LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 406, 15 January 1909, Page 9

LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

: .Sir, —While it must be admitted .that the Lands for Settlement policy has temporarily eased the earth hungerj I do not and never did .believe'it to be a lasting and permanent solution, of the land question! Even if it were right' for the community to buy back a valuo which they themselves havo created, we are confronted with the fact that every estate that is cut .up and more closely settled adds value ; to other land in the vioinity, and;. makes it dearer to buy, and oven the. Government must get 5 per cent, on the "purchase money of the land thoy buy. The evil, from, which wc are suffering, and to which attention is demanded, is the high price of both town and country lands.' A decent dairy farm will cost £2000, and who is going farming if they have two thousand I pounds or more, counting the value of tho stock. I for one would not, because I could invest that'money, to bring in a handsome return without, doing a hand's turn. I could buy the'.farm' and let it, and live on the rent, or, to be sure of a bettor return, 1 could buy two-suoh. farms with half the] money at s.per cent., and live on.-the rent] over interest. The land users then are principally men of, small capital, and with big mortgages on their lands, and tenants who pay excessive rents based ' on excessive values. I have shown how.it is that the land users rarely own thoir holdings freo from mortgage. Now, as tho anomaly cannot bo removed by the Government buying the | land, with land growing dearer and dearer, and tho population increasing with air earth hunger which fifteen years-of trial has failed •to satisfy, it-is now evident that we should adopt si policy that will. bring all useful within roaob. of the user, and the

only practical way to do this is to increase tho land tax on tho unimproved valuo. This would have tho twofold effect of satisfying tl« demand for cheap productive land and increasing the revenue as well, and increasing tin productiveness of tho people.,' While the buying systom is expensive, and will nol fulfil _ tho purposo for which it is designed 1 believe the Government is tooweak-kneec to oarry anything worth fighting for.-r-I am etc., ; E. STEVENSON,