Purchases in Gold-fields.

Special provision is made to enable residents on gold-fields to obtain the land upon which they have erected their residences or places of business. This they may do at a price to be fixed by the Local Land Board, not being less than £8 per acre for town lands, nor than £2 10s. for suburban or other lands, nor than £2 10s. for any area less than one acre.

The improvements to qualify the purchase need not be of greater value than these minimum rates. One person cannot purchase more than quarter of an acre of town land, nor over an acre of suburban or other land, nor can he make two purchases within three miles of each other. The purchaser must pay the full price within three months of notice, or be liable to a 10 per cent, penalty; and if he fail to pay the full price and penalty within six months, his right to purchase lapses. Lands in proclaimed gold-fields, within reserved areas, cannot be conditionally purchased, nor can lands lawfully occupied for mining purposes under any Mining Act; and further, all alienations of land under this Act are subject to the proviso that gold may be searched for thereon by persons properly licensed, and if the land be found auriferous the sale may be cancelled, wholly or in part, and the area become Crown lands, to be dealt with under the Statutes relating to mining in New South Wales. Any improvements which may be on the land at the time of such cancellation are to be compensated for to the owner, at their normal value, without reference to any enhancement from the discovery of the precious metal.