An Act to amend the Law relating to Crown Lands. [Assented to, November 14th, 1884.] it is desirable to Preamble. lands-Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor of the Province of South Australia, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of the said province, in this present Parliament assembled, as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as "The Agricultural Crown Lands Short title and inAmendment Act, 1884," and, except so far as inconsistent there- corporation. with, shall be incorporated and read with the Crown Lands Acts. 2. In the construction and for the purposes of this Act, unless Interpretation. inconsistent with the context The term "Crown Lands Acts" shall mean the "Crown Lands same: The term "selector" shall mean any person now or hereafter holding land under any agreement for purchase upon credit under any Crown Lands Act: The term "selection" shall mean the land held under any such agreement as aforesaid: The term "scrub lessee" shall mean any person now or hereafter holding land under any lease granted pursuant to section 58 of the "Crown Lands Consolidation Act," and section Division of Act. The Agricultural Crown Lands Amendment Act.-1884. section 20 of "The Crown Lands Amendment Act, 1882," or either of them, or under Part II. of this Act: The term "scrub land" shall mean the land held under any such lease as aforesaid: The term "lands reserved for leasing" shall mean all Crown lands situated within the boundaries described in the Schedule hereto. 3. This Act is divided into four parts, as under— PART 1.-Relating to Selectors: PART II.-Relating to Scrub Lessees: PART III.-Relating to Leases and Renewals of Leases: PART I. Remission of past interest payments. Future selections. Surrender of existing agreements. PART I. RELATING TO SELECTORS. 4. All interest paid or payable by any selector in respect of the purchase of his selection for any period since the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, excepting only the Ten Pounds per centum first instalment, is hereby remitted, and all such interest paid shall be credited against the purchasemoney of such selection: Provided that every selector claiming the benefit of this section shall surrender his agreement in exchange for a new agreement under section 7. 5. All purchases upon credit of Crown lands made hereafter, pursuant to any Crown Lands Act, and whether upon the condition of personal or substituted residence, shall be made upon the terms, as regards payment of purchase-money and otherwise, contained in sections 11, 12, and 13 of "The Crown Lands Amendment Act, 1882." 6. Any selector may, in manner to be provided by regulation at any time before the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, surrender his agreement for purchase of his selection in exchange for a new agreement for purchase thereof, with the benefit of the terms, as regards payment of purchasemoney and otherwise, contained in sections 11, 12, and 13 of "The Crown Lands Amendment Act, 1882": Provided that such selector shall have paid all interest accruing in respect of the purchase of such selection under the agreement surrendered up to the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, and in all other respects shall have complied with such agreement to the satisfaction of the Commissioner. The Agricultural Crown Lands Amendment Act.-1884. PART I. 7. The new agreement shall bear date the day of such surrender, and the purchase-money payable thereunder shall be the purchase- Terms of new agreemoney fixed by the surrendered agreement, less all sums paid by ment. the selector on account thereof, or which it is provided shall be credited against such purchase-money, and such new agreement shall provide for the payınent of the purchase-money in manner following that is to say, ten per cent. at the date of such new agreement, ten per cent. three years from such date, and at the expiry of every year thereafter an amount equal to five per cent. of the purchase-money, until the whole shall have been paid; and as if the selection had been purchased by the selector on the date of such new agreement; and such new agreement shall otherwise contain the terms on which the selection shall have been held prior to surrender, except that, if the selector so desires at the time of surrendering, the conditions of personal residence may be inserted therein, instead of the conditions of substituted residence. agreement. 8. The surrendered agreement shall continue binding upon the Cesser of surrendered surrendering selector until he shall have entered into the new agreement for the purchase of his selection, but afterwards the selector shall be exempt from all liability under the surrendered agreement. 9. No mortgaged selection shall be surrendered under this Act Surrender of mortgaged selection. unless the written consent of the mortgagee to the proposed surrender shall first be obtained, and unless the mortgagee shall otherwise direct, the selection under the new agreement shall be subject to the mortgage, and such mortgage shall be noted thereon in the Crown Lands Office in like manner as if the selection had been held under such new agreement when the selection was mortgaged. 10. Any selection held under any new agreement entered into in Mortgage of new lieu of any surrendered agreement under this Act, or any Crown agreement. Lands Act, may be mortgaged subject to the provisions of the Mortgage of Selections Act, after the lapse of two and a half years from the date of the surrendered agreement, although the selector may not have complied with all the provisions of his agreement for a period of at least two and a half years from the date thereof, as required by the said Act; and no mortgage to which the written approval of the Commissioner has heretofore in fact been had and obtained shall be deemed invalid or be called in question by reason only that the mortgaging selector had not complied with such provisions for such period. 11. Any selector who shall plant and keep planted, in conformity Wattle planting. with any regulation to be made on the subject, not less than one-fifth of his selection with wattles or wattles and cereals, shall be deemed to have complied with the conditions of his agreement so far as relates to cultivation. 12. Any selector who may have entered or shall hereafter enter Time for completion by substituted into residence selectors. PART I. Lands to be first opened to personal residents. The Agricultural Crown Lands Amendment Act.-1884. into any agreement for the purchase of a selection upon the condition of substituted residence, may complete such purchase at the end of ten years from the date of such agreement. 13. No Crown lands shall hereafter be open for purchase upon credit upon the condition of substituted residence until after the same shall have been open for purchase upon credit upon the condition of personal residence for at least three calendar months. PART II. Remission of rent. Mode of surrender. Scrub leases to be first opened to personal residents. Scrub lands after wards to be opened to substituted residents. Remission of clearing condition. PART II. RELATING TO SCRUB LESSEES. 14. All rent (except the first instalment) paid or payable under any existing scrub lease for any period since the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, shall be credited against the money payable under the lease for purchase of the land: Provided that every scrub lessee claiming the benefit of this section shall, before the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, surrender his lease in exchange for a new lease, pursuant to the next section. 15. Every scrub lessee may, in manner to be provided by regulation, at any time before the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, surrender his lease in exchange for a new lease, which shall bear the date of such surrender and contain the same terms as the original lease, except that the purchase-money shall be reduced by the amount of all payments of rent already made, which it is provided shall be credited against such purchase-money; and it shall also be provided that future payments of rent shall be credited against purchase-money, and such lease shall contain a condition of personal residence similar to the condition of personal residence in selectors' agreements. 16. Scrub lands shall hereafter be open for leasing on the same terms as heretofore, with the addition, in the first instance, in every lease of a provision that all payments of rent shall be credited against purchase-money, and of a condition of personal residence similar to the condition of personal residence in selectors' agree ments. 17. Scrub lands which may have been open for leasing on the terms mentioned in the last section for at least three calendar months may afterwards be opened for leasing on the same terms as heretofore without any addition. 18. The Commissioner may, by any writing, wholly or partially remit the provisions for clearing contained in any scrub lease, and the Commissioner shall cause a return of all such remissions, with the reason therefor, to be annually laid before Parliament within one |