Land For Settlement.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 357, 12 March 1903, Page 5

Land For Settlement.

(The Lands Department has been very active during the past two | months, and since 31st December last . an area of 2,168,555 acres has been . oprned for selection in various parts of the colony under various tenures. i The chief tenure with the small settler is what is known as the optional system (cash occupation with right of purchase or lease in perpetuity), under which an area of 282,225 acres has been opened for selection. The department is pursuing the policy of restricting the tenure to lease in perpetuity wherever possible, and has offered 31.546 acres under that tenure alone. Small grazing runs furnish an appreciable part of the total area—namely, 106,934 acres, and very large areas have been offered on lease, including paßtoral runs in Lake, Southland, and Wallace Counties (7 and 14 years' lease), 98,280 acres; pastoral runs in Otngo district (10 to 14 years' lease), 120,456 acres ; pastoral run3in Canterbury (10, 13, and 14 years' lease), 623,240 acres • pastoral runs in West land County (10 years' lease), 539,640 acres; pastoral runs in Marjborough land district (21 years' lease), 192,144 acres; in Rotorua, East and West Taupo, and Clifton Counties (21 years' lease), 144,213 acres. The total areas opened in the various land districts during the two months are:—Auckland, 457,766 'acres; Hawkes' Bay, 39,965 acres j Wellington, 1858 acres ; Marlborough, 211,812 acres ; Nelson, 11,517 acres: Westland, 539,640 acres; .Canterbury, 650,356 acres; Otago, 143,452 acres; Southland, 112,187 acres The area opened in the Auckland district included 15,581 acres in Kawhia North and South and Maungamangero on lease in perpetuity only. Only 62 acres out of the total opened for selection were offered for cash only.