Saint Vincent National Trust Ordinance, 1969 (No. 32 of 1969)

129 SAINT VINCENT. No. 32 of 1969. I Assent, [L. S.] H. GEORGE, Administrator. 25th October, 1969. AN ORDINANCE to establish a Body Corporate to be known as the Saint Vincent National Trust, 1969. [ 25th October, 1969. ] Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council of Saint Vincent, and by the authority of the same as follows: 1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Saint Vincent Short title. Xational Trust Ordinance, 1969. 2. In this Ordinance unless the context otherwise requires- Interpretation. "Board" means the Board of Trustees established under the Ordinance; "Minister" means the Minister charged with responsibility for Museums and Antiques; "Trust" meansfhe Saint Vincent National Trust estab lished by this Ordinance; "T~t Property " means any property of any kind owned by the TruSt. No. 32. 130 Saint Yincent National Trust. 1969. Establishment of body corporate. Objeets of Trust. Powers of the Trust. 3. There is hereby established a body corporate called the Saint Vincent National Trust which by that name may sue and be sued in all Courts of justice in Saint Vincent and shall have and use a common seal with power from time to time to change such seal. 4. The objects of the Trust shall be (a) To conserve, acquire ana hold land, buildings and other property; (b) To locate, restore, ana conserve areas of beauty includ. ing marine zones within the territorial waters of Saint Vincent and to protect and conserve the natural life existing therein; (c) 'I'o locate, restore and conserve buildings and objects of archaeological architectural, artistic, historic, seien tific or traditional interest; (d) To list the flora and fauna in areas of natural beauty for the purpose of such conservation; (e) To make and keep inventories of buildings and property held by the Trust; (f) To make and keep photcgraphic records of Saint Vin cent; (g) To educate the public in the historical assets and natural amenities of Saint Vincent; (h) To co-operate with persons and associations having similar objects; (i) To collect and allocate funds in the execution of the above objects; (j) With the ('0118e;lt of the Legislative Council to sell or exchange any land or other property or interest therein subject to the exception in the proviso in section 5 hereof; and (k) To administer the Trust Property for the furtherance and achievement of L1.e above objects. 5. The Trust shall have the powers herein set forth and such other powers as are appropriate to its objects (a) to acquire by purchase, exchange, devise, or otherwise, all messuages, land tenements and hereditaments of any tenure and also all moneys, securities for money, goods or chattels, whatsoever and may hold and enjoy the same; No. 32. 131 Saint Vincent Nalwnal Trust. 1969. (b) to accept surrenders and reconveyances and to enter into and perform contracts; (c) to sell, demise, convey, exchange or otherwise dispose of any land or interest in land from time to time vested in it. Provided that the Trust shall not sell, de mise, convey, mortgage, exchange or otherwise dis pose of any land or interest in land without the approval of the Legislative Council, save and except that the trust may with the consent of the Administra tor grant leases of or licences over land for agricultural or other purposes not inconsistent with the objects of the Trust. 6. All documents requiring the seal of the trust, shall be sealed with its common seal in the presence of the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, the Honorary Secretary or the Honorary Treasurer and of one other member of the Board of Trustees for the time being, the three of whom shall sign such document and such signing shall be prima facie evidence that the said seal was duly affixed and that the same is the lawful seal of the Trust. 7. (1) The Trust shall be managed by a Board of Trustees which shall consist of not less than eight members, and shall in elude a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary' and Honorary Treasurer. In the deliberations of the Board, the Chairman or member of the Board acting as such, shall have a casting vote, as well as all original vote. The Minister shall be ex officio a member of the Board. The first Board shall be ap pointed by the Administrator in Council and shall hold office for two years. (2) Members of the Board shall on the termination of the life of the first Board, hold office for three years save in the case of the Minister whose appointment is ex officio. Membership of the Board may nevertheless be sooner determined by (a) resignation (b) rueapacity (c) death (d) absence from three consecutive meetings of the Board without reasonable explanation to the satis faction of the Board. (3) The first Board shall make rules providing for mem bership of the Board after the end if its term of office. Use of seal. Board of Trustees. No. 32. 