287 אן LAND AND SETTLEMENT. N each of the Commonwealth States and New Zealand a different system has been adopted to secure the settlement of an industrial population upon the Crown lands, the conditions upon which land may be acquired being of a more or less liberal nature according to the circumstances in which the province has found itself placed. The legislation of Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania, which at one time formed part of New South Wales, bears a strong resemblance to that of the mother state, practically the same form of conditional occupation with deferred payments being in existence in all four states. In the other provinces, however, the influence of New South Wales was not so directly felt, and new experiments were made. South Australia, for instance, was originally settled upon the Wakefield system-alike remarkable for its originality and its failure. In Western Australia and New Zealand, under pressure of a different set of circumstances, settlement was effected by legislation of a novel character. An attempt is made here to give a description of the Land Laws of Australasia, although the radical changes which are constantly being made render the task of giving a serviceable account of the various systems a somewhat difficult one. During the past ten years, numerous Acts affecting State lands have been placed on the statute book, so that it is impossible to say how long the information given in this chapter can be taken as representing the latest phases of land legislation in Australasia. NEW SOUTH WALES. With the progress and development of the state, the Land Laws of New South Wales have naturally undergone considerable alteration. In the earliest period alienation was effected by grants, orders, and dedications, the power of disposal resting solely with the Governor. In August, 1831, the principle of sale by auction was introduced, the minimum price for country lands being fixed at 5s. per acre. This was raised to 12s. in 1839, and to 20s. in 1843, power being given in the latter year to select, at the upset price, country portions for which a bid was not forthcoming at auction, or upon which the deposit paid at the time of sale had been forfeited. This was the first appearance of the principle of selection in the laws of the state, but it was limited to lands which had been surveyed for sale by auction. The discovery of gold in 1851, and the consequent rush of population to Australia, greatly altered the conditions of colonisation. As the interest in gold-digging declined, so did the desire for settlement on the land increase, and the question had to be dealt with in an entirely new spirit, to meet the wants of the class of immigrants desirous of being placed upon the soil. The agitation which thus sprang up resulted in the passing of the Crown Lands Act of 1861, under the leadership of Sir John Robertson. This measure was designed to secure the establishment of an agricultural population side by side with the pastoral tenants. With this object in view an entirely new principle was introduced-that of free selection in limited areas before survey, coupled with conditions of residence and improvement-and country lands were sold at 20s. per acre, payable by annual instalments carrying interest. The occupation of waste lands for pastoral purposes was at first allowed under a system of yearly licenses. Any person could apply for such a license, the extent of the run which it was desired to occupy being limited only by the boundaries of the surrounding stations. The fee was fixed at £10 per annum for a section of 25 square miles, with £2 10s. for every additional 5 square miles. This system of yearly licenses was succeeded by one under which the squatter was given fixity of tenure, the fee payable being calculated upon the stock-carrying capacity instead of upon the area of the run. Still another system was inaugurated by the Occupation Act of 1861, the period of tenure being limited to five years in all but first-class settled districts, and the whole of the pastoral leases left open to the operations of the free selectors. But such evils were found to result from this system that in 1884, in 1889, in 1895, in 1901, so far as the western division is concerned, and again in 1903, so far as the eastern and central divisions are concerned, Parliament was led to adopt amendments which are now in force, and which, while maintaining the principle of selection before survey, aim at giving fixity of tenure to the pastoral lessee and obtaining a larger rental from the public lands, while at the same time securing land to bond-fide settlers on terms and conditions within the reach of all. For the purposes of land administration, the state is split up into three divisions, each of which is subdivided into land districts. In the eastern and central divisions one or more of these land districts form a local division, the administration of which is entrusted to a Local Land Board, comprising a chairman and not more than two assessors, the control of the western division being vested in the Western Land Board. The decisions of these Local Land Boards may be appealed against to the Land Appeal Court. This Court is composed of a President and two members appointed by the Executive, and its decisions in matters of administration have the force of judgments of the Supreme Court; but whenever questions of law become involved, a case may be submitted to the Supreme Court, upon the written request