No. 36

I have the honor to forward an authenticated and two plain
copies of an Ordinance of the recent Session of the Legislature
of this Colony, entitled;

No. 13. An Ordinance further to define the Law regulating
the acquisition of Land in British Columbia.

I add the Report of the Attorney General which fully explains
the necessity existing for the amendments to the Land Law as
proposed under this Enactment.

2. The Original Bill when introduced in the Council contained
the following Clause, "From and after the date of this enactment
the word 'occupation' in clauses 28, 30, 32, 35, and 39 of the
said Ordinance 1865 shall be held to mean 'occupation and
residence upon.'" The Attorney General and Chief Commissioner
of Lands and Works alone supported the Clause, and it was thrown
out in Committee, by a majority of ten in a council of fourteen
members. While fully approving of giving a Legal definition of
the word "occupation," I did not consider it advisable to disallow
the Ordinance for this reason. I cannot report that the present
system works unsatisfactorily since the demand for agricultural
Land is not great, but I am convinced should the demand increase
the necessity for defining the true meaning of the pre-emption
system will be shown to exist.