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THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 1

shall be decided by the Council or some person appointed by it; and the amount so fixed, with the costs attending such decision, shall be deducted from the amount payable as aforesaid to the outgoing lessee, and, save the amount deducted for costs, shall be returned to the incoming lessee.

95. If such lease shall not be disposed of as above mentioned to some person other than the lessee, or if such person fails to execute the lease in triplicate within thirty days, or to pay the sum offered by him as aforesaid within thirty days from the day on which the tenders were opened, then the lessee may again, within sixty days after the day fixed for the opening of the tenders, elect in manner aforesaid whether he will accept a fresh lease as aforesaid; and if he does not elect to accept the same, or refuses or neglects to execute such lease within seven days after the same is tendered to him for the purpose, then he may continue as lessee of the said land from year to year, so long as he shall pay the rent reserved by his lease and observe and perform the covenants and conditions contained in the same or in this Act, or until the Council shall succeed in finding a purchaser of the new lease, unless, prior to the finding of such purchaser by the Council, he shall elect to accept a new lease for the said further period of twenty-one years as aforesaid.

96. The Council, in selling a renewed lease to a purchaser, may make provision that the right to take possession under such new lease shall always commence on the 1st day of January or of July in any year.

97. All the provisions of the foregoing rules and regulations (except the provisions as to cultivation) as regards the tenders for, sale, form, and conditions of first leases made under the said Act, and otherwise howsoever as regards such leases, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the sale, form, and conditions of the new or renewed leases above mentioned, and to the lessees thereunder, and otherwise howsoever, except as herein is otherwise expressly provided.

UNSURVEYED LANDS.

88. The Council may, if it deem advisable, open up any block of land as unsurveyed land, subject to the following conditions:—

(1.) Every application for unsurveyed land shall contain a written description of the land, with the estimated area, and the boundaries shall, as far as practicable, be straight lines, roads, existing survey-lines, or natural boundaries.

(2.) If the land applied for fronts a laid-down road the frontage to such road shall not exceed one-half of the depth of such allotment.

(3.) The applicant shall in his application agree to deposit, within thirty days of the approval of his application by the Council, the estimated cost of the survey of the area applied for; otherwise the application shall be cancelled and be deemed to be withdrawn.

(4.) On deposit of the estimated cost of the survey the Council may in its discretion dispose of such land to the applicant at a rent to be fixed by the Council.

(5.) The land shall, as soon as possible after the application has been granted, be surveyed by a surveyor authorised by the Surveyor-General.

(6.) In the event of the application for any reason whatsoever being declined, the amount of the deposit shall be refunded to the applicant; but should the applicant, if his application be granted, in any case refuse or delay to complete the lease of the land after survey, he shall forfeit the amount of such deposit.

(7.) The amount of such deposit shall, if the application be granted, be credited towards the rent or rents which shall become due.

LEASES OF SMALL AREAS.

89. Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding clauses of these rules, the Council may from time to time set apart for lease, with or without perpetual right of renewal, areas not exceeding 50 acres each, to be open to all persons for selection by application to the Council, in such manner as it shall direct.

(a.) Every applicant shall, with his application, enclose a statutory declaration in Form K contained in the Schedule hereto, or to the effect thereof, the form being amended to suit the case, and shall also deposit the amounts stated in the aforesaid section.

(b.) If more persons than one apply for the same allotment on the same day, the right to occupy the allotment shall be determined by lot amongst the applicants in manner as the Council shall direct.

(c.) Renewal of leases of allotments set apart as aforesaid may be made as in other cases of leases, and

shall be disposed of by public tender at a valuation of the fee-simple of the lands to be leased, exclusive of improvements thereon.

TIMBER, FLAX, AND OTHER LEASES.

90. The Council may sell the standing timber on any land transferred to it, or allow flax to be cut and removed off the land, on such terms as it shall think fit, in the best interests of the owners of the land, and may grant a right of ingress and egress over the said land for the purpose of the cutting and removal of the timber or flax growing thereon for a term not exceeding five years, and may, during such term, withhold the said land from lease.

91. The Council may consent to an alienation if it is satisfied that it is not in contravention of the said Act or the regulations made thereunder; and, in case of a lease, it shall be satisfied that the terms and conditions of the lease are fair and equitable, and the rent is adequate. The consent of the Council to a lease shall be in the Form O in the Schedule hereto, or to the effect thereof.

92. The Council may issue a license to a European to acquire an allotment of Maori land subject to the provisions of the said Act if satisfied of the truth of the statements contained in the declaration accompanying his application, or it may make such further inquiries as it may think fit, and may require the applicant to answer, in writing, such further questions as to his past experience or ability and means of working and improving land as it may think fit. Such license may be in the Form P in the Schedule hereto, or to the effect thereof.

FEES AND ACCOUNTS.

93. The fees set out in the Schedule are hereby fixed as the fees to be paid under the said Act and these rules: Provided that, if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Council that any person is unable to pay or ought not to be called upon to pay such fees, it shall be lawful for the Council to dispense with the payment thereof, or of any part thereof, subject to such terms as the Council shall think fit.

94. The amount of any fee not remitted shall be a debt due to the Council by such of the persons parties to the proceeding or act in or for which the same accrued as the Council or the President may order, and shall be payable at such time as the Council or the President may direct.

95. The Council may decline to proceed in any case or to do any act in relation to land in respect of which fees are due for any former act done in relation to such land until such fees have been paid.

96. The Council or the President signing any order or certificate shall note in the margin thereof the amount of fees accrued in the matter of such order or certificate, specifying such as have been paid.

97. All moneys received by the Council shall be acknowledged on a printed form of receipt, and the person paying such money shall sign the duplicate copy retained by the Council, and certify that the same is a true copy.

98. Each receipt shall bear a consecutive number, and the number of the receipt shall be quoted on the bank pay-in slip and pass-book upon the payment of each and every sum into the Council’s account at the bank, and also in the cash-book or other proper books of account of the Council.

99. All books and vouchers shall be open to inspection and audit, and shall be available and shall be produced to any auditor or inspector appointed by the Minister of Native Affairs or the Auditor-General to examine the same.

SCHEDULE.

ELECTION OF MAORI MEMBERS.

Form A.

Declaration by Returning Officer.

I, A. B., Returning Officer for the Maori Land District [or one of the Deputy Returning Officers or substitute], do solemnly declare that I will faithfully perform the duties of Returning Officer [or Deputy Returning Officer or substitute] to the best of my ability.

Declared before me , this day of 19 .— C. D., Justice of the Peace.

Form B.

Form of Writ.

VICTORIA, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Islands of New Zealand, &c., Queen.

To , Esquire, Returning Officer for the Maori Land District: Greeting.

WHEREAS it is necessary that an election of members of the Maori Land District shall take place: Now, therefore, we do hereby require and command you to cause to be elected by the voters duly qualified for that purpose, freely and indifferently, and in manner and form by law and regulations in this behalf prescribed, [Here insert number] legally