying any proportion of the cost of erecting such fence, to pay to the person who erected such fence, or other person entitled thereto, interest on the said proportion at the rate of ten per centum per annum during such Crown tenant's term of occupation. (2.) Crown tenant may pay interest on half-cost of erection of fence. But such Crown tenant shall be liable to pay half the cost of repairs to such fence during the said term.
6.	Land Board may declare rabbit-fence an improvement. The Land Board, under "The Land Act, 1892," may declare a rabbit-proof fence to be a substantial improvement of a permanent character within the meaning of that Act.