Editorial note — Chapter XXI · SOME BONES OF CONTENTION
Reading edition
[Footnote 1: Many a good story is founded on the adventures of land-buyers in their endeavours to evade the spirit and obey the letter of land regulations. In 1891 a rhymester wrote in doggerel somewhat as follows of the experiences of a selector who "took up" a piece of Crown land—
"On a certain sort of tenure, which his fancy much preferred, That convenient kind of payment which is known as the 'deferred.' "Now the laws in wise New Zealand with regard to buying land, Which at divers times and places have been variously planned, Form a code that's something fearful, something wonderful and grand. "You may get a thousand acres, and you haven't got to pay Aught but just a small deposit in a friendly sort of way. "But you mustn't own a freehold, and you mustn't have a run, And you mustn't be a kinsman of a squatter owning one; "But must build a habitation and contentedly reside, And must satisfy the Land Board that you pass the night inside. "For if any rash selector on his section isn't found He is straightway doomed to forfeit all his title to the ground."]