PART III.—THE NATIONAL LAND BANK, LIMITED.

48. —The provisions of Part II. of this Act shall not, save as provided in this Part of this Act, apply to any lands which have been purchased by a co-operative farming society (in this Part of this Act called a Society), or by a body of trustees, by means of advances made by the National Land Bank, Limited (in this Part of this Act called the Bank), and which, at the date of the passing of this Act, are subject to a charge for repayment of such advances, or any part thereof.

49. —All land purchased by a Society or body of trustees, by means of an advance made by the Bank, shall, if any part of the advance is unpaid, vest in the Land Commission on the appointed day, in like manner, and with the like consequences, as if vesting orders under the Land Purchase Acts had been made on the appointed day in respect thereof, in pursuance of subsequent purchase agreements entered into by the Land Commission with the Society or body of trustees, at the price fixed under the provisions contained in this Part of this Act.

50. —The Bank shall furnish in writing to the Land Commission particulars of the lands so purchased, of the portion of the purchase money (if any) deposited with them by the Society or body of trustees, of the advance made by them for the purchase thereof, of the amount due them in respect of such advance, and of the superior interests and other charges (if any), subject to which the lands were purchased by the Society or body of trustees, together with such other particulars as the Land Commission may require and prescribe, and shall lodge with the Land Commission such deeds, documents and maps as may be necessary for the purpose of verifying the particulars so furnished.

51. —The Land Commission shall, from time to time, publish notices containing particulars of the lands so purchased, and of the superior interests and other charges, including the charge for the repayment of the advance due to the Bank, subject to which they were purchased, and such notices shall prescribe the time within which, and the manner in which, objections to such notices may be made, by reason of the inclusion or non-inclusion therein of any lands, or the omission or mis-description of any such superior interest or charge, as aforesaid.

52. —The Land Commission (other than the Judicial Commissioner) shall consider all objections duly made, and there shall be a right of appeal to the Judicial Commissioner, whose decision shall be final. The Judicial Commissioner shall, if he is satisfied that prior to the date of the passing of this Act the Society or body of trustees had a good title to the lands so purchased, free from incumbrances, save the charge securing the repayment of the advance due to the Bank, and any superior interests or Land Purchase Annuities, ascertain the superior interests issuing out of the lands, and shall fix the redemption price of all such superior interests and annuities, and shall also ascertain the amount due for principal (without giving credit for the deposit, if any, lodged with the Bank by the Society or body of trustees) and interest on foot of the charge securing the repayment of the advance due to the Bank, and shall fix the price of the lands at such sum as shall be sufficient to redeem and pay off all such superior interests and annuities, and the charge securing the repayment of the advance due to the Bank, together with such costs as may be allowed by him. When the Bank shall have lodged with the Land Commission such deposit as aforesaid the price so ascertained, of which one-eleventh shall be contributed by the State, shall be paid in 4½ per cent. Land Bonds on the appointed day.

53. —The deposit when lodged with the Land Commission shall be invested by them, and the income from such investments so far as not required to recoup the Land Commission for unpaid instalments of purchase annuities (if any) in respect of the advance made to the Society or body of trustees under this Part of the Act, by whom the deposit, was originally made with the Bank, shall be paid to such Society or body of trustees until the deposit is utilised otherwise by the Land Commission or repaid in whole or in part to the Society or body of trustees under the following provisions, namely:—

(a) It shall be lawful for the Land Commission at any time before the advance is certified to be repaid, if they are not satisfied with the security for the same, or if the purchase annuities have been allowed to fall into arrear, to utilise the whole or part of the deposit in redemption pro tanto of the advance;

(b) It shall be lawful for the Land Commission at any time, if they are satisfied that the deposit is not required as security for the advance to repay the whole or any part thereof to the Society or body of trustees who originally lodged the same with the Bank or to their lawful successors;

(c) Such part of the deposit as shall not have been utilised under the foregoing paragraphs shall, when so much of the advance as is equivalent to the value of the deposit remaining with the Land Commission shall be certified to have been repaid, and provided that the Land Commission are satisfied with the security for the unredeemed portion of the advance, be repaid to the Society or body of trustees who originally lodged the same with the Bank or to their lawful successors.

54. —Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, each Society or body of trustees, which on the appointed day was in occupation of lands so purchased and vested in the Land Commission under the provisions of this Part of this Act, shall be deemed, on the appointed day, to have entered into a subsequent purchase agreement with the Land Commission for the purchase of the lands from them, at a price equivalent to ten-elevenths of the price fixed under the provisions of the foregoing section.

There shall be payable by the Society or body of trustees to the Land Commission an annual sum, calculated at the rate of 4¾ per cent. upon the sum for which the Society or body of trustees is deemed to have agreed to purchase the lands, from the appointed day until the gale day next after the vesting of the lands in the Society or body of trustees, or until the cesser and determination of the interest of the Society or body of trustees in the lands.

The Land Commission shall have for the recovery of such annual sum the same remedies as they have for the recovery of unpaid instalments of purchase annuity.

There shall be payable by the Society or body of trustees to the Land Commission, on the gale day on which the first instalment of the said annual sum shall become payable by them, an additional sum, equivalent to a proportion of the said annual sum, in respect of the period between the said gale day and the day on which the next dividends are payable on Land Bonds issued under this Act. The Land Commission shall have for the recovery of such additional sum the same remedies as they have for the recovery of unpaid instalments of purchase annuity.

All payments made by a Society or body of trustees after the appointed day on foot of the annual sum payable to the Land Commission under this section shall, from and after the vesting of the parcel in them be treated for all purposes as if they had been payments in respect of purchase annuity.

55. —(1) After the appointed day, where the Land Commission are satisfied that lands so purchased and vested in the Land Commission have been properly managed, after the methods of good husbandry, and that the Society or body of trustees is properly constituted under the rules governing such Societies, or the Deed of Trust appointing such trustees and approved by the Land Commission, and has conducted its affairs according to such rules or such deed, and has not done or suffered any act, by reason of which the Society is liable to be wound up or dissolved or the body of trustees is liable to be declared bankrupt or insolvent, the lands shall be vested in the Society or body of trustees by means of a vesting order or otherwise.

(2) Where the Land Commission are not satisfied that the foregoing conditions have been fulfilled, and so declare in the prescribed manner, then the interest of the Society or body of trustees in the lands shall absolutely cease and determine, and the lands shall be retained by the Land Commission, as if they had been untenanted lands vested in the Land Commission under the provisions of Part II . of this Act.

56. —The provisions contained in Part I . of this Act as to the Costs Fund shall not apply to proceedings under this Part of this Act.