The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY,OCTOBER 28,1875

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 68, 28 October 1875, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY,OCTOBER 28,1875

In a recent issue reference was made in " Parliamentary Notes " to the course pursued by the Legislative Council in the matter of the Otago Waste Lands Amendment Bill. As the bill passed the House of Representatives, it allowed of an 100,000 acres of land being opened up under the deferred payments system, the annual payment being' as now 2s 6d per acre. The runholders and their agents in the Waste Lands Committee of the Upper House however, completely changed the aspect, of affairs, They then altered the bill so as to make the price 4s per acre instead of 2s 6d. But this is not the worst of their doings. The bill as altered by-them provided that the waste lands of the province shall be divided into two kinds, agricultural and pastoral, the whole to be open for selection, the agricultural land at L 2 and the pastoral at Ll per acre. Were such a law; enacted, the result would unquestionably be that the whole unsold lands ofthe province would almost at once fall into the hands of runholders, capitalists, and absentee speculators, and that too without much money being derived as revenue by its sale. Run-

holders would only have to pick out and purchase the agricultural patches upon their -runs, and having, obtained these, the pastoral lands being of no value to any other person, could be held by them in lease upon a peppercorn rent. Before g*oin»; into Com-mitt-e upon the Abolition Bill, Major Atkinson surprised everyone by informing the House that the whole waste lands of Otago would be sold within two years. As the law at present stands, and ns it is now beingadministered, this would simply be an impossibility. It seems therefore that the Treasurer was aware of the proposed change, and believed it would be carried out That such a monstrous measure could be # passed just yet is not possible ; and while the proposal shows the audacity now assumed by the friends of the monopolists in the Upper House, it also shows their want of tact in thus recklessly divulo-ing* their cards. The country has incurred an enormous debt for the construction ol railways and public works, which debt has. to be repaid. The hope of the country now depends upon the land being* fully settled by an active and industrious population, so that these works may prove reproductive, v Not so," says the monopolist; " the railways are made simply to reduce the charge for the carriage of our wool to the port of shipment; we now want the whole land for the production of wool, and as large estates for our families ; we want no land tax ; the people have mado the railways ; they can tax the necessaries of life to pay their working expenses and provide a sinking fund." It is well, on the eve of a general election, that the aims of the party have been so clearly exposed. The electors will bear in mind that the same power which established a nominee Legislative Council established Provincial Councils, and the power which can abolish the one is competent to wipe out the other. [Since writing the above, we observe a telegram from Wellington says : — " A full conference of the two Houses was held this afternoon on the Otago Waste Lands Act Amendment Bill, The result was that the Council agreed to abandon clause 8 of its amendments, which provides for the classification of lands. It was also agreed that the price of deferred land should be 30s, and the rent 3s. There is to be no limitation to the extent which may 09 opened for sale on deferred payments."]