THE LAND BILL

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1878, 11 October 1913, Page 6

THE LAND BILL

FURTHER COMMITTEE WORK. CLAUSES FULLY DEBATED. Aitor The Dominion went to press yesterday morning the Oommitteo proceeded to disouss Clause 10 of the Bill which provided that a lessee or lioensoe of rural land who thinks his land is over-valued may request tho ValuorGenoral to cause a new valuation to be made. Tho clauEe blbo provided that if tho value so determined was lees than tho original value as determined,, the rent payablo in respeot of tho land should bo reduced proportionately. The clause was discussod at some length, but no singlo member opposed it outright. The reason for the inclusion of the clause was fully explained bv the Prime Minister. Tho reason was that in several settlements tho values were so high, through faulty assessment in tho first instance, that settlers had got hopelessly in arrear with thoir rents, and that unless some pormanent relief were given to them they could not carry on. After discussion, in which Government members took no inconsiderable part, the Prim© .Minister agreed that the olauso should apply to Crown lands only, and that a special clause should be drafted to meet the rather different case of settlement lands. • This met with general approval. Clause 10 was then passed unaltered. Three more clauses were passed in as many minutes, and then progress was reported. The Houso rose at 8.20 a.m. Personal Rasldonce. The House went into Committee again on tho Bill just before the adjournment at 6.30 p.m. yesterday, and when the Committee resumod at 7.30 p.m., Clauses 14,15, and 16 passed in four minutes.

On Clause 17 limiting ,the amount payable in "thirds" and "fourths" in respect of land disposed of after March 31, 1914, should not oxceed such amount as would bo payable .if the capital value of the land Wero £3 an acre, Sir Joseph Ward moved as an amendment that tho limit be £4 instead of £3. Tho amendment was defeated on the voices.

Sir Joseph Ward moved another amendment to clauso 18, which permits tho board to dispense with personal residence in certain cases. The amendment was a very lengthy one, but the effect of it was to limit by regulations tho powors of the boards to exercise their discretionary power to exempt certain lessees or licensees from residence.

Tho Prime Minister pointed out that the amendment which the Leader of the Opposition ihad moved was really the text of an unrepealed clause of the Act of 1908. As it was not proiSised to repeal the olause tho Government had sufficient powers to make regulations, although regulations had never previously been drawn up and brought into forco.

( Counting Families. Mr. G. Witty (Riccarton) said that it would have been better to extend tho regulations than to bring in this clause. He moved an amendment providing'that a lesseo or licensee excused from residence under clauso 18 must provide a substitute having a family not less numerous than hia own.

Sir J. Ward: You are imposing an unusual condition on a Minister.

Mr. Witty contended that his suggested condition was quite reasonable. Mr. Massey: You are asking mo to take up too big a contract. Mr. Witty said that the Minister had not to provide the family, tho other person had to do it. Mr. Russell said that the olauso was impracticable, but that no doubt Mr. Witty was aiming at the kind of people who advertised for a married couple without encumbrances.

Mr. Witty'b amendment was seriously discussed by a number of memberß before being negatived on tho voices.

Dangors of Dummyism. The amendment moved by Sir Joseph Ward having been set aside until that moved by Mr. Witty had been disposed of now came again before tho Committee. Tho general character afforded an opening for a discussion on tho wholo clause.

Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) asked why special consideration should be given to townsmen when there were thousands of farm labourers and others wlio were ready to go upon the land at onco. Town residents with capital who wanted to tako up land should be told to go into the open market and got out. If tho clauso wore to bo allowed to stand, a condition should bo mado that tho man taking up tho land must guarantee to reside upon it within five or seven years.

Mr. E. Newman (Rangitikei) said that tho honourable gentleman who had last spoken had an exaggerated idea of tho dangers of dummyism. It was proposed that people taking up land in this way should effect donblo improvements. This would be a guarantee of good faith. He believed that there was no clause in tlio Hill upon which moro interest was being centred. It was calculated to benefit working people

and to induco townspeople to go intO ( tlie country. Mr. Isitt: How con a working mail send another man up thero to do double improvements't Mr. Newman said that tho clause was one for people with a little money. It would benefit the thrifty tradespeople of the country and tho small shopkeepers. The difficulty of satisfying tho Land Board would prevent a speculator taking advantage of tho clause. Ho regretted l extremely that it had been repealed in 1892. Had it been in effect ever since it would have done an inestimable amount of good. Mr. R. M'Callum (Wairau) agreed that tho clause was a good one, but considered that its benefits should be confined to people of an income not exceeding £300 a year from all sources.

Money for the Land, The Prime .Minister said that tho door was open, already so far as nonresidence was concerned. A man ablo to pay cash for a Crown section was not compelled to reside on it. That had been the .law sinco 1892. When a man camo along with a pocketful of money sufficient to pay for his section he was excused from residence. He was asking Parliament to give a chance to tho man of smaller means who was not able to pay down the price of his section.

Mr. W. Noswortby expressed a hope that the Prime Minister would not stand by tho clouse. Sir Walter Buchanan said that the greatest difficulty in tho way of settling tho land was lack of money. This clause provided for putting people on the land who had a little money with which to work it.

Tho amendment was defeated on the voices.

Limit of lnconie Fixed. Mr. R. M'Callum (Wairau) moved to add to the clause a proviso to tho effect that the olause should be applicable only to people whose income from all sources, .including the income of a wife in the case of a married applicant, did not exceed £300 per annum.