of the parties interested, or by the Land Appeal Court of its own initiative. The judgment given in this appeal is final. Under the Acts at present in force, land may be acquired by the following methods :-(1) By conditional and additional conditional purchase with residence; (2) by conditional purchase without residence; (3) by classified conditional purchase; (4) by the preferent right of purchase attached to conditional leases; (5) by improvement purchases on goldfields; (6) by auction sales; (7) by after auction sales; (8) by special sales without competition; (9) by way of exchange; (10) by virtue of volunteer land orders; and (11) by homestead selection. Crown lands may also be let under the following systems, viz. :Annual lease; conditional lease; lease as inferior lands; occupation license; pastoral lease; scrub lease; special lease; residential lease on gold and mineral fields; improvement lease; settlement lease; snow lands lease; and working men's blocks. The maximum area which may be conditionally purchased differs in the eastern and central divisions. In the western division land can only be occupied under lease, or alienated by auction. Conditional Purchases. Any vacant Crown lands in the eastern and central divisions of the state are available for conditional purchase, but only those specially set apart by proclamation in the Government Gazette under the definition of special areas are open in the western division. The fact that lands. are held under annual lease or occupation license does not disqualify them from conditional purchase, but lands held under any other tenure may not be so acquired. Land under conditional lease in any division may be conditionally purchased, but only by the leaseholder. Lands within suburban boundaries or within population areas may be proclaimed as special areas, and are open to conditional purchase under the special conditions prescribed. The existence of improvements does not constitute a bar to conditional purchase, but the applicant is required to pay for them. Where such improvements are the property of the Crown, their value is determined by the Land Board, which also fixes the period within which they are to be paid for. Where the improvements are not Crown property, the parties make their own arrange ments. Any person of or over the age of 16 years, other than a married woman who has not been judicially separated from and is living apart from her husband, may take up a residential conditional purchase, but no one under the age of 21 years can select a non residential conditional purchase. It is specially enacted that every conditional purchase must be made solely in the interest of the applicant, and any agreement to the contrary is void. Minors who become conditional purchasers have, in connection with their land, the rights and liabilities of persons of full age. The area which may be selected depends on the division in which the land is situated, and whether it is taken up under residential or K non-residential conditions, or falls within a special area. The minimum With regard to special areas, both the minimum and maximum areas are subject to proclamation in the Government Gazette, and are therefore liable to limitation according to the circumstances of each case. It is open to any conditional purchaser to take up the maximum area at once, or by a series of purchases, at such intervals as may suit his convenience. With the exception of non-residential purchases, provision is made in the Crown Lands Amendment Act of 1903, that the maximum areas specified may be exceeded by allowing an applicant to acquire additional holdings, the area of which, together with all other lands held by the applicant other than under annual tenure, must not exceed such an area as, in the opinion of the Land Board, is sufficient for the maintenance of his home thereon in average seasons and circumstances. The additional holdings need not necessarily adjoin the original holding, but must, in the opinion of the Land Board, be situated within a reasonable working distance thereof. An application for a conditional purchase must be accompanied by a declaration containing replies to questions-the object of which is to prove that the applicant is legally competent to apply-and must be lodged with the Crown Lands Agent of the district in which the land is situated, and a deposit and survey fee paid at the same time. The deposit is 2s. per acre on residential purchases, and 4s. per acre on nonresidential purchases of ordinary land, while on special areas, and on lands within classified areas, it varies according to the prices fixed for the land. Under ordinary conditions the balance of purchase money, with interest at 4 per cent. per annum, is cleared off by thirty annual payments of 1s. per acre. The first instalment is not due until the expiration of three years from the date on which the land was applied for. In the case, however, of holdings brought under the Conditional Purchasers' Relief Act of 1896, the instalments may be reduced to 9d. per acre, and in some instances to 6d. per acre, thus extending the total period of repayment to 66 years, provided the holders of the conditional purchasers are and continue in residence. By the Crown Lands Act Amendment Act, of 1903, the rate of interest on the balance of 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, are 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 feneed 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. |