LAWS RELATING TO CROWN LANDS. ^i 



up to 10,240 acres siTrrouuding tlie proposed position of the bore. 

 The effect of the reservation is to protect the land for the applicant's 

 own nse, and, should boring operations be, in the Minister's ojjinion 

 sufficiently successful and promising, a lease may be granted of tlio 

 land at the same rent as already paid for it, but for a term which may 

 be as long as the unexpired term of the associated pastcn-al lease. 



Special Leases. 



The law provides for a class of leases termed Special Leases. Such 

 leases (which do not involve a condition of residence) are to meet 

 cases where land, in any Division, is required for some industrial or 

 business purpose — such, for example, as for a brick kiln, tannery, wool- 

 washing establishment, &c., &c. Land under the sea or under tho 

 waters of any harbour, lake, river, &c., is deemed to be Crown lands 

 and may be leased for the erection of wharves, bathing places, &:c. A 

 Special Lease may be obtained on application at an a))piaised rent, or 

 disposed of at auction or otherwise. The area leased cannot exceed 

 320 acres, nor can the term exceed twenty-eight years. Tho conditions 

 are accommodated to the circumstances of each case. The rent is 

 payable annually in advance. 



Application for a Special Lease is made to the Chairman of the 

 Local Land Board with a deposit of £3 and a survey fee accordino- to 

 the appended scale. 



Residential Leases. 



A " Residential Lease " of land within a Gold or Mineral Field may 

 be granted to the holder of what is termed a '' Miner's Right " or 

 "Mineral License." Such right or license is obtainable under the 

 provisions of the Mining Act. Application for the lease is made to 

 the local Crown Lands Agent with a deposit of £1, a provisional rent 

 of Is. per acre and a survey fee according to the ajjpended scale. 

 The maximum area which may be leased is 20 acres, and the maximum 

 term of the lease is fifteen years. The rent is determined by the Land 

 Board, and is payable annually in advance. The Minister may at any 

 time direct a re-appraisement of rent. The principal conditions of 

 the lease are residence during the currency of the lease^ and the 

 erection within twelve months from the commencement of the lease 

 of such buildings and fences as are necessary for the performance 

 of this condition. The lessee is given tenant-right in improvements. 



Exchange of Land heticeen the Crown and Private Holders. 

 In the chapter dealing with Pastoral Leases reference has been 

 made to the fact that Pastoral Lessees before the granting to them of 

 security of tenure had made it a practice to secure portions of their 

 runs by conditional purchase or purchase in fee-simple. The practice 

 was in many instances disadvantageous to the public estate, inasmuch 

 as the Crown lands were left in detached blocks, severed by the 

 lessees' freehold properties, and, moreover, the lessees themselves have 

 come to find that it would be convenient to them to gather their free- 

 holds together into one or more consohdated blocks, especially withm 

 their leasehold areas. This result can be secured by the Crown 

 accepting a surrender of private lands, and granting lands in exchange 



