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RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE

two months after the notice of the intention to grant the same shall have been published in the General Government Gazette, and at least one of the local newspapers best calculated to give publicity to the same amongst the persons specially interested.

16. DATE OF LEASE.

Every lease shall bear date the day of execution thereof by the Governor, and shall be transmitted to the Warden, at whose office the same may be obtained; and the Warden shall deliver the same to the applicant, or such person as shall be duly authorized to receive and execute the same upon his application therefor, and execution thereof, within the time hereinafter prescribed, and upon delivery to the Warden of a receipt, showing that a fee of one pound, together with the first half-year's rent, has been paid to the Receiver of Land Revenue, or Gold Receiver for the district.

17. EXECUTION OF LEASE.

Upon receiving the lease, the Warden shall cause notice to be given to the lessee, or lessees, requesting his or their attendance at the Warden's office, or other convenient place, to execute and take delivery thereof within a reasonable time, not exceeding thirty days from the date of such notice; and should the said lessee or lessees, or his or their lawful attorney, as hereinafter provided for, fail to comply therewith, or to show reasonable cause for an extension of the time allowed for the purpose, the Warden shall report the circumstances to the Provincial Secretary, and the Superintendent may thereupon declare the lease forfeited, or take such other action therein as he may think fit.

18. PROCEEDING IN CASE OF REFUSAL OF LEASE.

If any lease so applied for shall be refused, either in the first instance, or after a failure to comply with the terms of the notice in the preceding clause, or if any application for a lease shall be withdrawn, a notice thereof shall be published in the Government Gazette, and the Warden shall thereupon instruct a mining surveyor to proceed without delay to the ground described in such mining lease, and cause all posts, notices, &c., by which such ground shall have been distinguished as applied for under the Leasing Regulations, to be removed; and further, to post notices at each angle of the lease applied for, and at the Warden's office, for the information of the miners in the vicinity, that such ground is open to persons holding Miners' Rights or Business Licenses, or to applicants for a lease, as if no lease of the said ground had ever been applied for.

19. COSTS.

All costs and expenses incurred by, or on behalf of, or by direction of the Government, by reason of the withdrawal of any application for mining leases, or of the non-execution of any such lease within the time aforesaid, shall be considered expenses within the meaning of the fourth clause of these Regulations.

20. TERM.

The term of the lease cannot in any case exceed fifteen years.

21. AREAS OF LEASES.

The extent of any lease granted under these Regulations shall be, except in special cases hereinafter provided for, on quartz lodes or veins, not less than one hundred (100) yards nor more than four hundred (400) yards in length along the line of the lode, by a width of not less than fifty (50) yards nor more than two hundred (200) yards, measured across the lode; and in alluvial workings, an area not exceeding ten (10) yards.

22. AMOUNT OF RENT, HOW TO BE DETERMINED.

The applicant shall state on his application the amount, by way of rent or royalty, he is willing to pay for the lease. The surveyor directed to make the official survey to the Warden shall state the amount which in his judgment the lessee ought to be required to pay as rent or royalty, together with the grounds upon which he has formed his opinion. If, in the opinion of the Warden, the amount as rent or royalty proposed to be paid is less than ought to be required, he, at or after the inquiry held into the truth of the particulars alleged by the applicant, shall pronounce to the applicant his opinion of the amount which ought to be paid by the lessee as rent or royalty, and shall ascertain from the applicant what sum he is willing to pay as rent or royalty; and shall forward to the Provincial Secretary, with the application, a statement of his opinion on the matter, and shall report what sum, as rent or royalty, the applicant is willing to pay. The Superintendent shall, if he recommends the grant of any lease, state the amount which he recommends the Governor to require as a rent or royalty.