CAOL AND A LEASE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1668, 7 February 1913, Page 4

CAOL AND A LEASE.

1 , CRihVN LAW REPORT'

premier's contention i'UPHELD; •

The Prime Minister is.now in poßsessioa . of the. report by the Crown Law'.'Office', upon .iho allegation that tho Government had parted with tho 'minerals upon a Southland loase-in-perpctuity: section without being paid for them. The report states in effect, that tho allegation is groundless, and bears out in every particular the view of tho matter taken 'by the Prime Minister when ho made a state, inent on the subject some day* ago.' The report draws a,distinction betwecatwo kinds of loaso-in-perpetuity. .A. lease-in-por,petuity granted under Section 121 of the Land Act of 1892 (flinco embodied in the Consolidated Land Act of. 1908): re- ' 6erv«s tho minerals and'the right to enter and take them to the Crown. This is the Section undor; which tho Southland land in question was leased. Tho lease iUelf contains tho following covenant:— , "The lessee shall have no right io any ■■ mineral, mineral oil, gas, metal, coal, ur valuable stone under tho surface of'tho laud hereby demised, the surface only of ,'■ the said land'being dcniised'aiid leased to . tho lessee, and the right to ingress, egress, - and regress■reserved to all persons: Jawfully engaged in working tho-said'min-V erols, mineral oil, gas, metal, coal, or stone, is hereby reserved." ■"■ Tho Land Laws Amendment Act!of last session, the report states,., gives the right • to .the tenant to acquire "the fee-simple of , the land comprised in his lease.'!;,.Th«'. lease, according to'tho covenant, includes ' only the surface and nothing below the r surface. .'..•.-. , ..; ' ,'.,

Iho report of tho Crown Lew Office con- ■ U ' eludes with those words: '■! think that ■". the lessee is, entitled, to buy from the Lrown. and the Crown is bound to ecll to - him, tho feo-simpio of tho land comprised .'■ 'f teJw, As minerals arc not part of tho land comprised in his lease, but'ore expressly "served to the Crown, ho is not - ■ entitled .to purchase the minerals. '■'When > ■ '■. he becomes tho purchaser of the (and com-'. '...'. prised in the lease; he does riot become i V .the purchaser of.the minerals." .-.'...' [' '■■' ..;■/'■ ,' A similab"CASE. U'V-,,'-fßy Tcicerapb.-Press Association.) .•.'■.'' •, , Christcliurch, Fobrimryfl... . ' This, morning, when tho Canterbury Land Board was dealing with tho'trims, ters of leases, an echo, of tho Southland case regarding tho right ,to mineral wealth on land converted from perpetual, leaseto freehold tenuro was'heard, '< The . transfer, dealt ..with lease iu' : perpetuity ': ' / 259, comprising 1973 acres. Section 30,101, :. Bocks 111, IV; V and VI, Opihi" Survey: : ,: District, F. H/King and F. S. Shrimi)ton to G.. D.' M'Farlane. Formerly the' board granted a certain party or parties. the right to niine'coal on the property, '• but it was stated that the mining veil-',...-:.• tnro had not proved a' financial success, : and- that the leases had lapsed. -The. - board decided to grant the transfer.'•■, The matter was discussed by a reporter with '•■ somo of the members of the board/when 1 it adjourned. They.were, inclined to the opion that should a lessee convert Ills' ' holding ito a freehold, mining ,'■■., rights ■ '. ' would' not. necessarily.' become his i pro-. ;: •'•■' pe'rty. However, they were, by no means ' ' certain on tho'pointi: The value, of. the-' ,■ coal, it'was stated, was doubtful. /.If. was, I, - not of good quality, and thosowhd had- '. worked it had dovoted 'part of, their ' ■ time to making bricks from clay 'found . near the depdsit, It would appear that •- , the case is on a par 'with..tho Southland . one, and that the opinion of 'tho : Crown Law. Officers whbn availablo will cover it.