THE NEW LANDS BILL.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 95, 15 September 1877, Page 3

THE NEW LANDS BILL.

The flowing is a precis of the new Lands ißiil,* ' as compiled* by' the OPcess Agency: — The proposed Land Act is very lengthy ; it contains 169 clauses, besides si schedule and 10 important appendices. " '-■ : The follp^'ing.are the. principal Jea-1 ;^eftp|siiiJ re^^aUed diii tcpines^into bp^&tioii^&Mt^W^c^: :TPill "be" malic into land distnets;"-for. each of which there wilL"be a jßpnimU- . sioneir and board,; iapoiijte'd ,by,the Go;- , vernor. " " , ,> ; Boards -will be ..entrp,ste,d, with large .powers'in the a.(iniipistr,ation of :,land;V members to retain office for thi^eeyVarg,. and to be eligible for reappomtment. . T Members "tty. .receive £1 per '"sitting, ; and ' actual travelling .allowance. All Crown lands" to : 'b'e'' ; divided info : to.wn,.subuuban, and 'niral. and all town and suburban lauds to be offered at

public auction, m sections to be determined by the board and approved of by the Governor. The minimum price of town land is to be £20 per acre ; suburban land, £3; and rural Jaud, as per appendix, provided that "no larger quantity than 320 acres be offered m onelol. Any persons extorting money for abstaining from bidding will be liable to a year's iitiprisonment, or a fine of two hundred pouuds ; and anyone accepting money for the same will be liable to two years' imprisonment, or a fine of £500. Land of either of the three classes may be set aside for deferred paj'ment. No person' will be allowed to select land m more than one class, nor more than t>ne section. No allotment of rural laud is to exceed, 320 acres, or of suburban land, 20 acres. . The price for . deferred payments is to be one-half more thau for cash. Deferred .; payments to extend over five years for town and subivrban land, and ten years 'for rural. The yearly f.?e to be one-fifth of the price for town and suburban, land, and one-tenth for rural. The selector. . must, within two years, cultivate' one-tenth of the land if rural, and one-fifth if town or suburban. The Governor may set apart blocks of pastoral land m allotments not exceeding ;:5,0p0 acres each for sale, on like ternft of; deferred pay men t s ; but such sales shall be made not more than 12 •months before expiry of existing lease, and ' subject thereto. Occupation to commerice'at termination of lease. Provision has also been made for the conservation, of . forests, and for cutting timber, flax, and other purposes. :