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E—ll

" The Commissioners have no town or suburban land reserves. Of pasture land they have seven reserves, containing 8,068 acres, let without any conditions for culture or improvement, on a ten years' lease, expiring on the Ist May, 1890 : if the conditions had been such as to make fencing necessary it would have been quite impossible to have let some of these reserves which are now bringing good rentals. The Commissioners also have fifteen bush reserves on the Peninsula, of which three are leased for fourteen years, and twelve for twenty-one years, with conditions of clearing of bush, fencing, sowing with English grasses, &c. The remainder, 113 in number, being agricultural reserves, are leased for fourteen years on conditions similar in the majority of cases to the form of conditions hereto attached. Clause 4 of the Conditions was excised from leases of reserves which had been previously let for fourteen years; for in that case they were already fenced and subdivided. Clause 6of these Conditions is varied to suit the particular quality of land being let, the lessee being restricted to one, two, or three crops, as the case may be. Clause 12 of Conditions is only in force when the land being leased is swamp or very wet land. Many of the old leases provided for a payment of so much rent during the first seven years of lease, and so much for last seven years; and, in the case of leases of bush reserves, so much first seven years, and so much last fourteen years. This may have been very well when the lands being let were unimproved, but the last few years we have only to deal with improved lands, and there is no object or good attained by trying to get a different rental for each period of seven years : indeed, latterly, when asked to tender in this way, tenderers used to offer the same rental for both periods. All leases terminate on the first day of May or November. If a reserve is let, say, from the Ist August in any year, the lease would be for fourteen years and three months, so that, after paying an instalment for three months' rent, the lessee would, for the remainder of his term, have to pay his rent half-yearly in advance on the first days of May and November." " Covenants. —1. Term of lease fourteen years. 2. The rent to be paid in advance without demand half-yearly in Christchurch. 3. The School Commissioners reserve to themselves the right to take any portion of the demised land, not being land on which homestead or buildings are erected, not exceeding 5 per cent, of the acreage of the land, for school or planting purposes at any time during the term, and after such taking the rent is to be reduced at the rate of per acre for the residue of the term, and the Commissioners are forthwith to fence off the land so taken. 4. The lessee must fence the land with a ring-fence within the first year of the term, and within the next six years subdivide by other fences into paddocks as set forth in the schedule hereto, and all such fences must be sufficient in all respects to comply with ' The Fencing Act, 1881,' or any other law to regulate the fencing of land which shall for the time being be in force. If fences are made or partly made of ditch-and-bank, they are to be planted with whitethorn or gorse in a proper manner. 5. The lessee must once a year properly cut, trim, and dress all live fences now on the land, or which may be planted upon the land during the term, and stub out all gorse not growing as fences or spreading from fences. 6. The lessee must not take more than three crops, one of which must be a root crop, from the same land in succession, and either with or immediately after a third crop of any kind the land must be sown down with good permanent English grasses and clovers, and be allowed to remain as pasture for at least three years from the harvesting of last crop before being again cropped. The lessee must sow for each acre the following proportion of seeds— namely, 201b. rye-grass, 61b. clover, and 41b. of other grass seed. 7. At all times during the lease the land must be so farmed that not less than one-third of the farm be maintained in permanent pasture. 8. The lessee must properly sow and lay down at least three-quarters of the acreage of the farm with good permanent English grasses and clovers three years before the expiry of the lease, and maintain the same as permanent pasture for the residue of the term, yielding it up in good condition. 9. The lessee must not cut the English grass for hay or seed more than once during the period any portion may be down in grass. 10. The lessee must not burn any straw grown upon nor sell any straw from the land except its equivalent in value of manure be returned to the land. 11. The lessee must keep and deliver up all fences, ditches, drains, gates, &c, in good order and condition at expiration or sooner determination of term. 12. The lessee must once a year properly clean, clear from weed, and keep open all creeks, drains, ditches, and watercourses which now are or may be upon the land, and the lessors shall have the power at any time to enter upon and make any drain through the land that they may deem necessary. 13. The lessee is not to assign, sublet, or part with the possession of the land or any part thereof, without the previous consent in writing of the School Commissioners. 14. All buildings erected upon the land, whether attached to the freehold or not, are to be kept in good order and repair, and so delivered up to the School Commissioners at expiration or sooner determination of lease. 15. The lessee is to insure, and throughout the term to keep insured, in the name of the School Commissioners, in their full insurable value, all buildings which may by him be erected upon the land of the value of £50 and upwards. 16. The lease to contain a proviso for re-entry in case of the breach, non-observance, or nonperformance of any of the covenants or conditions of the lease. 17. The lessee to pay all existing and future taxes, rates, assessments, and outgoings of every description in respect of the premises during the term. 18. A lease and counterpart to be prepared, embodying the above covenants and conditions, by the solicitors of the Board at the expense of the lessee. Tenders to be addressed to the Chairman of School Commissioners, Government Buildings, Christchurch. Schedule for sizes of paddocks : Farms 100 acres and up to 500 acres, in paddocks not exceeding 100 acres in extent. Over 500 acres, in paddocks not exceeding 200 acres in extent. In exceptional cases dividing fences must be approved by the Commissioners." Westland Provincial District. The reserves in the Township of Kumara are usually let for a term of seven years, on conditions which are to the following effect : The lessee will not, without leave, assign or sublet: in case the rent or any part of it shall be in arrear for twenty-one days, or in case of default in the fulfilment or observance of any condition of the lease expressed or implied, it shall be lawful for the Commis-