CONSOLIDATED ACTS OF SAMOA 2009

MEASURES ORDINANCE 1960

Arrangement of Provisions

TITLE
1. Short title
2. Interpretation

MEASURES OF WEIGHT AND SPACE OR DISTANCE AND TIME

3. Standard measures 
4. Failure to use standard measures
5. Use of false measures

TIME

6. Samoa standard time fixed
7. Application
8. Regulations
9. Repeals and savings 
 Schedules

____________

THE MEASURES ORDINANCE 1960
1960 No.15

AN ORDINANCE to consolidate and amend the law relating to measures of weight, volume or capacity, distance or length, and time.

(26 August 1960)
(Commencement date: 26 August 1960)

1. Short title - This Ordinance may be cited as the Measures Ordinance 1960.

2. Interpretation - In this Ordinance, if not inconsistent with the context:

"Goods" means all kinds of movable personal property, including animals.

"Samoa standard time" means the mean solar time of the longitude of 165 degrees west of Greenwich which time is 11 hours behind Greenwich mean solar time.

"Weighing machine" includes any weighbridge, scales, balance, steelyard and other instrument for weighing, and includes the weights belonging thereto.

MEASURES OF WEIGHT AND SPACE OR DISTANCE AND TIME

3. Standard measures - (1) The Imperial standard pound and the Imperial standard yard described in the Imperial Act entitled the Weights and Measures Act 1878 shall be the source from which all measures of weight, all measures of volume or capacity, and all measures of length or distance to be used in Samoa are derived.

(2) The several weights and measures derived from the said Imperial standard pound and the Imperial yard respectively and described in the First Schedule hereto shall be the only weights and measures to be used in Samoa.

4. Failure to use standard measures - Every person who in any transaction with any other person uses any denomination or measure of weight, volume or capacity, length or distance other than one of the weights and measures described in the said First Schedule or some multiple or part thereof commits an offence and is liable for each such offence to a Fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit:

PROVIDED the provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(a) any contract, bargain, sale, purchase, or dealing in connection with the importation or export of goods from or to a country where a system of weights or measures other than that determined under the provisions of this Ordinance is used;

(b) any contract, bargain, sale, purchase, or dealing in respect of anything which the Head of State by regulations published in the Samoa Gazette may exempt from the provisions of this Ordinance.

5. Use of false measures - (1) Every person who uses or has in his or her possession any weight or measure or any weighing machine which is false, unjust, or imperfect commits an offence and is liable for each offence to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit.

(2) Every person who wilfully commits or is party to any fraud in the use of any weight or measure or of any weighing machine commits an offence and is liable for each offence to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit or to imprisonment for 6 months.

TIME

6. Samoa standard time fixed - Whenever any reference to a point of time occurs in any legislative enactment in force in Samoa or in any regulation, proclamation, order, rule, warrant, or notice made or given under any such enactment or in any document whatsoever the time referred to shall be deemed to be Samoa standard time unless it is otherwise expressly provided therein.

7. Application - This Ordinance shall apply in respect of Samoa standard time to all enactments and documents whether enacted, made, or executed before or after the coming into operation of this Ordinance and shall extend to points of time fixed or by reference to sunrise and sunset.

8. Regulations - (1) The Head of State, acting by and with the advice of Cabinet, may from time to time make all such regulations as may in the Head of State opinion be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Ordinance and for the due administration thereof.

(2) Without limiting the general power conferred by subsection (1) of this section, it is hereby declared that regulations may be made under this section for all or any of the following purposes:

(a) prescribing tables showing the amount of error that may be tolerated in any class of measure;

(b) prescribing the classes of weights to be used on certain classes of weighing machines;

(c) prescribing the method of marking on goods their weight or other measure;

(d) exempting from the provisions of this Ordinance or any of them any class of contract, bargain, sale, purchase or dealing;

(e) generally for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Ordinance.

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment to lay all regulations made under this section before the Legislative Assembly within 28 days after the making thereof if the Assembly is then in session; and, if not, to lay them before the Assembly within 28 days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

9. Repeals and savings - (1) The enactments specified in the Second Schedule are hereby repealed.

(2) All matters and proceedings commenced under the said Ordinances and pending or in progress on the coming into operation of this Ordinance may be continued, completed, and enforced under the corresponding provisions of this Ordinance.

