Act Amendment Act of that year power was given to the Agent-General to issue land-order warrants to persons paying their own passages to Queensland. Each member of a family of twelve years of age and upwards was entitled to a L20 land order, and each child between the ages of one and twelve entitled the parent to a land order for L10. The land orders were not transferable, except in case of death, and were available for ten years for the payment of rent of Crown lands acquired by the immigrant. The Act authorising the issue of these land orders was repealed in 1894. The value of land orders issued under the Act amounted to L62,140, and of this sum only L8,956 was utilised. The great majority of the immigrants who received the orders had no desire to go on the land, and as the orders were not transferable they lapsed at the expiration of their currency to the extent of 85 per cent. of the whole. [Footnote a: For fuller details regarding various forms of land selection, see Appendix E, post.] [Illustration: FOREST SCENE NEAR WOOMBYE, NORTH COAST RAILWAY] CHAPTER IX. APPROPRIATION OF LAND REVENUE. Land Sales Receipts; not Consolidated Revenue.--Arguments used in favour of Treating Proceeds as Ordinary Revenue.--Auction Sales have now Practically Ceased.--Certain Proceeds Payable into Loan Fund.--Special Sales of Land Act; Appropriation of Receipts. The revenue from sales of land for the first quarter-century was L4,672,659, besides L853,583 representing grants made in consideration of land orders issued to immigrants but not included in the revenue and expenditure returns. Nor does it include the sum of L382,346 received in cash for land sold within railway reserves and afterwards transferred to revenue. The latter amount must, however, be added to the cash receipts for land sold, which therefore totalled L5,055,005. The practice of treating proceeds of land sales as ordinary revenue has already been incidentally alluded to, but it may be well to refer more fully to the subject. It is held that the taxpayer ought annually to provide for current expenditure, and that if land is alienated from the Crown at all the net proceeds, after defraying the cost of administration, should be applied to the construction of public works that would otherwise be of a character to justify charging their cost to the Loan Fund. This principle in the abstract is unexceptionable; but in a new country much work is expected to be done by the Government for posterity in the nature of "invisible improvements"; in fact, it is so done, and cannot well be provided for by loan. Roads have to be cleared and formed, and buildings erected for the benefit of posterity as well as of those who so invest their money.