Notice under Section 48, Housing Act, 1919.

LIVERPOOL, Governor-General.

WHEREAS under the provisions of section forty-five of the Housing Act, 1919, any employer in an industry to which Part III of the said Act applies may at any time apply to the Minister of Finance for financial assistance towards the provision of dwellinghouses for any workers permanently employed by him in connection with that industry:

And whereas under the provisions of section forty-eight of the said Act it is enacted that the said Part III shall not apply to any industry unless and until the Governor-General, by notice published in the Gazette, declares that it shall so apply:

And whereas an application has been received from an employer in the coal-mining industry for assistance as aforesaid under the provisions of the said Act:

Now, therefore, in pursuance and exercise of every power and authority enabling me in this behalf, and for the purposes of the aforesaid Act, I, Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, do hereby declare that Part III of the Housing Act, 1919, shall and does apply to the coal-mining industry.

As witness the hand of His Excellency the Governor- General this twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and twenty.

W. H. HERRIES,
For Minister of Labour.

Southern Pastoral Lands Commission.

[L.S.] LIVERPOOL, Governor-General.

To all to whom these presents shall come, and to ROBERT THOMAS SADD, Esq., Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chief Surveyor for the Otago Land District; WILLIAM BLYTH BUCKHURST, Esq., Land Valuer, of Christchurch ; LEONARD COCKAYNE, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.N.Z. Inst., Ph.D., of Ngaio, Wellington; DICKSON JARDINE, Esq., Pastoralist, of Birchwood, Southland; ROBERT SCOTT, Esq., Farmer, of Kyeburn, Otago; ARCHIBALD McINNES, Esq., Farmer, of Otaika, Otago; and CHARLES TODD, Esq., Merchant, of Dunedin: Greeting.

WHEREAS it is desired to ascertain whether the pastoral Crown lands of the land districts of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland are being leased and utilized in the best manner, and whether the pasturage of the said lands is deteriorating; and, if so, the cause of such deterioration, and how best to remedy the same and to improve the conditions of settlement of the said lands:

Now, therefore, I, Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, do hereby constitute and appoint you, the said-

ROBERT THOMAS SADD,
WILLIAM BLYTH BUCKHURST,
LEONARD COCKAYNE,
DICKSON JARDINE,
ROBERT SCOTT,
ARCHIBALD McINNES, and
CHARLES TODD

to be a Commission to inquire into and report upon the above matters generally, and in particular to inquire into and report upon-

(1.) The present tenures under which the said lands are held, and whether they are in the best interests of the State and of the tenants.

(2.) Whether they should be amended; and, if so, in what direction.

(3.) The conditions now existing regarding the occupation, cultivation, and stocking of the said lands, and the improvements which may be and are effected by tenants and for which valuation is allowed under the existing conditions of the Land Act, 1908, and its amendments, or any previous Land Act under which the said lands may be held.

(4.) Any steps that should be taken to further subdivide the areas in which the said lands are held and to prevent undue aggregation thereof.

(5.) The causes of the deterioration or depletion of the grass lands;. the best methods of regrassing the

depleted areas, either by surface sowing or by spelling to allow of the regrowth of natural grasses, or by other means.

(6.) The present condition of the sheep-runs with regard to producing winter feed, and the methods (if any) which should be undertaken to encourage more extensive cultivation on suitable parts of such runs.

(7.) The best utilization of the existing water-supply for lands situated in areas where the rainfall is especially low, and whether it is desirable that expert inquiry should be made into the supply of additional water either by means of races or otherwise for the purposes of irrigation.

(8.) Whether the burning of tussock land is desirable; and, if so, under what circumstances.

And, with the like advice and consent, I do further appoint you

ROBERT THOMAS SADD

to be the Chairman of the said Commission.

And you are hereby authorized to conduct any inquiries under these presents at such times and places as you deem expedient, with power to adjourn from time to time and place to place as you think fit, and to call before you and examine on oath (or otherwise) such persons as you think capable of affording you information as to the matters aforesaid, and to call for and examine all such documents as you deem likely to afford you information on any such matters.

And using all due diligence you are required to report to me under your hands and seals not later than the thirty-first day of May, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, your opinion on the aforesaid matters.

And you are hereby strictly charged and directed that you shall not at any time publish or otherwise disclose, save to me in pursuance of these presents or by my direction, the contents or purport of any report so made or to be made by you.

And it is hereby further declared that these presents shall continue in force although the inquiry is not regularly continued from time to time or from place to place.

And, lastly, it is hereby further declared that these presents are issued under and subject to the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Right Honourable Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies; and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, at the Government House at Wellington, this first day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty.

D. H. GUTHRIE,
Minister of Lands.

Approved in Executive Council.

F. D. THOMSON,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

GOD SAVE THE KING !

Arrangements for First Election, &c., Whakaronga Drainage District.

Department of Internal Affairs,
Wellington, 31st March, 1920.

His Excellency the Governor-General has been pleased to appoint

FREDERICK WILLIAM CONNELL, Esq., of Palmerston North, as Returning Officer and person to prepare the roll of electors in connection with the first election of the Board of five members of the Whakaronga Drainage District recently constituted under the Land Drainage Act, 1908; also to appoint Thursday, the 6th day of May, 1920, as the date, and the office of the Kairanga County Council, Palmerston North, as the place, at which such first election shall be held; and Saturday, the 15th day of May, 1920, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, as the time, and the office of the Kairanga County Council, Palmerston North, as the place, at which the first meeting of the Board of Trustees so elected shall be held.

F. H. D. BELL,
Minister of Internal Affairs.