APRIL 9.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 615

Bonus for Destruction of Rabbits.—Notice No. 436.

Department of Agriculture (Live-stock Branch),
Wellington, N.Z., 14th December, 1895.

A BONUS of £1,000 is offered for a practical scheme for the destruction of rabbits.

The following are the conditions:—

1. All applications for the bonus must be sent addressed to the Hon. the Minister for Agriculture, Wellington, New Zealand, and must reach him not later than 31st May, 1896. Each application must be accompanied by a full description of the means proposed to be adopted.

2. The Government shall appoint a committee of three or more experts, to whom all applications shall be submitted. Such committee shall, after perusal, state what schemes they deem worthy of further consideration, and are satisfied may be used with absolute safety.

On completion of the committee’s preliminary investigations each applicant will be notified of the decision arrived at, and whether or not his individual scheme will be further inquired into.

The committee may afterwards inspect the whole or any of the schemes at any place or places within the colony, or may direct that the whole or any of them be submitted for trial at such time and place as they may think fit.

The following shall be a basis of the trial:—

1. A suitable piece of rabbit-infested land shall be allowed to each applicant (of whose scheme the committee have approved), and on which he will have full power to carry out a trial of his scheme for a period not exceeding two years.

2. Each applicant on expiry of the period named shall submit a detailed and accurate statement of the actual cost incurred in testing his scheme.

On the expiry of the period named the committee shall as soon as convenient thereafter (should they deem it necessary) make a personal inspection of each applicant’s allotment, and shall take into consideration—

1. The actual cost incurred by each applicant in testing his scheme for the period above mentioned.

2. The result of the work done on each allotment.

On completion of the tests the committee shall furnish a report to the Minister on all the schemes which they have examined or tested, and shall state—

1. The scheme which they consider on the whole the most practical, efficient, and economic; and if they consider such scheme worthy of the bonus.

2. Whether, in the event of no one scheme being entitled to the whole bonus, they deem any one worthy of a part, and, if so, how much.

The committee has power to withhold all awards if they think none of the schemes submitted of sufficient importance to merit a bonus.

A sum not exceeding 6d. per acre may be paid to each competitor whose scheme is accepted for test by the committee, and who, in the opinion of the committee, has done work deserving of recognition.

JOHN McKENZIE,
Minister for Agriculture.

Bonuses for Encouragement of New Zealand Hemp (Phormium tenax) Industry.—Notice No. 430.

Department of Agriculture,
Wellington, 1st November, 1895.

Bonus No. 1.

A BONUS of £1,750 is offered for a machine or process for dressing New Zealand hemp (Phormium tenax) which shall be an improvement on the machines or processes now in use, and which shall, after trial, be found to materially reduce the cost of production, improve the product, or increase the quantity of dressed fibre.

The following are the conditions:—

1. All applications for the bonus must be sent addressed to the Hon. the Minister for Agriculture, Wellington, and must reach him not later than the 31st March, 1897. Each application must be accompanied by a description of the machine or process, particularly stating improvements on present machines or processes, and also the cost at which the machine or process can be supplied.

2. The applicants must be prepared to submit their machines or processes to examination at such time and place as the Government may direct.

3. The Government shall appoint a committee of three or more experts, to whom all applications shall be submitted. Such committee shall, after perusal, state what machines or processes they deem worthy of consideration, and may inspect the same at any place within the colony; and, having so inspected the whole or any of them, may direct that the whole or any of them be brought for further trial to such place as they may think fit.

The cost of bringing the machines or appliances on to the ground, from within the colony, supplying the necessary shafting, motive-power, and buildings, to be defrayed by the Government. If any machine sent from beyond the colony is awarded the bonus or part thereof, then the cost of bringing such machine shall be borne by the Government.

The following shall be the basis of the test:—

The committee shall supply a sufficient and equal quantity of green hemp to each machine or process as a test.

The committee shall take into consideration—

The time occupied by each machine or process in the operation;

The cost of labour and time required after the fibre has left the machine or process before it is ready for baling;

The percentage of dressed fibre and tow produced by each machine or process;

The cost of producing the same;

The cost of the machine, and the simplicity and durability of the working parts.

On completion of the tests the committee shall furnish a report to the Minister on all the machines or processes which they have examined or tested, and shall state,—

(1.) The machine or process which they consider on the whole the most efficient and economic.

(2.) Whether they consider that any machine or process tested so materially reduces the cost of production, or improves the product, as to be worthy of the whole bonus or of a part only.

(3.) Whether, in the event of no one machine or process being entitled to the whole bonus, they deem any machine or process worthy of a part of the bonus, and, if so, how much.

Bonus No. 2.

A bonus of £250 is offered for a process of utilising the waste products of the hemp.

The first three conditions of Bonus No. 1 to apply to this also.

The committee shall supply a sufficient and equal quantity of the waste products to each process as a test.

On completion of the tests the committee shall report to the Minister, and shall give the following particulars of each process: (a.) The nature of the article made. (b.) The quantity produced, and the cost of production. (c.) The value of the product. (d.) Whether any of the processes are of sufficient importance to warrant the Minister in giving (1) the whole, or (2) any part, of the bonus; (3) if a part only, how much.

JOHN McKENZIE,
Minister for Agriculture.

Bonus for the Production of Quicksilver.

Mines Office,
Wellington, 19th September, 1895.

NOTICE is hereby given that a bonus of fourpence (4d.) per pound will be paid on the production of the first one hundred thousand pounds weight (100,000lb.) of good marketable retorted quicksilver, free from all impurities, from any mine in New Zealand, on the following conditions, that is to say:—

1. That at least one-third of the quantity is produced on or before the 31st March, 1897, and the remaining two-thirds on or before the 31st March, 1899.

2. No bonus will be payable until the whole of the one hundred thousand pounds (100,000lb.) of quicksilver has been produced as stipulated to the satisfaction of an officer to be appointed by the Minister of Mines, and on whose certificate alone the bonus will be paid.

3. In the event of more than one person producing the required quantities of quicksilver before the dates named, inquiry will be made by the officer above referred to, when, if it is found that each applicant is equally entitled to a bonus, the amount will be divided in proportion to the quantities produced by each applicant, but in no case shall any bonus be paid until at least one hundred thousand pounds (100,000lb.) of quicksilver has been produced in the aggregate.

A. J. CADMAN,
Minister of Mines.

Examination for Land Surveyors.

Department of Lands and Survey,
Wellington, 8th April, 1896.

IN accordance with the regulations for the examination of surveyors under “The Land Act, 1892,” as published in the New Zealand Gazette of 5th March, 1896, it is hereby notified that the first examination thereunder will be held on 15th June next.

S. PERCY SMITH,
Chairman of the Board of Examiners.