Untitled

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 195, 5 April 1878, Page 5

Previous to the passing of the present Act a person desirous of purchasing hmd would go to the Land Office nnd purchase at the rate of Ll per acre any iand that was open for -application. If two or more persons applied for the land on the same day, the land went to auction. Novv, however, any person who selects at the Laud Office, land that is open for application pays L 2 per acre for it. If tvvo persons apply for the land on the same dav, the land is • put up to auction at L 2 per acre. A man, however,' may consider that, the land he wishes to purchase is not worth L 2 per acre, fle can in this case ask the Land Board to put the land up to auction at Ll per acre. With this request the Board may or may not comply, as they think proper. It the Hoard comply with the request, the person who makes it has the opporEvkhy man is supposed to know what the law is on every possible subject. Very few, however, know the law on any one subject. As every man is supposed to know the law, and is responsihle for breaking it, even in the slightest degree, we might reasonably expect that some very effectual means to make the law known would he adopted by our legislators. This, however, is far from being flic ease. With the exception 'of publishing in a large unwieldy volume the statutes ot each year, the legislature does nothing to make its own luws known. j Our land laws underwent very con- I eiderable changes last session. As many of our readers have not an opportunity of consulting the statute-law relating to crown lands, we propose pointing out a few of the recent changes. We have frequently heard it said that last session the land was raised in price. As there is considerable misapprehension on this point, we 'shall endeavour to explain whnt, the law is. t unity of competing for the land at auction. If there is no competition, he gets the land at the upset price if he offers it. We may also state that the Board may of their own accord select land and ofi>r it for sale by auction ; not, however, at a less upset price than Ll per acre 'I hose of onr readers who have taken up deferred payment land, oi who have attempted unsuccessfully to do so — nnd we are aware that there are too many of this class — know well that a selector ODCtid r,ot. take up a lam er area tlmn 200 acres. this has all along- been considered a blemish in the system. A man with 200 acres, if the land is good in quality, may make a comfortable, living ; hut if the land is not very good in quality, and if in addition to this it is in an out-of-the-way part oi the country, a 200-acre farm is too sma:l. In this case the farmer must, enter, move largely into grazing pursuit? than he would otherwise require to do, aud in order- to do this with success he must have a larger area of land. We n< < j d not say, therefore, that it is with satisfaction we inform our readers that the area which, one person can take up under the present Act is 320 acres. Of course, it is -not necessary that a selector" should takeno all this area. He may if he pleases select a small section. Our readers know that nnder the old Act a deferred p-.Yinent selector \\i\d to take up his J'e.-i ietice oti th". 1 md wirhin six months of the issue of the license After occupying the land for three years he could if lv- pleased purchase ir, pnu'ided the necessary improvements had heen put rm the land The present Act is more stringent iv regard ro residence than the former one. The selector has now to reside for six years on liis land. At the end of six years, ; however', from the date of his license, j he may purchase the land on payment i of so much of the price as shall remain unpaid. There is an entirely new provision in ! the Act to which we think this is the j proper place to refer. We allude to | the provision under which a selector may, with the consent of the Board, transfer his interest in the land taken up by him. The person, however, to ! whom he. transfers his interest must have the necessary qiuilifioatiuns of a se.ector, and must carry out the conditions as to .residence, improvements, and other things of the original selector. A provision of this kind was. not so necessary in the old. Act, as in the new one. Under the old Acr a selector could purchase at the end of thiee. years from the d-te nf his license. Under the nevv Act he cannot purchase till the expiration of double this period. We can easily understand that sometimes .during- the currency of six years rireu instances may arise that may prevent the original selector carrying out his engagements. If, however, the pron<*rty is of fair quality, he should not have much difficulty ia finding some one to take his place. The provision as to improvements aiv more stringent-under. the new Act Thau' tbev were under the. old Act. U-ude-F" the bitter it was quite sufficient. thatthe improvements were put on som6 time during the currency of the three years. They might be put on the first year, or

the second yeur, or the third year, or even during the last few days of the third year. Under the present Act, however, one-rwentieth of the land must he, brought under cultivation during the first year, a similar quantity during the second year, and within four years one-fifth of the land must he cultivated. The present Act makes no provision as to the area that must, be fenced, or the value of the houses that must he erected. Ie simply provides that within six years from the dare of his license the selector must have put substantial improvements on his land to the value of not less than Ll for every acre. This is in addition to the cultivation of one-fifth the area of his land. The selector nnder the present Act has therefore the opportunity of making his choice between houses and fences. ITe may if he pleases spend liis money in houses, or he may 'mend it iv fences. For aught we see in the Act, to the contrary, he may if he chooses live in a tent, provided he spend in substantial improvements Ll for every acre he possesses. The men who take up land on deferred payment are nor, as v rule men who, have a superabundance of Cfc-sh. 'Ihey are usually men who for every Ll they possess could easily find two boles to put it into. L must he admitted that in rhe past they h-.-.vh made the best, of the slender means at their disposal, and we have no doubt 'that in the future, although a large discretion is left them, they will lay out their money to the best advantage.