Civil Secretary’s Office,
Auckland, March 6th, 1849.

HIS Excellency the Governor-in-Chief has been pleased to order the publication of the following information, for the use of Military and Naval officers purposing to settle in the British colonies.

C. A. Dillon,
Civil Secretary.

INFORMATION FOR THE USE OF MILITARY AND NAVAL OFFICERS PURPOSING TO SETTLE IN THE BRITISH COLONIES:

1. The Colonies in which Military and Naval Officers are allowed privileges in the acquisition of public Lands are the following:

   • First, The Australian Settlements, consisting of New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Province of New Zealand;
   • Secondly, Ceylon;
   • Thirdly, The Cape of Good Hope;
   • and Fourthly, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton,
     the only province in North America where privileges are still allowed.

2. In the different Australian Settlements, in Ceylon, and at the Cape of Good Hope, land is disposed of by sale only; but Officers purchasing land, are allowed a remission of the purchase money, according to the undermentioned scale:

   • Field Officers, of 25 years’ service and upwards, in the whole........................................ 600 acres
   • Field Officers, of 20 years’ service and upwards, in the whole........................................ 500 acres
   • Field Officers, of 15 or less years’ service in the whole........................................ 400 acres
   • Captains, of 20 years’ service and upwards, in the whole........................................ 400 acres
   • Captains, of 15 years’ service or less, in the whole........................................ 300 acres
   • Subalterns, of 20 years’ service and upwards, in the whole........................................ 300 acres
   • Subalterns, of 7 years’ service and upwards, in the whole........................................ 200 acres
   • Subalterns, under 7 years’ standing, are not entitled to any remission in the purchase of land.

   Regimental Staff Officers, and Medical Officers of the Army or Navy, are allowed the benefit of this Rule.

   In Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, allotments of land are granted to officers on the following scale and conditions:

   • To a Lieutenant-Colonel........................................ 1200 acres
   • To a Major........................................ 1000 acres
   • To a Captain........................................ 800 acres
   • To a Subaltern........................................ 500 acres

3. Officers of the Army or Navy, proposing to proceed to the Colonies, in order to take advantage of this indulgence, should provide themselves with certificates from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, or of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, or of the Master General of the Ordnance, showing that their emigration has been sanctioned, and stating exactly their rank and length of service. No document from the Office of the Secretary of State is necessary.

4. Officers on half-pay, residing in the Colony where they propose to settle, are admitted to the privileges of Military and Naval Settlers, without referring to this Country for Testimonials, provided they can satisfy the Governor that there is no objection to their being allowed the indulgence, and that the statement of their rank and length of service is accurate; and provided, if they belong to the Navy, they produce their letter of leave of absence from the Admiralty.

5. Military Chaplains, Commissariat Officers, and Officers of any of the Civil Departments of the Army; Pursers, Chaplains, Midshipmen, Warrant Officers of every description, and Officers of any of the Civil Departments of the Navy, are not allowed any privileges in respect of land. Although members of these classes may have been admitted formerly, and under different circumstances, they are now excluded.
   Mates in the Royal Navy rank with Ensigns in the Army, and Mates of three years’ standing, with Lieutenants in the Army, and are entitled respectively to corresponding privileges in the acquisition of lands.

6. Gentlemen who have ceased to belong to Her Majesty’s Service are not allowed the advantages to which they were entitled while in the Army or Navy. This rule, however, is not to affect Officers who desire to quit the Service, for the express purpose of settling in the Colonies; it is only required, that when they resign their Commissions, they should apply for a certificate from the Commander-in-Chief, or from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, or from the Master General of the Ordnance, that they do so with the view of emigrating, and such certificate, if produced to the Governor of any of the Colonies before-mentioned within one year from its date, but not otherwise, will be a sufficient warrant for allowing the bearer the same advantages as Officers who are still in Her Majesty’s Service.

7. An actual residence of two years in the Colony must be proved before the Titles can be granted, except in cases in which death may have occurred before the expiration of that period.

8. For the convenience of Officers, the following heads are subjoined of the Rules for the sale of Land in the Australian Settlements:

   • All Lands are disposed of by sale alone, and must have been at once at least exposed to public auction.
   • The lowest upset price is not less than £1 per acre; but the Government has power to raise the same by Proclamation, though not again to reduce it.
   • The Lands are distinguished into three different classes; viz—Town Lots, Suburban Lots, and Country Lots.
   • Upon Town and Suburban Lots, as well as upon a proportion not exceeding one-tenth of the whole of the Country Lots offered for sale at any auction, the Governor has the power of naming a higher than the general or lowest upset price.