RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE

GOLD-MINING LEASE REGULATIONS.

1. Interpretation.

Whenever the term "Warden" is used in these Rules and Regulations, it shall be taken to mean the Commissioner, Warden, or Resident Magistrate, or any other officer entrusted with the superintendence of the Gold-field, or any portion of it, and holding a commission under the hand of the Governor, duly empowering him to have charge thereof.

2. What Lands may be Leased.

Auriferous Crown lands in the Province of Nelson may be leased under these Regulations, except—

(1) The whole or any part of any land which any person other than the applicant is entitled to occupy, and actually does occupy, for mining purposes or for residence, by virtue of a Miner’s Right or Business License.

(2) The whole or any part of any land in or over which any person other than the applicant has any interest or authority other than those above-mentioned, which he may lawfully use and exercise for mining purposes, or for discovering the existence of gold or other metal or mineral.

(3) Lands containing within their boundaries any river, stream of permanent water, or spring, which may be required for public purposes, or for the use of the miners generally.

3. Boundaries of Land applied for to be Defined.

Persons intending to apply for a lease of auriferous Crown lands shall, previous to making application as hereinafter directed, erect, or cause to be erected at each angle of the land proposed to be leased, a post three inches square, and standing at least three feet in height above the surface of the ground; and such posts shall be maintained at the expense of the applicant until the application shall have been granted or refused by the Governor.

4. Mode of Application.

Application shall be made in the form in the Schedule hereto annexed, marked A, and shall be addressed in duplicate to the Warden of the Gold-field within which the land so applied for is situate.

5. Applicant to make a Deposit, etc.

At the time of applying for such lease, the applicant must deposit with the Warden a sum equal to one year’s rent for such lease, not being more than twenty pounds (£20), of the said land so applied for, as a guarantee for the payment of any expenses which may be incurred by the survey of the land applied for, or by reason of any objection to such application being allowed; and such Warden shall give to the applicant a receipt therefor in the form in the Schedule hereto annexed, marked B, and any surplus will be held for the first year’s rent if the application is approved of; and if the application is disallowed, the amount will be returned to the applicant, after deducting all expenses or penalties incurred as aforesaid.

6. Penalty for Withdrawing Application, etc.

Out of the sum of twenty pounds (£20) deposited by any person making application for a Gold-mining Lease shall be deducted, the sum of five pounds (£5), in addition to the previously authorized costs and expenses, in case such person shall withdraw his application, or forfeit or abandon his claim, or within one month after notice by the Warden that the lease is prepared shall not accept the same.

7. Official Survey.

Upon receipt of such application and deposit, the Warden aforesaid shall, as soon as may be, direct a surveyor to proceed to the land applied for, and to survey the same, and to report as to the area, boundaries, and description thereof, the character of the ground, the