Clerk to the Executive Council

of the Province of Otago.

REGULATIONS RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL LEASES IN THE OTAGO GOLD FIELD.

1. Application for Surveyed Land.

Every application for an Agricultural lease of surveyed Crown lands shall be in the form of the first Schedule hereto or to the like effect and must be for one or more sections as surveyed, and not for a portion or portions of a section or sections. Every application for any such lease shall be lodged at such Warden’s office as shall be appointed for that purpose and copies of every such application must be posted and maintained by the applicant for fourteen days on boards standing not less than three feet above the surface of the ground and erected one at each corner of the land applied for and every such application shall be advertised twice by and at the expense of the applicant in such newspaper as the Warden may direct and copies of the newspapers containing such advertisement shall be produced to the Warden at the time of hearing.

2. Unsurveyed Land.

Applications for unsurveyed land may be refused should such land be a great distance from any survey station or should it be otherwise deemed inexpedient to receive such applications and in all cases where a survey shall be ordered the same shall be made by the District Surveyor at the cost of the applicant and in accordance with the rules and instructions of the Survey Department.

3. Who may apply.

Every application must be made by the applicant in person or by an agent authorised in writing by the applicant to make the same and the Warden shall not entertain any application unless he is satisfied that the same is made by or on behalf of a person resident in the Province of Otago of the full age of twenty-one years and legally capable of being bound by the contract into which it is thereby proposed to enter.

4. Application to be recorded—Day fixed for hearing—Mode of procedure when more than one applicant for land.

The Warden shall cause every application for an Agricultural Lease to be recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose and shall appoint a day being not less than fourteen nor more than thirty days from the date of the receipt of such application for hearing and deciding the same and any objections that may be made thereto.

If the Warden on such hearing as aforesaid shall find that more than one application has been made for a lease of the same land on the same day and shall find that no valid objection exists to the issuing of a lease of such land or of some portion thereof as the Warden shall decide to grant shall be determined by lot in manner following:

On the day following that on which the decision of the Warden shall be arrived at the applicants shall attend before the Warden at noon and the Warden shall in the presence of the applicants or such of them as shall be in attendance in person or by agent prepare twice as many ballot tickets as there shall have been applications for the lease. The ballot tickets shall be, as nearly as may be, two inches square, and shall be numbered consecutively from one (1) upwards and being so numbered shall be folded in such manner as to conceal the numbers thereon and to be as nearly as possible of equal size shape and appearance.

The ballot tickets so prepared shall be placed in a box and shall be drawn therefrom by the applicants who shall be in attendance as aforesaid in turns one ticket only being drawn at a time and the applicant who draws the ticket marked with the highest number shall be entitled to the lease of the land.

If only one applicant shall be in attendance at the time appointed for the ballot no ballot shall take place but such applicant shall be entitled to the lease. All applicants not in attendance in person or by agent as aforesaid at the time appointed for the ballot shall be deemed to have withdrawn their applications.

5. Objections.

Objections that the whole or any portion of the land applied for is claimed or owned by any person other than the applicant or is in the whole or in part auriferous or is or is likely to be required for any public purpose must be made in writing to the Warden and lodged at the office at which the application shall have been lodged twenty-four hours at the least before the time appointed for hearing and the person objecting must at the time appointed for hearing urge the objection personally or by counsel or agent.

6. Hearing.

Upon the day appointed as aforesaid for the hearing the Warden shall proceed to hear the application and any such objection as aforesaid and may examine the parties and their witnesses (if any) on oath and such hearing may be adjourned from time to time for any period not exceeding thirty days at any one time.

7. Proceedings in case of objections.

If at the hearing of any objection as aforesaid the Warden shall find such objection valid he shall thereupon reject the application either as to the whole or a part of the land applied for and may award to the objector and his witnesses (if any) reasonable costs and expenses against the applicant and if the Warden shall find that the objection is frivolous or vexatious he may award to the applicant and his witnesses (if any) costs and expenses as aforesaid and every order with respect to costs and expenses shall be enforced in the same manner as if the same had been awarded in an action in the Warden’s Court.

8. Survey may be required.

At any time before finally dealing with any application the Warden may require a report or survey to be made by the District Surveyor and in such case the cost of such survey or report calculated according to the Schedule to these Regulations shall be previously paid by the applicant to the District Surveyor.

9. Granting Certificate.

If no valid objection as aforesaid be made and no reason be known to the Warden why the application should not be granted or if on hearing such application he shall decide that a part only of the land applied for should be granted he shall require the applicant to pay to the Receiver of Gold Revenue a sum calculated in the case where survey fees have not been paid by the applicant at the rate of two shillings and sixpence per acre and in the case where survey fees have been paid by the applicant at the rate of one shilling and threepence per acre of the land intended to be granted and such payment shall