 They appealed to the government for more secure and extended tenure and for rental relief.Despite new land legislation enacted in 1868 extending leases, reducing rental and giving pastoralists the option of buying one block of 2560 acres per run, four times as many runs were abandoned in 1869 as in the previous year.In the six years from 1866 no new pastoral leases were taken up in the Kennedy district and most passed out of the hands of the original owners.