Toledo Indian Reserve Regulations

CHAPTER 191 TOLEDO INDIAN RESERVE RULES ARRANGEMENT OF RULES 1. Short title. 2. Reserves to be shown on plan. 3. Occupation by Indians. 4. Collection of fees. 5. Refusal or withdrawal of permit. 6. Disputes. 7. Boundaries. 8. Boundary line. 9. Occupation without permission. 10. Reserved government rights. 11. Continuing occupation. 12. Completion of purchase, etc. CHAPTER 191 TOLEDO INDIAN RESERVE RULES (Sections 23, 37 and 39(2)) 1. These Rules may be cited as the Toledo Indian Reserve Rules. 2. The land reserved for occupation by Indians shall be shown coloured red on a plan in the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys; and a copy of such plan shall be kept in the Court House or other suitable place at each of the principal villages. 3. (1) Any Indian who wishes to occupy land in the Reserve may do so and may build his house thereon, by the written permission of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, and on payment of an occupancy fee of $5.00 for every year or part of a year of his occupation: Provided that any Indian who may be incapacitated for cultivation may, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, be permitted to occupy land in the Reserve, for purposes of habitation only, on payment of an occupancy fee of $1.00 for every year or part of a year of his occupation: Provided further that any Indian certified by the Forest Officer Toledo District as being employed to his satisfaction and under the control of the Forest Trust in shifting cultivation combined with the planting or sowing of forest crops on any national land of forest reserve shall be permitted to occupy land in the Reserve for purposes of habitation on payment of an occupancy fee of $1.00 for every year or part of a year instead of $5.00 as aforesaid. (2) Each year shall be deemed to end on the 31st December thereof. (3) The written permit shall be produced by the occupier, on demand, for the inspection of any officer of the Lands and Surveys Department or of any police officer. 4. (1) Occupancy fees shall be payable on the 1st April of each year and shall be recoverable in accordance with the provisions of any law in force governing the collection of Crown rents. (2) On dates of which the alcaldes will be notified, an officer will attend at the villages for the purpose of collecting the fees, for which receipts on official forms will be given. Occupancy fees may, however, be paid to the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys at any time of the year before the visit of the collector. Alcaldes shall be responsible that all persons who occupy land in the Reserve, and who have not paid their fees, are present on the appointed days to make payment. (3) Any occupier who fails to pay his fee on or before the appointed day may be dealt with in accordance with rule 5 of these Rules. 5. The Commissioner of Lands and Surveys shall have power to refuse to permit any Indian to occupy land in the Reserve, and may withdraw any permission which may be given. If any Indian, after such refusal or withdrawal, persists in occupying land, he may be prosecuted for unlawful occupation in accordance with section 31 of the National Lands Act. 6. Any dispute between occupiers as to the boundaries of their holdings shall be decided by the alcaldes, whose decision shall be final and binding on the disputants. 7. The boundaries of the Reserve shall be marked on the ground by the Lands and Surveys Department, and shall be kept open at all times by the occupiers of the Reserve as a whole. The alcaldes shall be responsible for the enforcement of this rule. 8. When clearing land which is adjacent to a boundary line, occupiers shall leave uncleared a strip of land six feet in width between the clearing and the boundary line. 9. Any person who occupies national land without permission inside or outside the Reserve will be prosecuted. 10. The Government reserves the right to sell, lease, grant licences over, or in any other way deal with any national land within the Reserve which is not occupied at the time when such right is exercised. No compensation shall be payable to any Indian in respect of the exercise of this right. 11. Any grantee, lessee or licensee of the Government of Belize who may be entitled to occupy any national land in the Reserve at the date when these Rules shall come into force shall be permitted to occupy such land without molestation by any person so long as his occupation remains lawful. 12. The Government reserves the right to complete, by the issue of a fiat or otherwise, any purchase, lease or licence made or agreed to be made before the coming into force of these Rules in respect of any national land comprised in the Reserve, and may at any time thereafter renew or extend the period of any such lease or licence on the same terms as the old lease or licence, or on new terms. No compensation shall be payable to any Indian in respect of the exercise of this right.