28 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Every application of any of tlie classes referred to is required to be 

 made in good faith, and an application is not taken to be made in good 

 faith unless tlie sole object of tlie applicant is to obtain the land in 

 order that he may hold and use it for his own exclusive benefit 

 according to law. 



Qualifications to Select. 



A person of, or over, the age of 16 years (of either sex) may make a 

 Conditional Purchase or Homestead Selection, but no person under 

 the age of 21 years can apply for any lease other than a Conditional 

 Lease, or in certain circumstances a Homestead Lease. For the last 

 mentioned lease a minor may apply if not less than 16 years of age 

 and of the male sex. Minors, so far as concerns their transactions 

 in connection with certain holdings under the Crown Lands Acts, enjoy 

 the rights, and are subject to the liabilities, of persons of full age. 



A person who is not a naturalised subject of Her Majesty is 

 debarred until he obtains letters of naturalisation, or until he has 

 resided in New South Wales for twelve months, and then at the date 

 of application he must lodge a declaration of his intention to become a 

 naturalised subject within five yeai*s from that date. 



Married women are disqualified unless they are judicially separated 

 and actually living apart from their husbands. 



Homestead Selection. 



The Homestead Selection system owes its introduction to the 

 Crown Lands Act of 1895, and offers special advantages to the small 

 capitalist, inasmuch as the land may be held for the first five years 

 at the extremely low rental of Ij, and thereafter at an annual rental 

 of 2h per cent, of its capital value. The rental period dates from 

 the date of confirmation of the application by the Local Land Boai-d, 

 and the rent is payable in advance half-yearl}^. The initial capital 

 value is determined and advertised before the land is thrown open, 

 and is not susceptible of alteration for the first fifteen years. For every 

 subsequent period of ten years the land is revalued by the Local 

 Land Board, a fresh appraisement being necessary for each decade. 

 It is important to note that no minimum value is fixed by law, and 

 it is thus made possible fi'om the beginning, and throughout, to 

 accommodate the rent to actual and changing values, an advantage 

 which, during a period of depreciation, must necessarily be felt by 

 the land owner. Land before being made available for Homestead 

 Selection (and there is no restriction as to the division of the Colony 

 in which it may be situated), is ascertained to be suitable for the 

 purpose, and is measured into blocks, estimated to be each sufficient 

 for the maintenance of a family, not, however, in any case exceeding 

 1,280 acres' in extent; but, for the convenience of town residents, 

 lands within easy distances of their places of business, are some- 

 times made available in comparatively small areas. After a given date 

 (which is notified in the Government Gazette) the land may be obtained 

 on application to the local Crown Land Agent, the earliest applicant 

 having the right to the block which he may have chosen. Where 



