THE QUACK AND THE LAND. 41 



" With many benefits there was also 

 considerable mischief as a result of the 

 operation of Robertson's Act, chiefly for 

 the reason that land, being held under 

 pastoral leases not exempt from free selec- 

 tion, could be the subject of speculative 

 selecting without bona-fide intention of settle- 

 ment. The Crown Lands Act of 1884 and 

 the supplementary Act of 1889 were accord- 

 ingly passed to remedy this state of things. 

 These measures, while maintaining the prin- 

 ciple of free selection before survey, were 

 designed to give fixity of tenure to the 

 pastoral lessees, and at the same time 

 incidentally tended to restrict the area sold 

 unconditionally. Pastoral leases were re- 

 quired to be surrendered to the Crown, and 

 divided into two equal parts. One of these 

 parts was returned to the lessee under a 

 lease with fixity of tenure for a certain 

 term of years ; the other half, called the 

 resumed area, the lessee was allowed to 

 hold under an annual occupation licence, 

 but this half was always open to selection. 



' It was found in course of time that the 



2a 



