Land Act Amendment.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 173, 17 February 1888, Page 2

Land Act Amendment.

For the information of settlors wo give a brief summary of the Land Act Amendment passed last .session. Whenever 11 the said Act ” is mentioned, it refers to the Act of 1885. All applications for sections of surveyed land shall lie deemed to be siiuuiuncous if mnde on the same day, but priority of applications on thh same day for uusurveyed land shall determine the right thereto. All rural lands which at any time l«4etoforc have been proclaimed, or which may hereafter be proclaimed, open for selection on dc- j ferred payments or on pcrpctnnl lease shall lie open also for purr huso for cash, at the option of the applicant; ! the cash price per acre to he paid for any such land shall lie estimated from the price ht which the same shall have been o]h?ii for selection. The Governor. on being satisfied that any rural lands arc of inferior quality, and not capable of lieing profitably worked in small holdings, may declare such R) be second-class lauds. No person shall he entitled to purchase for cash within any one land district nrnrt> than (MO acres of first-class and 2000 acres of second-class land ; if false declarations are mode, the applicant will forfeit all right to the laud and all moneys paid, in addition to the penalties for making a false declaration. If at any time in any financial year the sum realised for casli sales of rural laud shall amount to £1 .'>o,ooo, no further sales for oasli shall be made during such year. Every purchaser of rural lands under this Act, or the said Act, or any of the appendices thereto, for cash, shall lodge a written application for the same with the Commissioner, together with a deposit of one-fifth of the estimated price of the land described, and shall pay the whole remainder immediately upon the granting of the application ; and if not paid within thirty days the deposit shnli be forfeited, and the lauds shall he again open for sale or occupation forthwith. Kacli selector of secondclass lands on deferred payment or perpetual lease, shall put on substantial improvements to a value equal to 10 per cent, of the price of the land within ouo year from the date of his license or lease, and a value equal to another 10 per cent, within two years, and thereafter, but within six years from the date of Ins license or lease, to a value equal to another 10 per cent, on the price of the land. Where simultaneous applications are made for tlio same land by persons wishing to have land on the same tenure or on different tenures, the priority of choice shall bo decided by lot. Every person 1 who may be the holder of land on deferred payment or perpetual lease under the said Act or this Act, shall be entitled to acquire the freehold so soon as he has carried out all the required i improvements. Uusurveyed !»•■<( | .... v.[/cu xor application after pubI lie notification, and the Commissioner, I on the estimated cost of the survey being deposited with him, may allow any applicant to have such land surveyed at liis own expense by a surveyor employed by the SurveyorGeneral in that behalf, and an allowance in the amount of the purchase money shall bo made to tlio purchaser for the cost of the survey at any rate not exceeding the ordinary rate for the survey of rural lands ; should the land he reserved or withdrawn from sale, the applicant shall be paid the cost of survey at the aforesaid rate ; but should the applicant in any caRC refuse or delay to complete the purchase after survey, if open for sale, lie shall forfeit the cost of such survey. Any selector of rural land on deferred payment, holding a license under the said Act, may on application to the Commissioner obtain an extension of his license for a period of four years ; the license so extendod shall be deemed to be for a period of fourteen years from the date of the original license; the yearly fee in respect of the license so extended shall be deemed to be an amount equal to one fourteenth of the price of the land, payable from the date of the original license in equal parts, half-yearly in advance, on the Ist January and July in each year ; the payments made in respect of the original license up to the date of the extension shall be retained as so many back payments, and payments in advance under the extended license commencing from the date of the original license as tho payments represent. Any holder of bush lands on deferred payment (including those of special settlements) shall bo exempt from tho conditions of residence required, if he shall bring into cultivation and put permanent improvements on the lands in his holding to twice the amount actually required by the said Act. Any holder of a pastoral deferred payment liconse may, with consent, surrender his license, and obtain a lease of the same land as a small grazing run ; the lease shall be antedated to the date of the license which is surrendered ; the rent under the lease shall be an amount equal to £,'£ 10s per cent, on the prico of the land under the liceense, and shall be computed from the commencement of the license; the payments made in respect of the license up to the time of surrender shall be retained as so much back rent and rent in advance under tbe lease as the said payments represent; all applications must lie made beforu the Ist January, 1890. The area of small grazing runs lias been extended to 20,(XX) acres. Holders on perpetual lease may exchange their leases for licenses, to hold on deferred payments. Crown lands of any sort canuc be sold for non • payment of rates by occupier. The amount to bo paid in advance at the time of auction by the purchaser of the license of any run shall be a half year's rent. Thirds will be returned to local bodies in tho following manner:—lf the land is

situated within a borough or town district. they will bo paid to tho Borough Council or Town Board ; but if the land Ihj outside a liorough or town district, then tho money shall Ih> paid to the Council of the county or to the Hoad Board of tho road district as the Minister shall determine it would moat advantageously be expended. Where any arrangement has been made between the Minister and any Association formed for the purpose of taking up land under the the s|H-cial Kettle inont regulations, whereby such third was to lie paid to such Association, it shall be lawful for the Minister to carry out such arrangements on lii.s being satisfied that the money has been spent upon the purposes for w hich the same are to lie set aside. [This only applies to cases where promises have lieen made. Thirds duo to Associations must in all other cases pass through the local bodies].