•I

C.—l

Table C. —Regulations issued under " The Land Laws Amendment Act, 1907," &c. Section of Act. Subject. Clauses. Schedules. 12 Arbitration of improvements ... ... ... 20 3 27 Land Board election ... ... • ■• ... 25 3 28 Declarations on applying for land ... ... ... 1 5 20 Purchase of fee-simple ... ... ■•• ■■■ 3 2 58 Flax-cutting and flax-leases ... ... 23 0 66 Ballot for land, and preference ... ... 16 0 72 Wood-pulp industry ... ... ••• ... 27 1 Part II Land for settlements (revised) ... ... ... 48 4 163 18 Alterations in existing Acts by "The Land Laws Amendment Act, 1907." In natural sequence will now come the effect of the Act of 1907, and the following is a short itatement giving a synopsis of its principal provisions which may be found useful at this juncture. No less than seventy sections and five schedules of "The Land Act, 1892," and its amendments, were affected by the new Act, whilst twenty sections of the Land for Settlements Act, and fourteen sections of other Acts were amended. Acquisition of Freehold. Lessee! in perpetuity of ordinary Crown land may acquire the freehold (under section 20) on payment of the capital value at time of purchase. Regulations prescribing the conditions under which this may be done were gazetted on the 9th January, 1908. Settlement lands are specially exempted from the concession. Change of Tenure. Holders of Crown leases may in several cases exchange them for renewable leases, as under :— Ordinary Crown lands lessees in perpetuity may change under section 18, paying rent at 4 per cent, on the capital value, which may be either the original or present value, at lessee's option. Settlement land lessees in perpetuity may change under section 18 also, when rental on new lease is reduced from 5 per cent, to 4i per cent, on capital value, fixed as above. " Mining Districts Land Occupation Act, 1894," leases may be changed under section 19, as well as pastoral leases under special regulations issued under " The Mining Act, 1905," and " The Land Act, 1892." Disposal of Land for Special Purposes. Areas not exceeding 5 acres may be sold for sites for dairy, cheese, or fruit-preserving factories, churches, &c, at prices not less than £1 per acre. (Section 62.) Crown land may be exchanged for private freehold land, if the latter is required in the public interest. (Section 73.) Crown selectors who do not hold sufficient land for the maintenance of themselves and families are- allowed to acquire additional Crown land, without competition, up to the prescribed limit. (Section 70.) Certain areas may be set aside for disposal by sale, lease, Arc., among persons whose vocations do not enable them to reside on the land so disposed of when special regulations enabling modifications of the residential, improvement, and other conditions of "The Land Act, 1892," to be made have been approved of by the General Assembly. (Section 22.) Flax Leases. Areas of Crown land not exceeding 2,000 acres each may be leased for the purpose of growing and cutting flax for a period of fourteen years, with a right of renewal for a further term. Regulations giving effect to this provision were gazetted on the 27th February, 1908. Limitation of Area. Two alterations have been made with respect to the limitation of area a man may hold : — First, as regards Crown lands: As a certain proportion of the Crown lands remaining for disposal is only suitable for disposal in large areas, another class of land has been added to the two now existing, and selector may now take up either 640 acres of first-class land, or 2,000 acres of second-class land (as formerly was the case), or else not more than 5,000 acres of inferior land, which has been classified as third-class land.