5

C.—B

(c.) In the case of a small-grazing-run lease under Part V. of " The Land Act, 1892," no transfer, &c, to be permitted until the holder thereof has been in possession of the land for at least three years, has resided thereon for at least two years, and has effected substantial improvements of a value equal to four years' rental. (d.) Provided that on the death of a selector or on the happening of any extraordinary event which, in the opinion of the Land Board of the district, renders a transfer, sublease, or subdivision necessary or expedient, a transfer, &c, of a lease, license, or occupation certificate may, with the sanction of the Land Board and the Minister of Lands, be made. (c.) Compliance with the residential conditions as provided in sections (a) and (c) will not be insisted upon in the case of purely bush or swamp lands during the period the lessee or licensee is freed from residential conditions under the principal Act— namely, "The Land Act, 1892." (6.) In order to effect the proposed alteration of fixing the age of a cash purchaser at twentyone years, section 92 of the principal Act will have to be amended as follows: After the word " selector" in the second line insert the words " for a lease or license," and in the last line of that section, after the words " by the Land Board," add the following sentence : " Applicants for cash lands shall not be less than twenty-one years of age." In addition to the propositions made with the view of mitigating the evils connected with the present ballot system, there is still another suggestion, of a very drastic description, which involves a question of policy, and which, on that account, I do not feel at liberty to include in the above. The expedient I refer to is to give landless applicants the priority at the ballot, with proper precautions to insure that only those of the landless class who have means and ability to put the land to proper use be admitted to ballot. The proposition is quite workable, and would reduce the ballot difficulties to a minimum ; but after very careful investigation of the probable result of such a provision in our Land Act I have come to the conclusion that such an extreme step may not be necessary at present, and that the recommendations made above should first be given effect to. Dummyism will never be eradicated, do what we will, but I confidently submit that if my propositions are acted upon it will be reduced to a very large extent. G. J. Muellee, The Surveyor-General, Wellington. Commissioner of Crown Lands.

A. Declaration on applying for a License for Occupation with Bight of Purchase, under Part 111. of "The Land Act, 1892." I, , of , ,do solemnly and sincerely declare— 1. That I am of the age of seventeen years and upwards. 2. That I am the person who, subject to the provisions of " The Land Act, 1892," am applying for the purchase of a license. 3. That I am acquiring such license solely for my own use and benefit, and for the purposes of cultivation either by or for myself, and not directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever. 4. That, including the lands now applied for, I am not the owner, tenant, or occupier, directly or indirectly, either by myself or jointly with any other person or persons, of any land anywhere in the colony exceeding in the whole 2,000 acres of laud, inclusive of not more than 640 acres of first-class land. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand intituled " The Justices of the Peace Act, 1882." [Signature.] Declared at , this day of , 190 , before me , a Justice of the Peace in and for the Colony of New Zealand. B. Declaration on applying for a Lease in Perpetuity under Part 111. and Part IV. of " The Land Act, 1892." I, , of , , do solemnly and sincerely declare— 1. That I am of the age of seventeen years and upwards. 2. That I am the person who, subject to the provisions of " The Land Act, 1892," am applying for the purchase of a lease. 3. That I am acquiring such lease solely for my own use or benefit, and for the purposes of cultivation either by or for myself, and not directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever. 4. That, including the lands now applied for, I am not the owner, tenant, or occupier, directly or indirectly, either by myself or jointly with any other person or persons, of any lands anywhere in the colony exceeding in the whole 2,000 acres of land, inclusive of not more than 640 acres of first-class land. 5. That I have not, within one year from the date hereof, surrendered a lease with perpetual right of renewal or lease in perpetuity of the lands for a lease whereof I am now applying.