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Crown Lands Guide.

To persons who have recently arrived in New Zealand, and others who may be ignorant of the land system of the colony, we condense for general information the character, localities, terms, and conditions on which the Crown lands may be acquired, to enable those in quest of land to make a selection:—Total area of New Zealand, upwards of 64,000,000 acres; area disposed of or reserved, 14,000,000 acres; area belonging to Maories or sold by them, 16,000,000 acres. Thirty-four million acres still remain for disposal. Of this, 15,000,000 acres are open grass, or fern country; 10,000,000 acres are forest; and 9,000,000 acres are mountain tops, lakes, &c.

The land districts are—Auckland, New Plymouth, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, and Hokitika, each having a Commissioner and Land Board At these offices the selector will consult the maps, then select, purchase, and get a final receipt—a Crown grant.

Crown lands are of three classes—Town, suburban, and rural.

Mode of purchase: I. By auction; the land, previously surveyed, will be advertised one month before day of sale; the time, place of sale and upset price (either by section or by acre) given; the section is sold to the highest bidder, without reserve, terms being one-fourth on the fall of the hammer, remaining three-fourths within one month; this payment neglected, first payment forfeited. 2. By application or fret selection; after selecting the land, a form is filled in signed by applicant or his agent, and left for the decision of the Land Board; one-fourth purchase money is paid as deposit on application, balance one month after applicant has been declared the purchaser. In Canterbury the whole purchase money is paid at once.

1.	Town land, upset price £30 per acre, or £7 10s per quarter acre.
2.	Suburban land, £3 per acre.
3.	Village land, under one acre each, £5; out of the way district £2 10s. Sometimes lots of 50 acres are put up; upset price, 205 and 10s per acre. These may be had on lease, with or without purchasing clause; and if two or more apply for same lot, these two or more only can bid, or it may be determined by lot.
4.	Rural lands: Prices vary very much.

Deferred Payment System. 1. Suburban land not to exceed 20 acres. 2. Rural lands, 320 acres. 3. Pastoral lands, not less than 500 nor more than 5,000 acres. No person is allowed to take up an allotment in more than one class. Price, suburban land, £4 10s; rural and pastoral, not less than 20s; Suburban and Rural lands only go to auction if two or more persons apply for same allotment, in which case bidding is confined to applicants. Pastoral land is open to all bidders

Payment.—Suburban lands, five years or ten instalments; rural lands, ten years or twenty instalments; pastoral lands, fifteen years or thirty instalments.

Residence.—Suburban lands, within six months of issue of license, and continue for four years; rural lands, a residence of six yean; page 113 pastoral lands to begin within twelve months, and continue six years.

Improvement Conditions.—I. Suburban—must cultivate not less than a tenth first year, second year one-fifth, and the fourth within four years, the whole to be fenced, and substantial improvements made, to value of £10 per acre. 2. Rural—first year, one-twentieth; second year, one-tenth: and within six years, one-fifth cultivated, and improvements to value of 20s per acre. 3. Pastoral—no improvements required, but must reside on the land six years; at end of ten years he may pay off and get Crown grant. Agricultural leases within goldfields—arrangements are very elastic and payments easy.

Homestead System, in Auckland and Westland only. No payment except cost of Survey—conditions are five years' residence, erection of a house, cultivation of one-third if open land, and one-fifth if bush. Each person of the age of 18 years and upwards may select 50 to 75 acres, according to quality of land; under 18 years of age, 20 to 30 acres, but no family to have over 200 acres first-class, or 300 acres second-class land.

Pastoral Runs are sold at so much rent, licence may be determined on twelve months' notice by Government, no compensation allowed, but pre-emption of 320 acres in one block for a homestead.

Auckland Rural Lands, first and second-class, upset price 15s, 10s, and 5s per acre. Town lands £30, suburban £3, pastoral 5s or lease for twenty-one years, not to exceed 10,000 acres forest land, or leased not over seven years at a premium. Land available for selection at present—Mangonui, 210,000 acres, Hokianga 306,000 acres, Bay of Islands 155,000 acres, Whangarei, 234,000 acres, Hobson County 65,000 acres, Rodney 60,000 acres, Waitemata 74,000 acres, Manukau 76,000 acres, Coromandel, 84,000 acres, Thames 316,000 acres, Waikato 105,000 acres, Raglan, 150,000 acres, Piako 80,000 acres, Waipa 7,000 acres, Tauranga 108,000 acres, Whakatane 180,000 acres, Kawhia 41.000 acres, Cook's County 130,000 acres, Wairoa 226,000 acres. District Maps, One Shilling each, may be had of