tion of the Commissioner of Mines intending to apply for a lease of any lands in the Protectorate shall, previous to making application as hereinafter directed, erect, or cause to be erected, at each angle of the land proposed to be leased a post not less than 2 inches in diameter, and standing not less than 3 feet above the ground; and such post shall be maintained at the expense of the applicant until the application shall have been granted or refused.

16. Application shall be made in the form of Schedule (D), hereunto annexed, in triplicate, to the Commissioner of Mines, who shall forward a copy of such application to the Collector of the district within which the land so applied for is situate: and in the case of a lease being applied for over private land, a copy of the application shall also be sent to the owner of such lands.

17. Upon receipt of such application, the Commissioner of Mines shall cause the land applied for to be surveyed, at the expense of the applicant, by any competent Government surveyor duly admitted to practice in the Protectorate, and he may call upon the applicant to pay to him (the Commissioner of Mines) the estimated fees for the survey according to such scale as may be in force; but in case the sum so paid shall exceed the actual costs, the balance shall be returned to the applicant.

18. Upon receipt from the Commissioner of Mines of the copy of any such application, the Collector shall appoint a day for the hearing thereof, being not less than 30 days from the date of the receipt of such application. Immediately on fixing the day of hearing, the Collector shall inform the Commissioner of Mines of the day fixed, who shall cause to be published a notice, setting forth that application has been made for the granting of a lease, and appointing a date before which objections to such lease must be lodged with the Collector, and notifying the day appointed for the hearing of the application, and such notification may be in the form of the Schedule (E), hereunto annexed, and shall be published in the "Gazette," and also in at least one newspaper best calculated in the opinion of the Commissioner to give publicity to the same amongst the persons specially interested.

19. A copy of such application shall be posted and maintained on the ground by the applicant until the day of hearing, and copies of the newspaper containing such advertisements shall be produced to the Collector before he shall proceed to hear the application.

20. In the event of more than one application being made for the same land, or any part thereof, the Collector shall determine which of the applicants shall be held to have the prior right, and in so doing shall be guided by priority of occu

pation, provided that it shall be shown that the prior occupant has used reasonable diligence in lodging his application.

21. All lands for which application shall be made in the manner aforesaid are exempt from occupation from the date of such application until the same shall be granted or refused.

22. The Commissioner of Mines and the Collector shall cause every such application to be duly recorded in a Leases' Record Book to be kept at each of their offices.

23. It shall be the duty of the surveyor who may be employed to furnish to the Commissioner of Mines a diagram, in triplicate, of each lease applied for, together with three sketch plans, and in the case of two or more adjoining leases, three general plans showing the whole block. A working plan and calculations must be attached to the original diagram of each lease. The above diagrams and plans must be prepared in accordance with technical instructions and tariff of charges issued by the Chief Surveyor, by whom all diagrams will be passed. Each diagram must be accompanied by a report as to the areas, boundaries, description, and character of the ground, and as to any timber on the same; as to the likelihood of river, permanent water, or spring which may be included within the boundaries of the said land being required for, or the feasibility of the same being applied to, public purposes, or for the use of miners of the district generally; and also as to any claims as to prior occupancy which shall come to his knowledge; inquiry as to which it shall be his duty to make while making the said survey. The Commissioner of Mines shall, if he approves of the report, forward the same with the diagrams to the Collector to be dealt with in the manner pre

scribed.

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24. The surveyor shall, if possible, make the survey prior to the day fixed for the hearing, but if from any cause the survey cannot be made or the plan prepared in time. the hearing may be adjourned from time to time in the discretion of the Collector; and no application shall be finally dealt with by the Collector until the plan and report of the surveyor has

been received.

25. Whenever the surveyor shall make any survey as aforesaid, he shall place a notice in the form of Schedule (F), hereunto annexed, in some conspicuous place on the said ground.

a

26. Any person objecting to the issue of a lease so applied for shall, prior to the hearing, forward to the Collector à full statement in writing of his objections, and shall deposit with him the sum of 10l. as security for the due prosecution of his objections and for payment of any expenses to which the applicant may be put by such objections if disallowed; and if such objections shall not be prosecuted, or shall be disallowed, so much of such deposit may be handed over to the applicant

as the Collector may award, and the balance, if any, shall bo refunded to the person so objecting.

27. When an application shall have been made for a lease of any land, to the whole or any part of which any person other than the applicant shall claim to be entitled by virtue of a prior occupation under "The British Central Africa Mining Ordinance, 1898," the objection to the granting of such lease may be heard by the Collector.

28. Upon the day appointed as aforesaid for the hearing, the Collector shall proceed to hear the application and objections, and may examine the parties and their witnesses, if any, and such hearing may be adjourned from time to time.

29. If at the hearing of any objections as aforesaid the Collector shall find such objections valid, he shall thereupon reject the application, either as to the whole or a part of the land applied for: and if the Collector shall disallow the objection, he may award to the applicant and his witnesses, if any, reasonable costs and expenses to be paid out of the deposit made by the objector aforesaid.

30. If at the hearing there shall be no objections to the granting of such lease by the Commissioner, or if on hearing the objections, if any, the Collector shall not find any such objections valid, he shall issue a certificate to such applicant in the form of the Schedule (G), hereunto annexed, and shall, without delay, forward a duplicate of such certificate, together with the plan of the ground, to the Commissioner of Mines.

