ST. MARY'S ORPHAN HOME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8112, 22 February 1888, Page 6 (Supplement)

ST. MARY'S ORPHAN HOME.

Tho following is the annual report:— Die work nf the year presents no features calculntedto excitu imliiie attention, but we lire able to report wi-h tliankfniness that the 6anie little family of dcpeiiUentonea wlio occupied the home at the end of ItSS'S have been maintained mit nnnther year. The teaebfjiK of the children has been carried on under the same auspices as before.

mark with peculiar satisfaction is that the liltlo institution is now enl irely free from dc-W. 1 lie generous assistance wliicli was iorfhcmniiif,' during the past year sufficed to discharge the remainder of the tuilciiiK 'Ifcljt as wpII :i3 the current expense. By reference to the accounts it will be seen that this happy consummation was in large part owing to the most unlooked-for kindness of Mr Montagu l'ym and thoso who acted with liim, in devoting lial! the proceeds of an amateur performance to the funds of the orphange. Nor would we forgot, the valuable aßgistance of our young friends, diuixhiers .of Mcsdamca Ulrichand Webster, the result of the sale of tneir own "work. Wu would also especially thank the members of St. Martin's Sunday School for their generous assistance, lho bishop has offered to place the tiuildhiK in the hands of trustees, but it has been thought snflleient to enlist the services of a few ladies who 'iiavo consented to assist Miss Uox in the inanasoiiiont during the übseiwu of the biihop r.nd family, Our kind friends aro requested to continue, their subscriptions, anil to forward them to lira Ashcroft. win ha 6 kindly consented to net a3 treasurer. We fear that the expenses will be unavoidably Increased I his year, a fact which we hope will not bo forgotten.

A supplement to the GoverntiiPnt Gnz"tte issued en the 2nd inst. contuiu.s a notittcatiou opening rural lauds in vurioiM par's of the colony for sale or selection iv terms of the Laud Act Amendment Ac!" of lust session. The K-he.lule includes jirncticaliy all the rural lauds in the colony, Mid the proclamation throws them open for selection 45 days after tho no'.ilication, which is dated 2.ul February. According to this it would appear that Monday, the liJth of March, would lie the first day for the receipt of applications, but \vo are informed that a telegram received by the Land department here states that the first day fur the receipt of applications will be Wedne.Mlay, the 21st March. As to this point, which is of material interest, seeiii),' that the land will be allotted according to priority of application, further inquiry will be made and the result published.

The land i» divided into land of first ami second class. All tho rural l.iml that is thrown open in Otago that is cla-sed i<s the former is opeui'il for selection at iWs per acre—the lowrst price for land .so designated,—and the cash price for tin; second class land is from l()s per acre upwards. The sections may be; a|iplii:il for either for ca>h or deferred payment purclm>e, or to be hi-Ul im.ler thu perpetual lea.l-!!system ; and if two or more applications for the same land are made simultaneously—and applications that are received on the sirae day are to bo regarded as simultaneous—then, whatever may bu thu nature of tho tenure applied for, priority of choice v.ill be determined by lot; to that in this respect the cash purchaser will have no advantage ovor the purchaser upon deferred payments or the person who desires to hold the land under the perpetual loaee system. Tho price named oppo.-ite the sections in the schedule of the Gazette is the price to be paid for the land by purchasers for cash. Selectors under the deferred payment system will pay ultimately one-fourth more than the cash value, and holders under perpetual lease will pay 5 per cent, on the cash value, or Is in the pound per annum. The restrictions laid down in the act are briefly that no person can hold more than 010 acres of first-class land and UOOO acres of second-class land in any ouo district, and the land must be acquired for the sole use and benefit of the person named as the purchaser, and such purchaser must be resident within the colony at the time of tho sale of the laud. There is also a further restriction. In the event of applicants being the owners of freehold property in the district, or the holders of laud under the deferred payment or perpetual lease systems, the amount of land so owned or held by them must be deducted from the number of acres which is laid down as the outside limit that can bo acquired by one individual under the act. It follows from this that those who own or hold under tho systems mentioned, in any land district, 640 acres of first and 2000 acres of 'second class land could not acquire any of the lunds now offered in that district, but if the holdings die' not come up to these limits mentioned in the act, then they could select suoh lands as would bring the total amount of their holdings up to the prescribed area. In the schedule brief particulars are given as to the locality, quality, and in some cases as to the accessibility of the lands offered. The land is divided into sections varying from 50 acres to C4O acres, but theie is nothing in the act to prevent any person applying for and acquiring any number of small sections provided he does not exceed in tho whole, in one district, the limits given by the act, which limits we have already mentioned. Wo may also remark that the conditions of payment in cash purchases are different from what they huvc bnc-u heretofore. Under the present ace a deposit of oue.tifth of the estimated price of tho land is required, and the remainder of tho purchaso money with Crown grant fee must be paid within 30 days from tho date of application. Reference to the Gazette will show that rural lauds will be open for selection in many parts of Otago and Southland as well as in Auckland, Tarauaki, Hawke's Ray, Wellington, Nelson, Westlaml, and Canter- ' bury,