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in which the Warden may decide that the land is required for mining purposes. (b.) That the right to acquire the freehold be extended to holders of mining districts land-occupation leases, and also to holders of residencesites and business-sites. (c.) That the tenure at present provided by Part VIII of the Land Act, 1908, and also the Regulations for the Occupation of Pastoral Lands in the Hauraki Mining District, be abolished, and a tenure in accordance with our recommendations for amendment of Part VIII of the Act substituted. (d.) That the holders of renewable leases of lands not originally within the national endowment, acquired by means of exchange under section 193 of the Land Act, 1908, be enabled to acquire the feesimple of their holdings. on the same basis as they might have acquired it had they not exercised the right of exchange. (e:) That the right of exchange conferred on certain lessees and licensees by section 193 of the Land Act, 1908, be extended, as far as itrelates to land not required for mining purposes, to include the acquisition of an occupation-with-the-right-of-purchase license. (/.) That provision be made to enable the holders of licenses under the Regulations for the Occupation of Pastoral Lands in the Hauraki Mining District to obtain advances from the State. (g.) That such lands in the district as are not, in the opinion of the Warden, required for mining purposes be dealt with under the optional system under the Land Act. (h.) That the provisions of section 194 of the Land Act, 1908, relating to the disposal of land that may not be immediately productive, be extended to include all classes of leases and licenses under that Act, (i.) That "thirds" under section 145 of the Land Act, 1908, be payable to local bodies on account of licenses under the Regulations for the Occupation of Pastoral Lands in the Hauraki Mining District and leases under Part VIII of the Land Act, 1908. (6.) Whether the holders of leases or licenses from the Crown in Te Aroha Township should be enabled to acquire the freehold thereof, and, if so, on what terms and conditions. . A very strong and unanimous desire on the part of holders of licenses for resi-dence-sites and business-sites in Te Aroha Township was represented to us at our sitting in that township, and we consider that this desire is fully justified, for the reasons stated above. The basis for calculation of the price to be paid for the freehold should, in our opinion, be that provided by section 28 of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1913. A difficulty in making the necessary calculation is, however, occasioned by the fact that as the rentals paid are in accordance with the Mining Act, and are the same for all residence-sites and business-sites regardless of the value of the land, it is not now possible to ascertain the original unimproved value. For the purpose of overcoming this difficulty we suggest that the original unimproved value of all residence-sites be deemed to have been £20, and of all businesssites £60, and that, in order to meet cases of sections which are at the present time of small value, the unimproved value at the date of the acquisition of the freehold be accepted as the purchase price of all sections of a then, less value than the amounts above stated. The prices thus ascertained would, we consider, be reasonable so far as the licensees are concerned, and at the same time provide an adequate return to the State.
To give effect to our recommendations as set out above we submit the following proposals for amendment of the existing statutes and regulations so far as the districts covered by the order of reference are concerned : — The Mining Act, 1908. Section 4: That the words " a timber-cutting right " be deleted from the definition of a " mining privilege."
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