Page:Handbook of Western Australia.djvu/173

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Land Sales.
155

The leases and licenses were distributed as follows:—

Grants. Acres.
B 13 130,816
T 453 50,370
1 1,936 12,334,706
2 762 4,922,550
3 A 38 434,324
C 363 4,620,903
Poison Lands 108 Reg. 7 30,968
110    " 15 202,758
Special occupation leases 53 5,848
Do. licenses 467 55,108
Mining leases 10 640
Do. licenses 28 5,580
Giving a total of 22,794,671

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