(3) Except so far as may be specifically provided herein, nothing in this Ordinance shall be so construed as to annul or derogate from the provisions of any other statute or of any regulation thereunder.

________

SCHEDULES

FIRST SCHEDULE
Section 3 (2)

MEASURES DERIVED FROM THE IMPERIAL STANDARD POUND AND THE IMPERIAL STANDARD YARD

Measures of Weight

One-sixteenth part of the imperial standard pound shall be an ounce, and one-sixteenth part of such ounce shall be a dram, and one seven-thousand part of the standard pound shall be a grain.

A hundredweight shall consist of 112 pounds, and a ton shall consist of 20 such hundred weights:

Provided that a ton of oatmeal or of flour, bran, pollared sharps, semolina, wheatmeal, or other milled product of oats or wheat may consist of 2000 pounds.

The pound troy shall be 0.82286 of the Imperial standard pound. One-twelfth part of such pound troy shall be an ounce, one two-hundred-and-fortieth part of such pound shall be a pennyweight, and one five-thousand-seven-hundred-and-sixtieth part of such pound shall be a grain.

The ounce apothecaries shall be 0.06857 of the Imperial standard pound. One-eighth part of such ounce shall be a drachm, one twenty-fourth part of such ounce shall be a scruple, and one four-hundred-and-eightieth part of such ounce shall be a grain.

Measures of Capacity

The unit or standard measures of capacity from which all other measures of capacity, as well for liquids as for dry goods, shall be derived shall be the gallon, containing 10 standard pounds weight of distilled water weighed in air against brass weights, with the water and air at the temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit's thermometer and the barometer at 30 inches.

The quart shall be the fourth part, the pint shall be the eighth part, and the gill shall be the thirty-second part of a gallon.

Two gallons shall be a peck, and 8 gallons shall be a bushel, and 8 such bushels shall be a quarter.

Measures of Length

One-third of the Imperial standard yard shall be a foot, and the twelfth part of such foot shall be an inch. The rod, pole, or perch in length shall be 5 such yards and a half. The chain shall contain 22 such yards, and the mile 1,760 such yards. The link shall be 0.22 of such yard.

The Imperial standard yard shall be 0.91439842 of the international metre. The international metre shall be 1.0936152 such yards, 3.2808455 such feet, and 39.370147 such inches.

Measures of Surface

The standard yard squared shall be the square yard. One-ninth part of the square yard shall be a square foot, and the one-thousand-two-hundred-and-ninety-sixth part of such square yard shall be a square inch. Thirty square yards and one-quarter shall be a perch. One thousand two hundred and ten square yards shall be a rood. Four thousand eight hundred and forty square yards shall be an acre. Six hundred and forty acres shall be a square mile.

The international metre squared shall be the square metre. The square metre shall be 1.19599 square yards 25.2928 square metres shall be a perch. 1011.7106 square metres shall be a rood and 4046.8424 square metres shall be an acre. The square yard shall be 0.8631 square metres.

SECOND SCHEDULE
Section 9

ENACTMENTS REPEALED:

No.3 - 1931 : The General Laws Ordinance 1931, section 9.
No.1 - 1933 : The Samoa Standard Time Ordinance 1933.
No.6 - 1948 : The Law Reform Ordinance 1948, section 6.

REVISION NOTES 2008

This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. The following general revisions have been made –

(a) References to Western Samoa have been amended to Samoa in accordance with an amendment to the Constitution of Samoa in 1997.

(b) The fines have been amended and are stated as penalty units as provided for by the Fines (Review and Amendment) Act 1998.

(c) All references to the male gender have been made gender neutral.

(d) Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.

(e) Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes.

(f) Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Western Samoa Statutes Reprint 1978-1996.

Note: The title of "Minister of Land" has been amended to "Minister of Natural Resources and Environment" in section 3(2) and (3) to reflect the Ministerial and Departmental Arrangements Act 2003 (No. 3). 

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2007. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

REVISION NOTES 2008 No. 2

This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. The commencement date is inserted. 

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2008. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel). 

REVISION NOTES 2009

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2009. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Papalii Malietau Malietoa (Parliamentary Counsel).

The Measures Ordinance 1960 is administered in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.