PROPOSED LAND RESOLUTIONS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 23, 23 July 1864, Page 4

PROPOSED LAND RESOLUTIONS.

The following are the resolutions proposed -by Mr. Pearson , on which a new Land Act should be based :-?-. ...... Ist. That the land ' Regulations in force in this Province, have worked very unsatisfactorily, > both as regards ; the sale of Land and the Leasing of Buns.., for Pastoral purposes ;.„ That since the Southland Waste Lands' Act, 1863, will alter some clauses only of i these •Begulations, it will add to. their complexity and insufficiency ; and that the whole system requires to be remodelled. 2nd. That raising the upset price of all Lands in the Province: of Southland, to £2 per Acre, as provided by the Southland Waste Lands' Aot, will greatly check, if not wholly prevent the sale of Land, and will retard indefinitely the settlement of the Province. 3rd. That the Begulations in force in the Province of Canterbury for the sale of Bural Land by Free Selection over the whole area of the Province, as well as those for the Leasing of Buns, have been productive Of the greatest benefit to" that Province ; and that the introduction into the Province of Southland of essentially similar Begulations would be highly beneficial. 4th That looking to the less advantageous position of Southland, in respect of wealth, population, and attractiveness to settlers, £1 10s per acre is the largest upset price which can be with prudence demanded for Bural Lands, and this only for lands comprised within the Province of Southland as originally constituted by the Governor's Proclamation of lst April, 1861. sth. That the mountainous character and the less accessible situation of the Districts lying outside those boundaries, and now united, or likely to be united to the Province of Southland, require that the Lands within those Districts should be disposed of on terms affording special inducement to settlers. 6th. That on Stewart's Island and in such other outlying Districts as may be hereafter united to the Province of Southland, Townsliip s with tracts of Land adjacent thereto tobe laid off by the Chief Surveyor, and if approved of by the Superintendent, and the Waste Land Board, be reserved to be sold in the same manner as Town and Suburban Lands in other parts of the Province. 7th. That Lands situated without the original boundaries of the Province of Southland, and not set apart for Townships as above, or for Special Settlement, as hereinafter proposed, ought to be thrown open for free selection in the same manner as other Bural Lands, but at the upset price of £1 per acre. Sth. That power ought to be given to the Superintendent and the Provincial Council, from time to time, to define and set apart any district or districts lying without the original boundaries of the Province of Southland, for ihe formation of settlements, in which lands BJi^bSlfl^^hted without charge, in quantities not exceeding 40 acres to each statute adult, and iv like proportion to children, to such approved settlers as may, at tlieir own cost, immigrate and settle thereon, in accordance with regulations to be hereafter framed. 9th. That, as regards past]! purchasers under the Land, Begulations of 1856, the provisions con|pfefed in Clauses 11 and 12 of the Southlm^ Waste Lands' Act, 1863, ought to be maintained. 10th. That a memorial be presented to the G-overnor, embodying the above resolutions, setting forth that the Southland Waste Lands' Act was passed without the knowledge or assent of the Legislature, or the people of this Province; that it is so imperfect that it must be amended whenever the Legislature shall meet, and praying that His Excellency mil therefore be pleased to delay bringing the Act into operation until the views of the General Assembly can be taken, on a new bill, based on the above resolutions. llth. That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to both the Members for the County of Wallace, and that they be requested to give all the support in their power to the objects sought therein.