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Communis on ink TENURES. Cash. 4,975 acres were sold for cash to twenty-eight purchasers -the total amount realised being £1,689 lis. lid., or £1,613 less than the previous year. Of the areas mentioned 243 ■) acres of rural land were sold Io four owners of adjoining lands under section I 11 of " The Land Act. 1892 " : 4,711J acres of rural land were opened on the optional system : 243j acres of rural land were opened without option: and 19j acres were town allotments. I anticipate a much-reduced revenue from cash lands during the current year. Existing township lands are exhausted, and the National Endowment land has absorbed nearly the whole of the area hitherto available for cash purchase. Lease ni Perpetuity (ordinary I'imr,, Lands). —About one-half of the area offered during the past year was confined to lease-in-perpet inly tenure, and that proportion was maintained in respect of the area selected. An area of 20,21 I.' acres of ordinary Crown lands was disposed of to sixty-three selectors il„. average area of the holdings being 321 acre-, and the average rental per acre per annum Id. : and an area of 4,204 acres acquired under "•The Land for Settlements Consolidation Act, 1900," •was disposed of to fourteen selectors. It is undeniable that [ease in perpetuity was a popular tenure in this district, and it is problematic;. I if the privilege of acquiring the freeholds of their leaseholds conferred on the 381 selectors holding 108,625 acres of ordinary Crown 'ami- by " The Land Laws Amendment Ac». |<)07." will lie largely exercised As a matter of fact the man who takes up land to establish a permanent home thereon does not worry himself to acquire the fee-simple of the land. His concern is to improve and develop it. and so long as he has a permanent tenure, and the value of his improvements secured to him. with the security of reasonable advances from the State if necessary on the security of his interest in his lease, discussions on Land-tenures are regarded by him with indifference. Since the passing of "•Tin- Land Lajws Amendment Act. 1907." up to the 31st March last only three applications lor the purchase ol the freehold have been made by lessees in perpetuity. occ-.pa.uwi iriih Right of Purchase. -Twenty-three selectors took up an area of 9,268j acres, and six selectors holding 1.51 I acres acquired the freeholds of their holdings. Hitherto the option of selecting land mi oocupation-with-right-of-purchase tenure had I n confined to a comparatively small area fringing the earliest-set tied portions of Nelson, extending smith between Tasman Bay and Upper Motupiko and outside the boundaries of the mining district, and nearly the whole of this area is now absorbed by the National Endowment. There are 15.151 acres held by 206 selectors. Minimi Districts Land-occupation .Leases. Under the regulations for the leasing of land in mining districts up to 100 acres lor a term of twenty-one years, authorised by "The Mining Districts Land Occupation Act. 1891." 5.~>8 acres of ordinary Crown lands were granted during the year to eight selectors. These figures are a marked advance on last year's transactions the latter being 128 acres to eight selectors. The conditions under which this tenure served a good practical purpose an- rapidly changing in this district. Alluvial mining is declining, and as it declines so does the necessity diminish for the use of a system which, while adequate for a man who derives his whole livelihood from alluvial mining, provides an area of land far too small and too variable in qiialit. to enable him to support himself and family by cultivating it. Already men who have abandoned mining pursuits are experiencing this drawback. To meet altered conditions is the object of section 19 of "The Land Laws Amendment \,.. 1907." Under this Bection the lessee may surrender his lease and obtain in lieu thereof a renewable lease (provided tin- Warden approves of the latter being granted) and so become qualified to hold an extended area. The total area held up to the ..Is. March. 1908. is 2,085 acres; selectors, forty. BmaU Grating-runs. —This tenure is not adapted to the requirements of this district— the country being practically forest and BCTub land. Two runs comprising 4,035 acres of ordinary Crown lands and one run containing 1,947 acres \v\f selected under the Land for Settlements Act. There are only ten areas on siiiall-grazing-run tenure in this district. Pastoral /.<■</«•.-• >n,der Part VI of " The Lund Ad, 1892."—The total area held under this tenure is 165.829 acres, comprised in two leases. These two leaseholds practically include all the available Crown land iii this district of any extent which is not bush-clad, and which is suitable for pastoral farming on an extensive scale. Village Settlements.— At Seddonville, close bj the State Coal-mines of that name, there has been established for some years a special settlement on village-homestead conditions. This settlement is is a very prosperous condition. There are twenty selectors holding allotments therein of an average area of 5 acres ; sixteen of these selector- are resident on their allotments, and four are non-resident. Seventy-seven acres out of a total of 100 acres are cultivated. The improvements effected up to date are valued by the Crown Lands Clanger at £1,832. The total resident population of this settlement is sixty-one (men. women, and children). An area of 3t acres situated a short distance from the Town ol Murchison was set apart as a village settlement a few months ago, and subdivided info twelve allotments lor disposal on lease in perpetuity, but so far only three allotments have been applied lor. Occupation of Pastoral Lands m Mining Districts.—A system peculiarly applicable to a mining district the regulations thereunder permitting of tin- u.-e of the surface of the land without in any way impeding the mining industry. A total area of 6,510 acres was grnnted to twenty-nine applicants— the average area comprised within a license being 221 acres. Compared with last year's figures the transactions under this tenure show an increase of 4,735 acres and ten applicants. Miscellaneous Leases am! Licenses.- The miscellaneous leases and licenses granted over ordinary Crown lands during the year cover a total area of 18,922 acres. Included m this area are 44 tem-porary-occupation licenses, comprising 16,334 acre: 2 tlax-cutting licenses, of 5 acres; 14 mineral leases; 63 sawmill licenses, reserved limber areas, timber warrants, and sleeper-cutting warrants. The licenses relating to timber and minerals were granted by the Warden; the rents and loyalties received from these is territorial revenue, for which the Lands Department is responsible.