No. 72

I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy of a letter
addressed to me by Mr. John Irving applying to be allowed to give up
certain lands which he had purchased in Vancouver Island previously to
the reduction of the price of Crown Lands from £1 to 4s/2d an acre,
and to receive back a deposit of £50 which he has paid for them.

I am not aware of the Course that may have been followed in
similar cases (of which doubtless there are several in the Colony) but
it is obviously impossible to allow purchasers at the higher price the
option of cancelling purchases actually completed. To do so would
unsettle the whole Land transactions of the Colony and might involve the
Colonial Government in liabilities beyond its powers to meet. The
purchaser moreover must be held to take the land under the
circumstances of the moment and subject to the contingencies and
implied conditions attaching to it; and one of those contingencies
obviously is the liability (especially in a new Country) to such
changes in the land granting system as the general welfare of the
Colony may demand.

All therefore that can properly be conceded to Mr. Irving is to
allow him to select £50 acres of land of his allotment for the 50 he
has actually paid, and to relieve him from his liability to complete
the rest of his contract. But as it is essential that all purchasers
in this position should be treated alike, I shall refrain from
conveying this decision to Mr. Irving until I learn from you that it
does not conflict with the course you may have followed in dealing with
similar cases.