Advances to Settlers.

Feilding Star, Volume XX, Issue 71, 22 September 1898, Page 2

Advances to Settlers.

c The Minister of Lands yesterday laid on the table a return giving particulars relating to the number of advances authorised to 31st March last on different classes of leasehold security. From this it appears that under the Lease in Perpetuity and Lands for Settlement Act, 1894, there had been 41 advances, the amount authorised being L 2360, and the value of security £6155 ; educational leases, 14 advances, totalling £2065, value of security £5841 ; West Coast Settlement Reserves leases, 51 advances, amount authorised £8840, value of security £22,054; ordinary Crown leaseholds' 1675 advances, totalling £216,825, value of security £537,532. With regard to the first class of security only one applicant was in arrear with his rent at the time the loan was granted. With regard to the fourth class, the return states that the Board as a general rule declines to grant a loan if more than the current half-year's rent is due to the Land Office it being borne in mind that rent is payable to the Crown halfyearly in advance. But all applications are treated on their merits, and where the margiu of security is ample and the rent has previously been regularly paid. an advance is sometimes made when the rent for the preceding half-year is unpaid. At an early stage in the history of the department this matter of rent was perhaps not treated so strictly by the Board, and some few loans were made oven ■ where two or three payments of rent | were due, the rent being paid out of the loan, but in no case has tbe department Buffered loss thereby. — Times.