NEW ZEALAND LAND GAMBLING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 880, 28 July 1910, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND LAND GAMBLING.

AN AUSTRALIAN OPINION. * . "New Zealand is so persistently held up jby tile, Australian political experimentalists as an example of ail that is good, especially in its' land- policy (says -the Review"), that people the Commonwealth have almost come'to regard anything- done in New Zealand as the last word of successful statesmanehip. ■' Its own politicians must put their tongues in their cheeks- when they read yeome of the. laudatory, flapdoodle which {emanates from their brethren and the tftadical press of these States, and not snore so in any matter than that relating .'3to. the policy of land resumption. .No. <doubt in a few cases the New Zealand' .estates cut up could well be subdivided, tout in others the result has been merely io deprive the original landholder of his 1 often at less than its real value, sana'to hand it over to mere who-have made immense profits out of lh»> Bale of their leases, while the Government 3ias- made nothing. . It is stated on the jmost reliable authority that in the cast* *of some , of' the estates first subdivided gibout 50 por ccnt. of' the tenants * havb >already ' sold out the goodwill' of their leases, in- many cases without doing a thandsturn' in the way of improvements, jand in mo^t; instances at a handsome $>rofifc.' A notable example of the kind of jthing-which has happened' took place in. (the Ashburton district recently in coujnection," wth the Highbank Estate, ' acquired'by f tin. Government in 1890, the treiits fixed at that time having been on ,an average about 7s. 6d. per' acre. On'.» ' lection of this estate comprised's9l acres, the . lessee parted with his rights'at in premium of «£ls per acre, which, on a |5 per cent: interest basis, means that the jnow possessor will payment to the amount pi £1 Is. lOd. per acre, including the original 6s: -10d. per acre. • The unearned increment of the land, less cost of improve- ; laments, represents a nice little Hum' of. [*£8865! The buyer has assessed the value ,of the.section at *£22 per.acre, or -an increase of 200 per. cent, on the average sprice'of «£7 10s. paid by the Government an 1896. .This is precisely, the kind of (speculation-going- on in Australia with respect to resumed estates, and indicates {•why. the ballots for-these areas are rushed ' rcby land gamblers, who hope to turn over eeir. sections,, if they lucky arble, at u handsome profit."