2082

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

[No. 75

Wood-pulp Regulations under the Land Act, 1908.

LIVERPOOL, Governor.

IN pursuance and exercise of the powers and authority conferred by section one hundred and forty-one of the Land Act, 1908 (hereinafter referred to as “the said Act”), His Excellency the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand doth hereby revoke the regulations dated the second day of April, one thousand nine hundred and nine, and made under the said section; and in lieu thereof doth hereby make the following regulations setting forth the terms and conditions under which land set apart in aid of the establishment of the wood-pulp industry for paper-making may be leased and occupied; and doth further declare that such revocation and the the regulations hereby made shall come into force on the day of the publication thereof in the New Zealand Gazette.

REGULATIONS.

1. In these regulations, unless inconsistent with the context,

“Board” means the Land Board of the land district in which is situate the land set apart for leasing under section 141 of the said Act.

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Crown Lands for such land district.

“Minister” means the Minister of Lands.

“Warden” means the Warden of the mining district in which is situate the land set apart under section 141 of the said Act.

2. On application in that behalf the Board may, with the consent of the Minister, grant to any person or persons a lease entitling such person or persons to cut and remove, for the purpose of the manufacture of wood-pulp only, the timber standing upon an area not exceeding 3,000 acres of land now or hereafter set apart for wood-pulping purposes under the provisions of section 141 of the said Act.

3. Every such lease shall be in the form numbered 1 in the Schedule hereto.

4. When making his application for a lease, or at any time thereafter during the currency of the lease, the applicant or lessee may apply to the Board to have reserved for him out of the land now or hereafter set apart for wood-pulping purposes under the provisions of section 141 of the said Act an additional area or areas not exceeding in the aggregate, together with the area or areas then held by him under lease under the said section 141, a total area of 30,000 acres; and the Board may, with the consent of the Minister, by certificate under the hand of the Commissioner, in the form numbered 2 in the Schedule hereto, reserve the same accordingly.

With respect to every such certificate, the following provisions shall apply:

(a.) There shall be paid for every such certificate, for the cost of preparation of the same, a fee of £1 1s., and in addition thereto an annual fee of £1, payable yearly in advance.

(b.) The certificate shall continue in force during the currency of the lease existing at the date of the issue of the certificate, and also of a lease or leases subsequently granted to the lessee out of areas reserved for him as the holder of such lease or leases.

(c.) The certificate shall not confer upon the lessee any right to occupy the land or to cut timber, but the lessee may be permitted by the Board to construct and maintain upon such reserved areas roads, railways, or tramways.

(d.) The Board may authorize the lessee to plant with timbers suitable for wood-pulping purposes such areas acquired under certificate as have been previously held under lease and cut out.

(e.) Upon the granting of a lease under these regulations over the whole or part of the area held under a certificate, such certificate shall be cancelled as to the area so granted under lease, and thereafter shall be deemed to relate only to the residue of the area.

(f.) The certificate shall not be transferable apart from the lease.

5. Upon completion of the cutting of the timber upon the area held under lease to the satisfaction of the Board the lessee shall, provided he shall have complied with all the terms and condition of the lease, be entitled to surrender his lease, and upon application to the Board to acquire a new lease over an area not exceeding 3,000 acres out of the land reserved for him under certificate of reservation under the last preceding clause; provided that the Board, before authorizing the issue of such new lease, may require that the boundaries of the area to be included shall be amended in such manner as in their discretion they may see fit.

Such new lease shall be subject in all respects to the same terms and conditions as the original lease, and all rights conferred by these regulations upon the holder of a lease shall extend and apply to the new lease.

6. The boundaries of all areas granted under lease or certificate of reservation shall be defined by the lessee at his own cost, and in such manner by survey or otherwise as the Commissioner shall direct.

7. The lessee shall have the right to cut timber for the making of wood-pulp only, or for the erection of buildings, fences, water-races, tram-lines, and other purposes necessary for the proper working of the wood-pulp industry, but shall have no right to cut or remove timber for any other purpose, or to sell any timber except in the form of wood-pulp unless with the sanction of the Board, and upon such terms and conditions and subject to the payment of such royalty as are prescribed by regulations under the State Forests Act, 1908, which are in force at the time of the application.

8. The lessee shall, within one year from the date of his lease, commence the erection of the machinery required in connection with the establishment and working of the wood-pulp industry, and failure to do so shall entail forfeiture of his lease.

9. The lessee shall complete the erection of the mill within such time as the Commissioner thinks reasonable.

10. Rent at the rate of 1s. per acre per annum shall be payable by the lessee to the Receiver of Land Revenue for the District in which the lease is situated, half-yearly in advance, on the first days of January and July in each and every year during the term of the lease, but so often as the royalty payable exceeds the rent such rent for the period for which that royalty was payable shall be remitted, and shall be credited as part-payment of royalty for such period; provided that any rent may be remitted by the Governor, on the recommendation of the Board, for the whole or any portion of the time that may elapse before the lessee shall have manufactured 500 tons of wood-pulp.

11. Royalty shall be payable by the lessee to the Receiver of Land Revenue on the first days of January and July in each and every year at the rate of 1s. per ton weight on timber cut and manufactured into wood-pulp during the preceding six months, the timber to be weighed in its raw state before being converted into pulp; provided that the Governor, on the recommendation of the Board, may remit the royalty on the whole or part of the timber utilized in the manufacture of the first 500 tons of wood-pulp.

12. The lessee shall, on the first days of January and July in each and every year, forward to the Commissioner a statement showing the total amount of timber cut and wood-pulp manufactured during the preceding six months, accompanied by a declaration made and signed before a Justice of the Peace certifying to the correctness of such statement.

13. Such statement shall show—

(a.) The amount of timber cut off the land held under the lease;

(b.) The quantity of timber purchased either from sawmill-owners or from freeholders;

(c.) The quantity of wood-pulp manufactured.

14. The property leased shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any person duly authorized by the Commissioner; and the lessee shall give to the person making such inspection all such information and assistance as may be required to enable a full report to be given to the Commissioner or Board, as the case may be.

15. The lessee shall keep a book or books in which he shall record each day the quantity in weight of timber cut under the lease, or purchased, and the amount of wood-pulp manufactured; and such book or books shall at all reasonable times be available for inspection by the Commissioner or officer appointed by him.

16. If the lessee fails to keep the plant working continuously, or to work and use the timber on the land held under lease by him in a manner satisfactory to the Board, the Governor may, on the recommendation of the Board, cancel the lease after not less than three months’ notice to the lessee of the intention to do so; provided that the lessee shall be entitled within such time as the Board may determine to remove all machinery, plant, and buildings erected by him.

17. On application in like manner as provided in the Mining Act, 1908, to the Warden (if the land is situated in a mining district), or to the Commissioner (if the land is outside a mining district), the lessee may be granted the right to utilize the water-power of any stream within the total area held under lease and certificate of reservation for any term not exceeding the unexpired balance of the term of his lease, including, in addition to the unexpired balance of the term of his existing lease, the aggregate of the terms of all leases subsequently granted to the lessee over areas reserved for him.