SAMOA

MEASURES ORDINANCE 1960

Arrangement of Provisions

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1.	Short title
2.	Interpretation

PART II
MEASURES OF WEIGHTAND SPACE OR DISTANCEAND TIME

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

PART III
TIME

6.	Repealed
7.	Repealed
8.	Regulations
9.	Repeal and savings 
	
Schedules

		

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.
[Assent and commencement date: 26 August 1960]

PART I
PRELIMINARY

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;
“weighing machine” includes any weighbridge, scales, balance, steelyard and other instrument for weighing, and includes the weights belonging thereto.

PART II
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 is 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 imperial standard pound and the Imperial yard respectively and described in the First Schedule are the only weights and measures used in Samoa.

4.	Failure to use standard measures–(1)A 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 First Schedule or some multiple or part thereof commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit:
(2) Subsection (1) does 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; or
(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)A 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 to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit.
(2)A 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 to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit or to imprisonment for 6 months.

PART III
TIME

6 – 7.Repealed by s12(1) of the International Date Line Act 2011.
	
8.	Regulations–(1) The Head of State, on the advice of Cabinet, may make 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 subsection (1), 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)The Minister of Natural Resources and Environmentshall 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.	Repeal and savings–(1) The enactments specified in the Second Schedule are repealed.
(2) All matters and proceedings commenced under the repealed 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 is to be so construed as to annul or derogate from the provisions of any other statute or of any regulation thereunder.

SCHEDULES

FIRST SCHEDULE
(Sections 3(2) and 4)

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, wheat-meal, 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 – 2014

This is the official version of this ordinance as at 31 December 2014.

This Ordinance has been revised by the Legislative Drafting Division from2008 to2014respectively under the authority of the Attorney General given under the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008.

The following general revisions have been made: 
(a)	Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.
(b)	Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes.
(c)	Insertion of the commencement date
(d)	Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.
(i)	“Every” and “any” changed to “a”
(ii)	“shall be” changed to “is” and “shall be deemed” changed to “is taken”
(iii)	“shall have” changed to “has”
(iv)	“shall be guilty” changed to “commits”
(v)	“notwithstanding” changed to despite”
(vi)	“pursuant to” changed to “under”
(vii)	“it shall be lawful” changed to “may”
(viii)	“it shall be the duty” changed to shall”
(ix)	Numbers in words changed to figures
(x)	“hereby” and “from time to time” (or “at any time” or “at all times”) removed
(xi)	“under the hand of” changed to “signed by”

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

This Ordinance is administered by
 the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.