purchase money has been reduced to 2 per cent. per annum for any conditional purchase applied for after the passing of that Act, and it is also provided that the same rate of interest may, in certain cases, be payable in respect of conditional purchases applied for before the passing of that Act.

The original conditional purchase must be resided upon continuously by the selector for a period of ten years, calculated from the date of application. Residence must be commenced within three months after the application has been confirmed by the Land Board, who may grant leave of absence for a period in special circumstances, such as sickness, drought, &c. Each additional conditional purchase or conditional lease is subject to the condition of residence indicated. The place of residence, may, however, be on any block of the series, so that no necessity exists for a change of residence, and the term may be reduced by the applicant's previous residence on the series, up to, but not exceeding five years.

The selector is required to enclose his land within three years after confirmation, with such a fence as the Land Board may prescribe; but he may, at his own option, substitute improvements in lieu of fencing. In such a case, permanent, fixed, and substantial improvements, of the value of 6s. per acre, but not exceeding £384, ure required within three years from date of confirmation, and these improvements must be brought up to the value of 10s. per acre, but not exceeding £640, within five years from the date of confirmation. In the case of nonresidential purchases the land must be fenced within one year after date of confirmation, and within five years from that date other improvements to the value of £1 per acre must be effected.

Any conditional purchases, or conditional leases of the same series, may be converted into a homestead selection, provided the holder has been in bona fide residence for at least six months, and in such case all moneys paid as interest or rent shall be taken as having been paid for the use of the land, and all moneys paid off the purchase money may be credited towards future rent of the selection.

Auction Sales.

Crown lands are submitted to auction under ordinary or deferred payment systems. Under the ordinary system the balance of purchase money is payable, without interest, within three months of the day of sale, while, under the deferred payment system, the balance is payable by instalments, with 5 per cent. interest, distributed over a longer period, but which cannot exceed five years. In either case 25 per cent. of the purchase money must be deposited at the time of sale. The only lands that may be sold under the deferred payment system are town and suburban lands, and country lands of a less area than 40 acres. Auction sales to the extent of not more than 200,000 acres in any one year, are permitted. The upset price is fixed by the Minister for Lands.

Town lands cannot be sold in blocks exceeding balf-an-acre, or at a lower upset price than £8 per acre; suburban lands that may be offered at auction must not exceed 20 acres in one block, and the minimum upset price is £2 10s. per acre, and country lands may be submitted in areas not exceeding 640 acres at an upset price of not less than 15s. per acre. The value of improvements on the land may be added to the upset price. Town and suburban lands, and lands within population areas, or any portion of country lands of a less area than 40 acres, which have been offered at auction and not bid for, may be sold, subject to the Minister's approval, to any applicant at the upset price, and on the same terms and conditions as those under which the land was offered at the auction sale.

Improvement Purchases.

The holder of a miner's right or business license under the provisions of the Mining Act, which confers the right to occupy a small area within a gold field, is authorised under the Land Acts to purchase the lands so occupied, provided he has made certain improvements thereon. These improvements must include a residence or place of business, and be of the value of £8 per acre on town land, and £2 10s. on any other land. Not more than a quarter of an acre of town land, and not more than one acre of other land can be purchased, and a distance of three miles must separate any two or more portions purchased by the same applicant.

Special Purchases.

Any unnecessary road which bounds or intersects freehold land, may be closed and sold to the freeholder, and any unnecessary road which passes through land held under conditional purchase may be closed and added to the area of the same. In the former case the land is alienated in fee, at a price determined by the Land Board, while in the case of a conditional purchase the price is similarly determined and added to the balance owing on the conditional purchase, the conditional purchaser being required to pay deposit and instalment of purchase money at the same rate as for his original area.

Many crown grants of land having water frontage contain a reservation, usually of 100 feet from high water mark, and the title of the land so reserved is regarded as remaining in the Crown. It is, however, competent for the Crown to rescind the reservation, and convey the land to the holder of the adjoining land, and in such a case the price of the land is determined by the Land Board.

The owner in fee simple of land having frontage to the sea, or to any tidal water or lake, who desires to reclaim and purchase any adjoining land lying beyond or below high water mark, may, after depositing £10 in the Treasury, apply to the Under Secretary for Lands to do so, except in the case of Port Jackson, the control of which is vested in the Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners. No reclamation is authorised which may

interrupt or interfere with navigation, and any approved reclamation must be completed to the satisfaction of the Minister, if the land is in the Metropolitan Land District, or to the satisfaction of the Land Board if situated elsewhere. The price to be paid for the land is appraised by the Land Board, on the basis of the enhanced value of the whole holding by reason of the land to be reclaimed having been reclaimed, and being held and enjoyed with the land in fee simple after allowing for cost of reclamation.

Land encroached upon by buildings erected on granted land, or land situated between granted land and a street or road, which forms, or should form, the way of approach to the granted land, or land to which no way of access is attainable, or land which is insufficient in area for conditional purchase, may, subject to the approval of the Land Board, be purchased by the owner in fee simple of the adjoining land, at a price determined by the Board.

Volunteer Land Orders.

Holders of certificates issued to such volunteers as had served efficiently for a certain period under the provisions of the Volunteer Force Regulation Act of 1867 are entitled to a free grant of 50 acres of land. These certificates, a few of which are still outstanding, entitle the holder to 50 acres of such land as may be open to conditional purchase, other than lands within a proclaimed special area.

Homestead Selection.

