RURAL LANDS FOR SETTLEMENT.
A supplement to the Government Gazette issued on the 2nd inst. contains a notification opening rural lands in various parts of the colony for sale or selection in terms of the Land Act Amendment Act of last session. The schedule includes practically all the rural lands in the colony, and the proclamation throws them open for selection 45 days after the notification, which is dated 2nd February. According to j this ib would appear that Monday, the 19bh of March, would be the first day for the receipt of applications, but we are informed that a telegram received by the Land department here states that the first day for the receipt of applications will be Wednesday, the 21st March. As to this point, which is of material interest, seeing that the land wili be allotted according to . priority of application, further inquiry will be ' made and the result published. The land is divided into land of first and second class. All tho rural land that is thrown open in Otago that is classed as the former is opened for selection at 20s per acre— the lowest price for land so designated,— and the cash price for the second class land is from 10s per acre upwards. The sections may be applied for either for cash or deferred payment purchase, or to be held under the perpetual lease system ; and if two or more applications for the same land are made simultaneously— and applications that are received on the same day are to be regarded as simultaneous— then, whatever may be the nature of the tenure applied for, priority of choice will be determined by lot; so that in this respect the cash purchaser will have no advantage over the purchaser upon deferred payments or the person who desires to hold the laud under the perpetual lease system. The price named opposite 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 640 acres of first-class land and 2000 acres of second-class land in any one 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 the sale of the land. There is also a further restriction. In the event of applicants being the owners of freehold property in the district, or the holders of land 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 be acquired by one individual uuder the act. It follows from this that those who own or hold under the systems mentioned, in any land district, 640 acres of first and 2000 acres of second class land could not acquire any of the lands now offered in that district, but if the holdings die* not come up to these limits mentioned in the act, then they could select such 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 tb.fi accessibility of the lands offered. Tho land is divided into sections varying from 50 acres to 640 acres, but there is nothing in the act to prevent any person applying for and acquiring any number of small sections provided he does not
exceed in the whole, In one district, the limits given by the act, which limits we have already mentioned. We may also remark that the conditions of payment in cash purchases are different from what they have been heretofore. Under tho present act a deposit of one-flfth of the estimated price of the land is required, and the remainder of the purchase money with Crown grant fee must be paid within 30 days from the date of application. Reference to the Gazette will show that rural lands will be open for selection in many parts of Otago and Southland as well as in Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Westland, and Canterbury. .
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18880210.2.45
Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Issue 1890, 10 February 1888, Page 16
Word Count
758RURAL LANDS FOR SETTLEMENT. Otago Witness, Issue 1890, 10 February 1888, Page 16
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.