31. The notice to execute any lease shall be in the form of Schedule (H), hereunto annexed, and may be served by the messenger of the Collector's Court, or any other person whom the Collector may authorize, and such notice may be served upon the person to whom it is directed either personally or, if he cannot conveniently be found, by leaving it for him at his last or usual place of abode, or, in the case of co-partners, at the claim or other place of business of the firm, or, in the case of a registered Company, at the office of the Company, and he shal', by certificate under his hand in the form of Schedule (I), hereunto annexed, to be indorsed on such notice, certify the time and mode of service; but in the case of applicants for leases being absent from the Protectorate, such notice may be served, and will be considered as validly served, by registered letter addressed to the applicant at any post-office of the district where the area applied for is situated, but so far as possible such service shall take place at the post-office nearest to such

area.

32. Leases will be granted upon such applications as may be approved by the Commissioner for a period not exceeding. 21 years, commencing from the date on which the certificate referred to in Regulation 30 is issued by the Collector to the

applicant, and shall be terminable on six months' notice being given by the lessee to the Commissioner of Mines. The Commissioner may grant a renewal of the lease from time to time for a further period not exceeding 21 years upon the terms and conditions allowed by law in force in the Protectorate in the case of new leases at the time when such renewal is granted.

33. The lease having been prepared, under instruction from the Commissioner, at the expense of the applicant, the Commissioner of Mines shall cause notice, in the form of Schedule (H), hereunto annexed, to be given to the lessee or lessees, requesting his or their attendance at the office of the Commissioner of Mines, or other place appointed by him, to execute and take delivery thereof within a reasonable time, not exceeding thirty days from the date of service of such notice. Should the lessee fail to execute and take delivery of the lease at the expiration of the 30 days, the lease may be declared cancelled, and a notification thereof shall be published in the Gazette and such newspaper as the Commissioner of Mines may direct.

34. If any lease so applied for shall be refused, or if any application for a lease shall be withdrawn, a notice thereof shall be published in the "Gazette," and in such newspaper as the Commissioner of Mines may direct; and it shall be stated in such notice that such ground is open to applicants for a lease, as if no lease of the said ground had been applied for.

35. Any applicant for a mining or mineral lease may withdraw his application by giving notice in writing to that effect to the Commissioner of Mines after paying any and all expenses that may have been incurred in his behalf.

36. Rent will be charged at the rate of 17. per acre per annum in respect of mining leases, and at the rate of 58. per acre per annum in the case of mineral leases. Any fractional part of an acre will be considered as a full acre, and any fractional part of a month will be considered as a full month and charged for accordingly; and such rent shall be computed and paid up to the 1st day of January, April, July, and October next following the date of the issue of the certificate referred to in Regulation 30, and shall thereafter be made payable quarterly in advance during the whole term of the lease, provided that one half of the amounts received by the Commissioner on account of rents for mining or mineral leases granted over any private land, will be paid to the owner of such land on application.

37. There shall also be payable a royalty of 28. per oz. upon all gold; 1d. per oz. upon all silver; 24 per cent. upon the value of all diamonds; 6d. per ton upon all coal found in or extracted from the land leased, and upon other precious stones, ores, metals, or minerals such royalty as the Governor may hereafter fix. Such royalty shall be paid at the end of the

months of March, June, September, and December in each and every year, and in every case where royalty is paid such payment shall be taken as payment of rent or portion thereof.

38. Every mining or mineral lease, mill and machine site lease, shall be executed in duplicate, and be registered at the office of the Commissioner of Mines in a book to be kept for that purpose, and for every such entry of registration there shall be payable to the Government a fee of 17. 1s. No sale or assignment of a mining or mineral lease, mill and machine site list, or of any other water right grant, or of the right, title, or interest therein, shall be valid or effectual if made without the licence in writing of the Commissioner of Mines, and such licence shall not be granted to companies or syndicates which have no place of business or office in the Protectorate.

39. Every sale or assignment of any mining or mineral lease, mill and machine site lease, or grant of water right, or of any interest therein, shall be registered at the office of the Commissioner of Mines, and on every such registration a fee of 108. shall be charged.

40. If any lessee fails or neglects to perform any condition contained or implied in his lease, application may be made by any person for cancellation thereof in the form or to the effect set forth in the Schedule (I) hereunto annexed; and at the time of lodging such application, there shall be deposited therewith the sum of 201. as security for the due prosecution of the application, and in satisfaction of any expenses to which the lessee may be put by such application, if unsuccessful, and if such application shall not be prosecuted, or shall fail, so much of such deposit may be handed over to the lessee as may be necessary to pay the expenses of such lessee, and the balance, if any, shall be refunded to the applicant after deducting the cost of the service of the notice hereafter mentioned. The Commissioner of Mines shall transmit the application to the Collector of the district to be dealt with by

him.

41. A copy of such application shall be served personally on the lessee, or in such other manner as the Collector may direct, or, at the discretion of the Collector, may be posted on some conspicuous portion of the ground for such time as the Collector may direct, together with a notice in the form, or to the effect, set forth in Schedule (K) hereunto annexed.

42. At the inquiry in the notice mentioned, the Collector shall take evidence in relation to the application, and to the lessee's answer to the neglect complained of, and immediately thereafter he shall forward to the Commissioner of Mines the application and evidence taken by him as aforesaid, with his report thereon; and the non-appearance of the lessee, or any one on his behalf, on the day of hearing in the notice men