Among the special features of the Act of 1895 was the introduction of the principle of classification and measurement of lands prior to selection. Under this system suitable land is set apart and rendered available for the purposes of the selector. The appropriation of areas for homestead selection is a prominent feature of the Act, and the lands chosen for subdivision are good agricultural lands, which are measured into blocks, each large enough for one family. Where suitable lands are situated within easy access of towns, small blocks are set apart to suit the requirements of business people. The land becomes available for application after particulars relating to area, capital value, &c., are published in the Gazette, and the application must be made to the Crown Lands Agent of the district in which the land is situated. The maximum area that may be selected is 1,280 acres ; but the selector is limited to a block as gazetted, which may be less than the maximum area. The tenure is freehold, subject to perpetual residence and perpetual rent. The selector is required to deposit one half year's rent and one-third of the survey fee with his application, the payment of the balance of the latter being spread over a period of two years. The rent until the issue of the grant, which cannot be issued for five years, or until the expiration of the first six years of the selection, if the grant is not previously issued, is 14 per cent. of the capital value of the land, which capital value is determined according to the character and situation of

the land and the tenure of the holding. The gazetted capital value of the land may be subject to appraisement by the Land Board at the instance of the selector. The Crown Lands Act Amendment Act of 1903 provides that an additional holding may be acquired to make up an area which, with all other lands held by the applicant other than under annual tenure, would not be more than sufficient for the maintenance of the applicant's home in average seasons and circumstances. The additional holding need not necessarily adjoin the original holding, but must, in the opinion of the Land Board, be situated within a reasonable working distance thereof. Any person who is eligible to take up a conditional purchase may apply for a homestead selection. Any improvements on the land are appraised by the Land Board at their value to the incoming tenant, such value in no case to exceed the cost of making those improvements. Should the appraised value exceed by 20 per cent. the Board's estimated value as notified in the Gazette, the applicant is at liberty to withdraw his application and obtain a refund of all payments made. After the issue of the grant the rent is 2 per cent., and the capital value of the land as unimproved is reappraised every ten years, the first valuation, however, holding good for the first fifteen years. The only expenditure required in improvements is £20 for a dwelling-house within the first eighteen months after confirmation of the application by the Land Board. The other condition is residence, which must commence within three months after confirmation, and is a perpetual obligation. The land cannot be transferred during the first five years, and each successive transferee is required to live on the land while he holds it. Tenant right in improvements is secured, and the holding may be so protected that it cannot by any legal procedure, or under any circumstances, be wrested from the selector. Holders of conditional purchases may convert their holdings into homestead selections.

Conditional Leases.

A conditional lease may be applied for by any holder of a conditional purchase, other than a non-residential one, or one within a special area in the Eastern Division, the application for which may have been made subsequent to the 1st January, 1885. Lands available for conditional purchase are also available for conditional lease, with the exception of lands in the Western Division, or within a special area or a reserve from lease. Applications are to be made to the Crown Lands Agent of the district, and must be accompanied by a provisional rent of 2d. an acre and a survey fee. The area of the conditional lease or leases applied for by virtue of any conditional purchase cannot exceed three times the area of the purchase, and cannot be less than 40 acres. The area which an applicant may apply for as conditional purchases and conditional leases is restricted to 1,280 acres in the Eastern Division and 2,560 acres in the Central Division; but the Land Board may allow these areas to be exceeded, provided that the area obtained,

together with all other lands held by the applicant under whatever tenure, other than annual tenure, does not exceed such an area as, in the opinion of the Board, is sufficient for the maintenance of the applicant's home thereon in average seasons and circumstances. The lease is for a period of forty years, at a rent determined by the Land Board, payable yearly in advance. The terms of the lease are divided into four periods of ten years each, and the annual rent for each period may, on the application of the lessee, or on a reference by the Minister, be determined separately. The conditions of fencing, or substitution of improvements in lieu of fencing, which attach to a residential conditional purchase apply equally to a conditional lease, and residence is required as in the case of an additional conditional purchase. The holder may convert the whole or part into an additional conditional purchase, which is freed from any residential condition if the lease was applied for before the 1st June, 1895. A conditional lease must be transferred whenever the conditional purchase upon which it depends is transferred.

Settlement Leases.

Another departure under the Act of 1895 is the provision for settlement leases for agricultural and grazing purposes. Under this form of tenancy, lands gazetted as available for settlement lease are obtainable on application, accompanied by a deposit consisting of six month's rent and survey fee. The maximum area of agricultural land which may thus be taken up is 1,280 acres; but in other instances, where it is apparent that the settler must combine agriculture with grazing, and must depend mainly upon the latter for a livelihood, the farms may comprise any area not exceeding 10,240 acres. These areas may be exceeded by means of additional holdings so long as the area obtained, together with all other lands held by the applicant under whatever tenure, other than annual tenure, does not exceed such an area as, in the opinion of the Land Board, is sufficient for the maintenance of the applicant's home thereon in average seasons and circumstances. The additional holding need not necessarily adjoin the original holding, but must, in the opinion of the Land Board, be situated within a reasonable working distance thereof. The lease is issued for a term of forty years, divided into four periods, each of ten years. The annual rent of the first period is that notified before the land is made available for lease; but the lessee may, if dissatisfied, require the rent to be determined by the Board. The annual rent for each succeeding period may, on the application of the lessee, or on reference by the Minister, be separately determined in like manner. Residence is compulsory throughout the whole term, and the land must be fenced within the first five years. Tenant right in improvements is secured to the outgoing lessee, and the lessee may apply at any time after the first five years of the lease for an area not exceeding 1,280 acres, on which his house is situated, as a homestead grant.