132 Saint Vincent NationaZ Trust. 1969. Membership of Trust. Publication of Rules. Powers of management with regard to colleetion and alloea lion of funds. Audit etc. (4) The Board may from time to time make rules for regulating its procedure and for ali other matters requisite to the BOund management of the Trust. 8. Every member of the Board shall be ex officio a member flf the Trust and the Board may from time to time, make, revoke and amend Rules of Association providing for the enrolment of members of the Trust. classes of members thereof, the holding and conduct of General Meetings and rates of subscription. 9. All Rules which the Board is required 01 empowered. to make shall be published in the official Gazette and shall be come effective from the date of such publication. 10. The powers of the Trust shall be exercised by the Board in the name of the Trust and the power in relation to paragraph (i) of the objects set forth in section 4, of this Ordin ance shall include the power (a) to raise money by borrowing in any way save that without the prior consent of the Legislative Council the Trust shall not raise money on any interest in land j (b) to retain the services of professional and technical advisers and pay the fees of such advisers; (c) to employ upon a temporary or permanent basis pro fessional, technical, clerical and other officers and ser- . vants and to make provisions for pensions and other incentives; (d) to make charges to the public for viewing or making use of Trust Property; (e) to improve the amenities of Trust Property by means of construction, horticulture, agriculture, landscaping; (f) notwithstanding paragraph (a) of the objects in section 4 of this Ordinance, to sell or write off items of plant or equipment not exceeding $500 in value in respect of anyone item; (g) to sell to the public agricultural and horticultural pro duce and also matured timber j and (h) to maintain rear and agist domesticated animals on any of the Trust Property, and sell the same or market the produce thereof. II. It shall be the duty of the Board to keep full and No. 32. 133 Saint Vincent National Trust. 1969. proper accounts of all monies received and expended on behalf of the Trust and to submit such accounts annually to the Senior Auditor on such dates as he may direct. 12. No member of the Trust shall be liable to any creditor Lillbilitv of the Trust for any sum over and above such subscription as of Members. he may have undertaken to pay and which still remains unpaid. 13. The Trust shall be exempt from ad valorem and other stamp duty and other Government fees whatsoever in respect of any instrument conveying or transferring any land or any interest in land to the Trust. Exemption from Stamp Duty etc. 14. The Trust shall be exempt from paying rates and taxes Exemption from in respect of any land held or administered by or on behalf of rates etc. the Trust. 15. For the purposes of section 35 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1967, the Saint Vincent National Trust be deemcd to be a trust established within Saint Vincent exclusively for charitable educational or scientific purposes and a deduction of any amount paid as a gift to the Trust shall be made in ascer taining the chargeable income of an)' person who has made such a gift during the year preceding the year of assessment whether or not such payment was made under a covenant and whether or not it forms part of a series of payments to be made to the Trust over a number of years. 16. Sub-section (4) of section 11 of the Estate Duty and Succession Duties Ordinance, 1939, is hereby amended by the insertion of the following new paragraph: (c) for the purposes of the Saint Vincent National Trust. 17. The Administrator may make, revoke or amend Regu lations for protecting and controlling Trust Property and for the prevention of trespass thereupon and injury thereto by fire, and otherwise as well as for the prevention and abatement of nuisances thereon, and may prescribe penalties by way of fine and imprisonment of persons found to be in breach of such Regulations, provided tbat such penalties shall not exceed a fine of five hundred dollars or three months imprisonment or both such fine and imprisonment in respect of any offence punishable on summary conviction. Exemption from Income Tax. Exemption from estate duty. Administrator may make Regulations and prescribe penalties. No. 32. 134 Saint Vincent National Trust. 1969. Passed the Legislative Counci; this 16th day of October, 1959. O. S. BARROW, Clerk of the Legislative Cowncil. (T.P.9[;3) PRINTED BY TilE GOYERNMENT PRINTER AT THE COVERNl\IENT PRINTING OFFICE, KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT. [ Price 24 (,1'1It9. ] 1969.