MAY 18.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 963

5. The rent shall be payable half-yearly in advance.
6. The lessee shall have no right to sublet, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the land comprised in the lease, except with the written consent of the Commissioner of Crown Lands first had and obtained.
7. The land shall not be cropped nor broken up.
8. The lessee shall destroy all rabbits on the land, and he shall prevent their increase or spread, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
9. The lessee shall prevent the growth and spread of gorse, broom, and sweetbriar on the land comprised in the lease, and he shall with all reasonable despatch remove, or cause to be removed, all gorse, sweetbriar, broom, or other noxious weeds or plants, as may be directed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
10. The lease shall be liable to forfeiture in case the lessee should fail to fulfil any of the conditions of the said lease within sixty days after the date on which the same ought to be fulfilled.

J. W. A. MARCHANT,
Commissioner of Crown Lands.

Rural Land in the Wellington Land District open for Sale or Selection.

District Lands and Survey Office, Wellington, 2nd May, 1899.

THE under-mentioned Crown land will be open for sale or selection, in terms of section 136 of “The Land Act, 1892,” either for cash, for occupation with right of purchase, or for lease in perpetuity, at the option of the selector, on and after Wednesday, the 21st June, 1899.

If more than one application be received on the same day, then the order of selection shall be decided by ballot on the following day, at 11 a.m., at the District Lands and Survey Office, Wellington.

SCHEDULE.

WELLINGTON LAND DISTRICT.—AWARUA BLOCK.

Second-class Land.

This section is situated in the Awarua Block, between the Moawhango and Rangitikei Rivers. The access is from Utiku, which is about thirteen miles distant, via the Main Trunk, Torere, Rangitikei, and Pukeokahu Roads, which are formed for dray traffic (in summer) for about four miles; the rest is a dray-road and bridle-track in course of formation. A bridge over the Moawhango River will shortly be built. The section comprises mostly hilly land, with occasional small flats. The soil is of good quality, resting on papa-and-sandstone formation. The forest is partly heavy and partly light scrub and flax, comprising rimu, matai, tawa, rata, koromiko, manuka, and a few totara, with a thick undergrowth of the usual kind. The section is well watered by small streams. The elevation ranges from about 1,700 ft. to 1,800 ft. above sea-level.

J. W. A. MARCHANT,
Commissioner of Crown Lands.

Population of the Colony.

RETURN of the Estimated Population (exclusive and inclusive of Maoris) of the Colony of New Zealand on the 31st March, 1899.

*Later figures cannot be given, as the births and deaths of Maoris are not recorded.

REMARKS.—The above figures show that for the March quarter there was a natural increase to the population of the colony amounting to 2,981 persons, being the excess of births over deaths. This natural increase is greater than that for the March quarter of 1898, when the colony added 2,830 persons to its numbers by excess of births over deaths.

In regard to migration, it will be seen that New Zealand gained, during the March quarter, 229 persons, being the excess of arrivals over departures—a more satisfactory result than shown last year, when the departures for the three months exceeded the arrivals by 173.

Registrar-General’s Office,
Wellington, 15th May, 1899.

E. J. VON DADELSZEN,
Registrar-General.