A good deal of speculation has been indulged in regarding the sale of lots owned by the Dominion government in White Horse, as to whether the sale would occur here or at some place to be designated later on. This matter although not generally known, was decided in the summer of 1898 by the government at Ottawa, at which time the following regulations governing the sale of Dominion lands in the Yukon district were adopted. By reference to these it will be seen that the sale will take place in White Horse, time of
sale not yet having been definitely determined upon.
1. All applications for the purchase of land received by the Crown Timber and Land Agent shall before being acted upon, be submitted to the Commissioner of the Yukon Territory who is empowered to dispose of any public lands by sale at a price not less than ten dollars per acre, payable in cash at time of sale, and the maximum area so
sold to the same applicant in the same locality shall not exceed forty acres. Such sale shall be subject to the reservation to the Crown of all minerals which may be found to exist within, upon or under such lands, together with full power to work the same, and for
this purpose to enter upon and use and occupy the said land or so much thereof and to such extent us may be necessary for the effectual working of such minerals.
2. If at any time subsequent to the date of sale any land so sold should be shown to be of value as a townsite and if the owner thereof decides to survey it into town lots, or if the same within ten years from the date of sale is used or occupied as a townsite by the residence thereon upon a tract not exceeding one mile square of two hundred persons or upwards, then it is a condition of the original sale that the Government of Canada shall own absolutely for its own use or sale, one third of the blocks of lots in such townsite, that is to say, the owner will hold two blocks and the government one block in turn on an arrangement to be approved by the Commissioner of the District, and the sale of such government blocks shall be by public auction at such time
as may be determined by the Commissioner.
3. The Commissioner of the Territory is empowered and instructed to locate townsites where in his opinion it is likely the business of the locality may require them and shall particularly at once proceed to locate such townsites at the following places:- Dawson City, Fort Selkirk or thereabouts, the mouth of the Stewart River as well as other places as aforesaid. The area of such sites shall be of such
dimensions as the Commissioner of the Territory may deem advisable and shall be divided into lots of 50 feet frontage by 120 feet in depth, with street 66 feet in width unless there be circumstances which prevent the surveying of the lots and streets to the
size and width named, in which case the commissioner may alter these regulations to suit the necessities of the case.
4. At all important points a reserve for public purposes of forty acres, or more if deemed necessary shall be made.
5. No land shall be sold within a distance of one hundred feet from the
water's edge of a navigable stream.
6. The first sale of the lots shall be at public auction and shall take place at the townsite, after a notice thereof has been published in one or more of the newspapers published in the Yukon District and in such other papers as the Minister of the Interior may direct, for a period of not less than thirty days. The notice advertising the sale shall fix an upset price for the lots, which price shall be graded according
to the location of the lots.
7. After the first sale by auction the Commissioner may hold other sales by auction in his discretion. Lots undisposed of by auction may be sold by private sale, at prices fixed by the Commissioner and approved of by the Minister of the Interior.
8. All sales of lots shall be on the following terms, namely:- One third of the purchase price to be paid in cash at the time of sale, and the balance in two equal payments at six and twelve months respectively, after the date of sale, togebher with interest upon the unpaid balance at the rate of six per cent per annum.
9. The Commissioner shall have the power, when directing the survey of a townsite, to reserve a reasonable number of lots as sites for market places, jails, courthouses, places of public worship and squares. The Commissioner is also empowered to set apart sufficient blocks of land to be used for burying grounds.
10. All applications for coal lands shall be made to the Crown Timber
and Land Agent, who will be empower to sell such lands, subject to the approval of the Commissioner, at forty dollars per acre cash if the coal is anthracite, and twenty dollars per acre cash for any other kind of coal. The sale for such lands to be subject to the
other conditions imposed in the sale of other public lands, with reference to their maintenance or townsite purposes.
11. Licenses and permits for hay and grazing lands shall be granted by the Crown Timber and Land Agent, subject to the general authorization of the Commissioner and the regulations of the department io that behalf.
12. Where land is deemed to be especially valuable the Minister may
authorize the Commissioner to have the same surveyed into blocks of such size as may be thought advisable and sold by public auction.