The Prime Minister intimated that ho would accept the amendment. . The supper adjournment interrupted tho debate, and whon tho Committee rosumed Mr. M'Callum asked the leave of tho Houso to substitute £400 for £300. Objection was raised, however, and leave was not granted.

Mr; W. H. D. Bell (Wellington l ( Suburbs) moved to strike out £300 with I a view of inserting £400.

At 11 p.m. the amendment went to a division, after there had been nearly three hours' debate on the clause. Mr. Bell's amendmont was defeated by 31 votes to 27, and Mr. M'Callum's amendment, fixing the maximum income at £300, was carried. The Prime Minister and Government members voted for the £400 limit, aaid the Opposition, strengthened, by, a considerable number of Government members, for the £300 limit. : Rosldenco Rostrlotlons, Mr. J. Payne moved to add a new sub-clause, providing that after a period of five years from the date of the license or lease the lesßeo or licensee should, personally reside on the land, failing which the lease should he forfeited. The Hon. \V. F. Massoy said he would not accept the amendment. The clause was meant to apply to bush lands and already under the present law lessees were, exempted from residence for four years. Tho amendment would give only another year's exemption, and this ho did not think was worth doing. Mr. G. J. Anderson moved an amendment to the effect that preference among competing applicants should always ne given to applicants who desired to reside at once on tho section. The Hon. W. If. Massey said ho would not accept tho amendment, saying that it would kill the clauso. Mr. Anderson said that he desired to kill the clause, believing as he did in strict enforcement of residence provisions in the leases. Ho regarded the clauso as dangerous. Tho amendment was defeated by 33 votes to 27.

Mr. J. Payne (Grey Lynn) moved an amendment providing that no person should hold a lease or license in respect of more than ono section under tho non-residential provision.

Tho Primo Minister said that this was already provided in tho olause. Tho amendment waß negatived on tho voices. Tho Clause Approved. Immediately afterwards (at 11.80 p.m.) a division was taken upon the clause as a whole. It was retained in tho Bill by 33 votes to 28. Small Grazing Runs. The next clause discussed was No. 21, which provides that personal residence on the part of the lesseo of a small grazing run may, upon certain conditions, be dispensed with hftor tho expiration of ton sears from tho date of his leaso.

Mr. D. Buddo opposed the olause on tho ground that it granted an unwarranted ooncession.

Wr. W. D. S. Mac Donald supported this view.

Tho Primo Minister said that most of these grazing runs were situated "beyond the beyond," in tho extreme back blocks. Difficulties arose about educar tion and other matters, and in his opinion it was only fair that after people had lived on their outback sections for ten years they should be allowed to leave them, provided they had complied with tho conditions regarding improvements.

Tho olauso was approved on tho voices.

An Endowment Complication, Section 22 provides _ that certain Hauraki and Rangitaiki lands shall not form part of the National Endowments. Tlie Prune Minister explained that tho clause was a Departmental one. Somo lands in the Hauraki district and elsewhere had been declared endowment lands in mistake. Tho Hauraki lands wore mortgaged to pay for tho cost of drainage improvements and tho Solicitor-General had advised that the revenue from these land's could not be paid into the Endowment Fund. Another complication aroso out of tho fact that nineteen out of twenty sections of this land wero held on optional tenure. This area being released would be replaced by other lands Tho clause was agreed to. Section 23, provfding that National Endowment lands may bo exchanged in some cases for ordinary Crown lands, was discussed at somo length. The Primo Minister stated that tho o'ojoot of tho clauso was to remedy somo of tho mistakes made when the endowments wero established, and to adjust a mix-up of Crown and Endowment lands. Tho law at present; allowed the Government to exchange an area of endowment land for an aro'i of private land of approximately equal value, and h© could see nothing wrong in a proposal to exohango end9wment land for ordinary Crown land in the samo way. He added that ho did not oaro very much about whether tho clauso was agreed to or not. Tho clause being objected ' to, the Prime Minister at length moved to strike it out, saying that ho would not bother about it. The clause was struck out accordingly. Mining Dlstrlot Lands. Clauso 25, conferring tho right of acquiring tho freehold upon occupantß of pastoral lands within the Hauraki mining district, was discussed at somo length. Sir J. Ward moved to insert a proviso that: "suoh foe-simplo shall not debar minors and prospectors from access to such lands for prospecting or mining purposes." Tho amendment was rejected on a division by 35 votes to 26.

Mr, T. W. Hhodos moved that;— "Notwithstanding anything in this too-

tion, tho land shall bo subjeot to, the provisions of tho Mining Act, 1908, in the same manner as if it were Nativo ceded landj and all fees, royalties, and Tents received under that Act in respect of any land tho fee-simple of which has been acquired aB aforesaid shall bo payablo to tho owner of tlio land."

Sir J. Ward contended that the new sub-clause proposed by Mr. Ithodcß would not servo the intended purposo so well as the amendment proposed by himself.

Mr. Herries expressed a contrary opinion.

Mr. Rhodes said j;hat his amendment had been draftcu alter consultation with the Crown Law Officers, and would* confer upon miners all tho rights of access' conferred by tho Mining Act, un-der-the usual conditions.

Tho amendment was agreed to on tho voices.

Tho House then entered into a long discussion upon Clause 25 as a whole. Tho Leader of the Opposition suggested that it bo postponed, but the Prime Minister said that there was no neeel to do so—he would refer the clause to the Solicitor-General, and seo that the rights of tho miners were fully protected. _The Houbo was still discussing clan so 25 whon wo went to press. (Left Sitting.-