Knowing Him To Be At P-'s, I Set The Men To Their Contract, And
Went Down Next Day To See Him And To Offer Him Any Compensation For The
Loss Of His Hut Which A Third Party Might Arrange.
I could do nothing
with him; he threatened fiercely, and would hear no reason.
My only
remedy was to go down to Christ Church at once and buy the freehold of
the site from the Government.
The Canterbury regulations concerning the purchase of waste lands from
the Crown are among the very best existing. They are all free to any
purchaser with the exception of a few Government reserves for certain
public purposes, as railway-township reserves, and so forth. Every run-
holder has a pre-emptive right over 250 acres round his homestead, and
50 acres round any other buildings he may have upon his run. He must
register this right, or it is of no avail. By this means he is secured
from an enemy buying up his homestead without his previous knowledge.
Whoever wishes to purchase a sheep farmer's homestead must first give
him a considerable notice, and then can only buy if the occupant refuses
to do so at the price of 2 pounds an acre. Of course the occupant would
NOT refuse, and the thing is consequently never attempted. All the
rest, however, of any man's run is open to purchase at the rate of 2
pounds per acre. This price is sufficient to prevent monopoly, and yet
not high enough to interfere with the small capitalist.
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