THE PREMIER AT MARTON.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1505, 12 March 1887, Page 2

THE PREMIER AT MARTON.

The TJon Sir R. Stout. add.es el ? crowded meatlng at the Foresters' Hall, Marton, on Frichy eveain?, dealing f ul y with tho Na'ivo qies ion, Crow.i Lsnd;' AdminUt-a*, on, Lucal Government and Taxation wiih some ro f erenct>a to Ft- o trade atd Protection, tho Reform of the Legiehtive Council, tho Represautation Bill and other topic?. Pi-esßurj of loc;l qjatter quie poveuta our giving oven a resume of the telegraphed report of hia spce/h m this issue, and we fihal 1 , therefore, taka another opportunity of referring to it. Oa the H.ND QUESTtON ho Tf Itarated his belief that the tima must coraj when tho State must be doomed the owner of tho land He would a>k, would i 1 not be wise for the people now, when they had tho chance, and when fioy had millions .of acres, that iiomotlvng should be done ao ca to provide that In the fa'uro 'hey should n>t have those threatened agitations, thoaf) threatened revolutions that they aaw f.ffl. ctlog other countries ; bun tiat ths State should hold oooh a position over the land as to provide for future settlement and to prevent it bein^ under a mpnoply? They foua^i m this colony toweships almost wip?d out aud distriota almost wiped out Why, they could go for miles a-jd mllea upon one man's property, with perhap3 a solitary shepherd's hut upon It, Such a state <,f things should not be allowed to exi>t It had b9en demaniied that the State thould purchase back tb<e land. Waa It creditable to them as a colony, as a people who were &o found a new nation, that so soon m their history »a a nation that a colony that was not 60 years' old, that they ehould be asked to buy back for the State for the settlement of the people the land that had been alienated withtu 50 years The very fact that thera w*3 snch a demand for a Bill of that charatcr waa sufficient to Bhovr that our land legislation m the i past hid net boon on a proper or satisfactory basis, He had said at Invercargill , that it waß misleading public opinion for any person to go through tae length and i breadth of thb olory and Bay that the one thing needed m th?B color. y wa<s a . Bill for purcham'uis back Ohe largo estate?, whilst we had oo many trillions of acres , ttll m pcsseJßion of the Stet^ ; that we . Bhould purch^Be hack those lands by a . proposed. Bill without any guarantee that , the lands would remain the StaWa. On r the contrary, the provisions m the Bill ? of Sir Goorge Grey were anoh that within a few years the land would become private f property, and there waa no provision ti ) stop thg acoQmulatioa of eatatea, no t provision whntover tn itop adding th.mands and thousands of acres, until within £0 or 30 years they would ba thrown bi ck to th-> arms poaulon they i were m beforo. Eie bj'i vad that; tho , question of pu chuirg )arga eetatoa In ] some dlatrictd iv the c >lony w u'd have to be dealt with tie belivcd they would i be *ble to propojo a tho uext meeting of j Parliam?nt"rt Bill that wouM di-al with this ) question— a Bill that would provide , that the land Bhould not become private [ property. It must remain iv Borne way . the Stata'a la- d, and the State mußt > have control over it. It would be perfect j m c -ery for the Parliament of Ncvr Zav r laud to be a'ked to provide a B;1I for (he purchase or large estates eimp'y to ba . haukd back again to [.rlvate peraonp, ) and the Stato to loee control over them, I The land should reman foe the people, . and not rnnaln for tha few. The land shtrki and hnd m tnopoliata should no longer be allowed to hold the feitile , lands of this colony m their lands.

XCONOMV.

It vraa the iutuntion of the Governjnent t> reduce expenditure as far aa possible, avd they h 'ped to he able next aasaion to shovr tliid to Iho House hy t^rca'ly ,re<3nced estimate*. Their object , would be to reduce taxation aa ranch as ' possible 8) th»t rtnsll farmerß and roanufacturos should not. be ceiled upon [ for moro than wao abeo!utely neceaßary •for tbe requiremnnta "of the colony. In conclaoion Sir Boborr, m an elrqient and fervid petoration, impressed upon his audienoo the m-oosaity of pollllcil education.

A unanimous vote of thanks was accorded to the Premier by the audience.