THE LAND QUESTION AND THE EARLY SALES 205 



There were millions of acres of fine native grasses, and there 

 were hundreds of sheep-owners ready to put them to profitable use 

 and to pay fairly for the privilege, but they had neither the capital 

 nor the inclination to acquire the freehold. The Government had to 

 choose between meeting the requirements of the settler or driving 

 him away. The Act to prevent the unauthorised use of Crown 

 lands, passed by the Legislative Council of New South Wales in 

 1833, had proved impracticable in the attempt to enforce it, and in 

 1837 the Government acknowledged its defeat by passing a new Act, 

 admitting the right to graze upon payment of a license fee. At 

 first this fee was fixed at one penny per sheep, threepence per head 

 of cattle, and sixpence per horse, but it was afterwards commuted 

 to a fixed payment of 10 per annum for each pastoral holding. 

 Lest any claim should arise on the part of the squatter that the per- 

 missive occupancy formed the basis of rights to absolute proprietor- 

 ship, it was specifically declared that this license fee was not 

 recognised as a payment of rent, but merely " as a certificate of 

 the character, and a recognition of the precarious nature of the title 

 of the occupant ". These licenses were only granted for one year, 

 and were revocable at pleasure ; no reason need be assigned for 

 refusing a renewal, and the decision of the Crown Lands Commis- 

 sioner was without appeal. Arbitrary as were the powers possessed 

 by these officials, they were not often exercised ; but as no allowance 

 was made for improvements, the sense of insecurity tended to restrict 

 expenditure and to create a general feeling of discontent. At first no 

 limitation of area was made so long as the holding was in one block, 

 and the definition of boundaries between neighbours was left to 

 adjust itself at the cost of much bickering; but in 1844 revised 

 regulations restricted the 10 fee to twenty square miles of country 

 with 4,000 sheep or 500 head of cattle. Beyond this a second fee 

 was exacted. 



The voluminous despatches which passed between the Colonial 

 officials and the Home Secretary from 1840 to 1846, relative to the 

 adjustment of the universal claim for some greater fixity of tenure, 

 fill several substantial blue-books. The principles which animated 

 the British Government are very fully set out in Earl Grey's History 

 of the Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell's Administration, but 



