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Rh The leases and licenses were distributed as follows:—

The amount received for the sale of land was in 1869 £8412; in 1876 £8460; but the Revenue derived from licenses, leases, &c., had increased from £15,077 to £23,706, or by more than one half as much again, and this without any large increase to the population from immigration, the increase during the year 1876 having been only 612 persons. It is obvious that any large increase of land sales must be expected only from the introduction of persons with capital.

From the report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for 1876 it appears that the proceeds of land sales were less than in 1875 by £2,444 17s. 9d., but that from rents there was an increase of £1,326 6s. 11d., and he makes the following pertinent remarks on the operation of the present law: —

"The facility by which land is acquired by paying a portion of the redemption money annually, necessarily affects direct sales. A reference to the returns with