The Hawaiian gazette., 1891-08-18

cent, belonged to the two cities of Mel
bourne and Sydney alone.
There are four methods by which in
tending settlers may acquire holdings
out of the New Zealand crown lands !;
first, by cash payments, in which case
not more than $40 acres of first class and
2000 acres of second class land i'll any
one district is allowed to each applicant;
second, the deferred payment or Install
ment method, in which any person over
seventeen years old may be an applicant,
and the holdings are restricted to 20
acres of suburban and $40 acres OF rural
land. These lands are paid for by semi
annual installments extending over a
period OF five years for suburban land and
fourteen years for rural land. Residence
on the land by the purchaser must begin
within six months from the issue OF the
license, and continue for four years on
suburban land and six years on rural
land. Opportunity is given to settlers
under this method to pay cash, at their
option, before the period of payment by
installment has expired; upon full pay
ment, grants are delivered to the pur-
chasers; third, the perpetual lease
method, which allows to the settler
thirty years lease with rent fixed at five
per cent. on the value OF the land, with
the refusal OF new lease, at the end OF
the term, for twenty-one years longer.
In case the tenant does not wish to re-
new the lease, the privilege is put up at
auction, the incoming tenant being
obliged to pay the old lessee the value OF
his improvements. At any time a ten
ant under this method, who has per
formed the improvement conditions,
may buy the land for cash at the money
value upon which he has paid rent at
five per cent; fourth, the homestead
system, under which the settler makes
no payment for the land beyond the cost
of survey. Son the fultillment of the
conditions, which are five years resi-
denCe, the erection of a house and the
cultivation of one-third OF the selection
if open land, and one-tifth If bush land,
the crown grant is issued" Persons
over Is years OF age may take from 90 to
70 acres, and persons under Is, 20 to 80
acres. Those taking lands under this
method are debarred from obtaining
land on the installment or perpetual
lease plans, and those who have received
land in those ways, or who are freehold
ers, may not take advantage OF the
homestead system. A somewhat similar
restriction is part OF the perpetual lease
method above referred to.
"The average sized holding for the
last few years lin New Zealand) is 300
acres; and for the whole colony there
were in February last $500 somewhat
less than 10000 agricultural and pas
toral holdings. The instalment and
perpetual lease systems appear to be the
most popular and under their conditions
the greater part of rural lands are occu-
pied. This occupancy under these two
systems is now progressing at the aver
age rate of lightweight applicants a
month, requiring 23,18 acres OF land,
giving 263 acres as the average extent OF
the holdings.
1t is easy to see that New Zealand |
under these circumstances has a safe |
and prosperous future, even with her |
heavy burden of public debt.
If with our available public and pri |
vate lands we should, by the intelli-
gent adoption and administration of a |
wise land policy, create some three or |
four thousand holdings within the next |
ten or fifteen years, owned, inhabited |
and used by their occupiers, each one |
becoming a home and family inheri- |
lance, and equal to the generous main
OF a healthy family life, would |
we not be working more effectively for |
the future peace and prosperity of our |
country than would be possible by any |
other disposition OF our resources?