The following are the regulations now in force under the provisions of the Atte tralian Land Act, 5 & 6 Viet. C. 36, for the disposal of the waste lands in the colonies of New South Wales (including the Sydney and Port Philip districts, and any other districts that may hereafter oe opened), Van Diemen's Land, South Australia, Western Australia, and New Zealand :-1. All lands will be disposed of by sale alone, and must have once at least been exposed to public auction. 2. The lowest upset price will be not less than 1/. per acre ; but the government will have power to raise the same by pro clamation, though not again to reduce it. 3. The lands will be distinguished into three different classes, viz., town lots, suburban lots, and count y lots. 4. Upon town and suburban lots, as well as upon a proportion not exceeding one-tenth of the whole of the country lots offered for sale at any auction, the governor will have the power of naming a higher than the general or lowest upset price ; the country lots on which such power is ex ercised to be designated " Special Coun try Lots." 5. Town and suburban lots will in no case be diSposed of except by public auction, but country lots which have already been put up to public auc tion and not sold, may be disposed of afterwards by private contract at the up set price. 6. No lands will be sold by private contract except for ready money. When sold by public auction, one-tenth at least of the whole purchase-money must be paid down, and the remainder within one calendar month, or the deposit will be forfeited. 7. Lands will be put up for sale in lots not exceeding one square mile in extent. 8. As an exception to the general regulations, and subject to certain restrictions laid down in the Aus tralian Land Act, the governor will have it in his discretion to dispose, by private contract, at a price not less than the lowest upset price for the district, of blocks comprising 20,000 acres or more. 9. Persons will be at liberty to make payments for colonial lands in Great Bri tain, for which payment or deposit they will receive an order for credit to the same amount in any purchase of land they may effect in the colony, and will have the privilege of naming a propor tionate number of emigrants for a free passage, as explained in article No. 10. The deposits must be made in one or more sums of 1001. each at the Bank of Eng land, to the account of Edward Barnard, esq., agent-general for crown colonies, No. 5, Cannon-row, Westminster ; and the depositor must state at the time the colony in which the land is to be selected, and give notice to Mr. Barnard, and to the colonial land and emigration com missioners, of the deposit. Upon receiv ing Mr. Barnard's certificate that the money has been duly paid in, the com missioners will furnish the depositor with a certificate, which states the amount which he has paid, and entitles him to ob tain credit for that sum in any purchase which he may effect in the colony, subject to all rules and regulations then in force. 10. For every sum of 1001. deposited as above, the depositor will be entitled, for six months from the date of payment, to name a number of properly qualified emigrants, equal to four adults, for a free passage, Two children between one and fourteen are to be reckoned as equal to one adult. The emigrants are required to be chosen from the class of mechanics and handicraftsmen, agricultural labour ers, or domestic servants, and must be going out with the intention to work for wages. They are to be subject to the approval of the commissioners, and must, in all respects, fall within their general regulations on the selection of labourers.
In New South Wales, and in others of the Australian colonies, though to a smaller extent, a system prevails of grant ing licences to use lands for pasture. In New South Wales it had long been an established regulation of the government that no land should be sold beyond the part of the country laid out into counties.
Beyond these boundaries, therefore, licen ces are granted for the occupation of such tracts as may be desired for pasture by proprietors of stock. The cost of a licence is 101. a-year. The stock depastured is subject to a fixed assessment per head, the proceeds of which are applied to the main tenance of a border police. The licence is not for any determined quantity of land, and hitherto the extent of each station or " run" " has only been limited by the moderation of the parties, or the mutual pressure of the neighbouring squatters." (Report of Land and Emigration Com missioners, 1845.) The extent of a run usually varied from 3000 to 5000 acres. In 1843 the number of licences issued in New South Wales for the use of land beyond the boundaries was 852, " the space over which they were to take effect being unsurveyed and the extent un known." The land occupied on these terms in New South Wales extends through fourteen degrees of latitude ; from Harvey's Bay on the north to South Australia the diagonal line is 1100 miles. This large tract is divided into fifteen districts, and contained in 1844 a popula tion of nearly 10,000 persons ; and the stock consisted of 15,000 horses, 570,000 cattle, and upwards of 3,000,000 sheep. The assessment on the stock was, on sheep id, cattle lid., and horses 3d. per head. In 1844 the governor of New South Wales proposed regulations which he intended should come into operation in July, 1845, which will not leave the ex tent of the "runs" to the discretion of persons who hold occupation licences, but a limit will be fixed in each case. This limit is not to exceed twenty square miles (12,800 acres), or sufficient land to depas tnre ;500 cattle or 4000 sheep ; and it is proposed to define in other respects what shall be accounted a separate station or run. The proposed regulations excited great opposition in the colony. The official correspondence on this subject, accompanied with a number of documents, is published as a parliamentary paper. (Session, 1845, 267, iii.) There are some difficulties attending the occupying of waste lands under crown licences. Without some pre-emptive rights the squatters could not be expected to make any improvements, and the conse quence might be that a large population would be growing up under circumstances disadvantageous to their civilization. On the other hand, the crown is liable to lose its control over the public lands unless the pre-emptive rights which it concedes are carefully guarded. The difficulty has been met in New South Wales by the following arrangement : persons who have already been five years in the occupation of a station are permitted to buy any part of their run, not being less than 320 acres. The land must be put up at the upset price of 20s. an acre, to which will be added the value of the improvements made, which are assessed according to the government regulations; and on a sale tak ing place, the government will receive the price which the land fetches, and the value of the improvements will be returned to the occupant if he becomes the purchaser; and if he does not, it will be paid to him out of the gross purchase-money.
Land is also occupied under licences within the colonial boundaries of New South Wales. In 1843 the number of licences issued for land thus situated was 237. and the quantity of land over which they extended was 183,859 acres. The sum paid for this limited occupation was at the rate of from Si. to 61. per square mile.
The pasture licence system has been adopted in South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand. In South Aus tralia the licence is lower, and the as sessment on stock higher, than in New South Wales. The licence costs only 10s. 6d. ; but the assessment is, on sheep Id., cattle Is., and horses 28. 6d. per head.