CO129-557-6 Tenure of lands held by War Department 16-1-1936 - 25-1-1937 — Page 42

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Colony should undertake to pay cash for the plots concerned if and when the Department is ready to surrender them.

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While recognizing the Colony's willingness to offer this concession with a view to reaching a settlement, the Council are not clear what the contingent cash payments are intended to represent e.g., whether they would be in respect of the then value of the leasehold interests in the open market, or would represent a liquidation of the book entry. In view, however, of the observations which follow below, it may perhaps be unnecessary to clear up this doubt.

The Council desire me to point out that, with one exception (Plot "G"), the acquisitions date back to a time before the procedure for acquiring lands for defence purposes had been codified in the Colonial Military Lands Circulars. Had the transactions taken place subsequent to the issue of the Circulars, the Crown rents would doubtless have been capitalized and debited against the Department in the Colonial Military Lands Account. 10 the Circular of 1894 expressly laid down that past transactions should not be re-opened, and the Ariny Council are for their part satisfied that it would be against past practice, and inconsistent with the intention of the Circulars, that debits against the Department should be entered in the account in respect of lands acquired before the Circulars became operative.

810

But

if

kus from 10.0.

acquisiti.

The waiving of the Crown rents from the date of acquisition of the Plots cannot be regarded as an oversight or a special concession on the part of the Colonial Government or as evidence that the areas concerned ceased to be leasehold For many years prior to the earliest of the transactions now in question it was the practice of the Colony to forego paymert of Crown rents by the Department for so long as the leasehold property was held for military purposes; and this practice

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