Ct. —No. 4b

Mode of Application. 1. Every application for an agricultural lease of Crown land within the Nelson Gold Kelds must be made in the form of the first Schedule hereto, or to the like effect, to the Warden of the district wherein the land is situate ; and copies of such application must be posted and maintained by the applicant for a period of fourteen (14) days, on boards standing not less than three (3) feet above the surface of the ground, and erected one at each corner of the land so applied for. Application to he Advertised. 2. A notice of every such application, and of the date fixed for the hearing thereof, with full particulars of the locality of the land applied for, shall be advertised not less than twice, by and at tho expense of the applicant, in such newspaper circulating in the district as the Warden shall direct ; and copies of the newspapers containing such notice shall be produced to the Warden before he shall proceed to hear the application. Deposit to be Paid. 3. Before any such application shall be received by the Warden, the applicant must pay to a Receiver of Gold Revenue a deposit, the amount whereof shall be calculated as hereinafter set forth, and such Eeceiver shall give a receipt therefor in the form provided by tho Treasury Regulations for the time being in force, and such receipt must be produced to the Warden on making tho application. Deposit, how Calculated. 4. If application is made for 50 acres or any less area, the amount of the. deposit shall be £10. For any greater area, the deposit shall be calculated upon the entire acreage at the rate of four shillings per acre, and any fractional part of an acre will be reckoned as an acre. Boundaries must he Marked. 5. The boundaries of the land applied for must be marked on the ground by [_ trenches, and substantial posts standing not less than three (3) feet above the surface at each corner thereof. Areas must he Sectangular. 6. Every area of land so applied for must be rectangular in form, unless a creek or river, or other natural obstacle, renders a deviation from the rectangular form necessary, and shall be laid out in accordance with rules 1, 2, 3, and 4 of section 14 of " The Nelson Waste Lands Act, 1863." Hearing. 7. Upon a day to be appointed by him, the Warden shall proceed to hear the application, but such hearing may be adjourned from time to time, if any sufficient or reasonable cause shall be assigned or known to the Warden. Objections. 8. Objections to the granting of any application may be made either in writing prior to or verbally upon the day of the hearing thereof; but every such objection must be sustained at such hearing by the objector in person, or by counsel. Surveyor to lieport. 9. Before or at such hearing, a report and plan by the Chief Surveyor, or some person authorized by him, shall be furnished to the Warden, setting forth the probably auriferous nature or otherwise of the land applied for ; the prior existence or otherwise of any claim or mining privilege thereupon ; and the desirability or otherwise of reserving the whole or any portion of such land for roads, water-races, or other public or necessary purposes ; and such Surveyor shall also (if so instructed by the Warden) attend at the hearing to render such information as may be required. Warden to Report. 10. Immediately after tho hearing, the Warden shall forward the application, together with the Surveyor's report and all other documents relating to the application, to the Superintendent. And therewith the Warden shall report whether any objection has been made, or any reason known to him, why such application should not be granted, and also whether the applicant is the holder of any other land under the Agricultural Lease Regulations; and if so, specifying the extent and area of any such former holding. And such report shall include the Warden's recommendation as to the granting or refusal of the application. Protection during Application. 11. All applications for agricultural leases will be reserved for the final decision of the Superintendent ; and land for which application shall have been made in the manner aforesaid shall be " protected " from the date of such application until such decision shall have been made known to the Warden.

REGULATIONS FOR THE GRANTING OF AGRICULTURAL LEASES IN THE PROVINCE OF NELSON.