Jan. 13.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 57

of the books of the mill, or by such other means as the Board may devise, and for this purpose the accounts and books shall be open to the inspection of a Ranger or other duly-authorised Government officer.

33. Royalty on timber shall be paid at the rates specified in the classified scale in the Second Schedule ; but where the timber is easily accessible and can be procured without great difficulty, the Commissioner of Crown Lands may increase the amount of the royalty specified.

34. A sawmill license may be transferred on payment of a fee of £1 1s. to the Receiver of Land Revenue ; but the Commissioner of Crown Lands shall have power to refuse to transfer any license if the licensee or transferee has committed a breach of these regulations, or if, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the transfer would be prejudicial to the public interest.

35. The holder of every sawmill license, other than for kauri, must, within twelve months of the date of his license, provide and fit up, either upon his sawmill area or on some other site approved of or granted by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, a substantial and fully-equipped sawmill plant, including all the necessary buildings thereto appertaining, which sawmill plant must be kept in continuous working operation, unless valid and satisfactory reasons can be given to the Commissioner of Crown Lands for any temporary stoppage. Should at any time the mill be closed for a longer time than the Commissioner of Crown Lands thinks necessary or reasonable, it will be competent for him to give the licensee one month’s notice in writing, and, should the licensee fail or neglect to resume and continue the bonâ fide working of the mill, the Commissioner of Crown Lands shall declare the license forfeited, and may immediately reoffer for license the sawmill area and the attached reserve as if the rights of the previous licensee had never existed. The licensee may within three months from the date of forfeiture, however, remove any building or machinery he may have erected. Whenever a sawmill licensee applies for another sawmill area alongside the area previously held by him, such last-mentioned area will be deemed to be worked out, and the land and remaining timber, if any, will immediately and absolutely revert to the Government.

36. The license, for the purpose of fulfilling conditions, is to date from the time the applicant is notified of completion of survey and amount of royalty payable.

37. The Commissioner may, at his discretion, accept promissory notes bearing good indorsements as part payment of royalty.

38. The applicant for a sawmill area shall state before survey is made what timber he proposes to use, and he will be charged with such timber only; other timber not included in the application shall not be cut or used excepting for tramways or buildings.

39. No black-, red-, or white-pine, totara, miro, or other milling timber of less than 12 in. at the butt will be included in the valuation, and the cutting of any timber under the size specified, unless specially authorised, will be deemed to be unlawfully cut: Provided, however, that smaller timber for laying tramways, building sheds, or other such purposes connected with his industry, may be cut and used in quantity to be approved by the Crown Lands Ranger or Commissioner of Crown Lands.

40. Every license (terminable within any year) shall be drawn so as to terminate on the 31st December in each year, and may be renewed from year to year, but subject to such alterations in the regulations as may be found necessary for the better management and utilisation of the bush: Provided that before the issue of any renewed license the licensee shall produce a certificate from the Crown Lands Ranger or other person duly appointed by the Land Board on that behalf—

(1.) That the timber has been cut in a continuous and regular manner;

(2.) That the sawmill has been kept continuously in operation, when not stopped by causes considered unavoidable by the Board;

(3.) That, where so provided against, no trees or saplings under 12 in. in diameter have been cut for sale, or destroyed by the act of or by the neglect of the licensee or his servants, and that none of the provisions of the regulations have been violated.

41. And if it shall appear that such regulations have not been complied with, or that any wrongful acts have been done by the licensee, then the Land Board shall appoint a valuator to ascertain and assess the amount of damage which the forest, whether under license or not, may have sustained by such wrongful acts; and no new license shall be granted until the amount of damage so assessed shall have been paid, in addition to the sum due by way of rent and expenses of valuation.

42. If at any time during the currency of the yearly license the Ranger shall report that the timber on the licensed ground is being improperly cut, the license may be suspended pending investigation, and cancelled if it is found that the regulations have been infringed.

43. Special licenses for single trees or clumps of trees may be granted at the discretion of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, on payment of such fees as may be fixed by him.

44. It shall be a condition precedent to the sale of any quantity of timber other than a single tree that a Crown Lands Ranger shall first report on the estimated quantity, quality, and general position and value of such timber; and thereupon the Land Board of the district may order the sale or grant licenses in manner above described.

45. Timber sold by auction shall be subject to such terms of payment as may be fixed by the Commissioner in each case. If any balance of purchase-money remains unpaid for the space of seven days after the time limited for payment thereof, the Land Board may declare the contract of sale, and all rights and privileges of the purchaser thereunder, to be at an end, and thereupon any moneys paid in respect of such contract shall be absolutely forfeited to Her Majesty.

46. Before any license is issued to any purchaser of timber bought at auction, all timber so sold shall be branded by a Crown Lands Ranger ⌐, and only such timber as bears such brand shall be felled, cut, or sawn.

LICENSES TO HAND-SAWYERS, WOODCUTTERS, AND SPLITTERS.

47. Areas of from one to twenty acres may be granted to hand-sawyers on the same terms and under the same conditions as for sawmill licenses under 100 acres, but no such license shall be made for a longer period than two years. Hand-sawyers and splitters shall have the right to construct saw-pits and huts on sites approved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands.

48. Licenses to cut firewood, or to split posts, rails, and fencing-stakes, on timber reserves when cleared of milling-timber may be granted within specified areas at the following rates: viz., For a license to cut firewood only, at the rate of £5 per annum per man; for a license to cut posts and rails, £7 10s. per annum per man; for a license to cut one or more kauri-trees, at schedule rates.

SPECIAL LICENSES.

49. Licenses may be granted to settlers not entitled to free firebote and to others to cut firewood, fencing, shingles, and palings, after valuation and payment according to the schedule. Licenses to settlers entitled to free firebote shall be issued on application.

50. Licenses for single trees or clumps of trees may be granted at the discretion of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, on payment of double rates, according to the scale in the Second Schedule hereto.

51. Licenses may be granted, on payment of fees to be fixed by the Commissioner, to cut wood to burn for charcoal, or the extraction of potash, tar, pitch, or other secondary products; but the licensee shall observe such precautions as may be deemed necessary to prevent injury from fire, and he will be held responsible for any injury done to any forest by improper or negligent operations.

52. Licenses may be granted to extract kauri-gum, under terms and conditions to be defined by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, but only in such forests as may be approved by him.

53. Licenses to peel bark may be granted at the discretion of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, but only under such terms and conditions as he may deem proper.

54. Licenses to quarry gravel, shingle, or road-metal in any forest reserve may be granted by the Commissioner of Crown Lands on such terms and conditions as may be approved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands.

55. Unless otherwise specified, a penalty of not exceeding £50 shall be inflicted for every breach of these regulations.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

ORDINARY royalty shall be paid by the purchasers of timber in forests according to the following classification:—

At per 100 sup. ft.
s. d.

Class I.—
Totara, matai, puriri, maire-raunui, and pohutukawa, not less than .. .. .. 2 0

Class II.—
Kauri, not less than 2 ft. in diameter .. .. 1 0
Under 2 ft. .. .. .. 0 6
Subject, however, to the right to sell by auction or by appraisement as provided in Regulation No. 43, et seq.

Class III.—
Totara and matai less than 25 ft. in length, and 12 in. in diameter, miro, rata, tangeao, tooth- and entire-leaved beeches, manuka (tea-tree), manao, tanekaha, kawaka, kaikawaka, not less than .. .. .. .. .. 1 0