BANE OF NEW ZEALAND.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1894, 31 October 1913, Page 4

BANE OF NEW ZEALAND.

ROYAL: COMMISSION SUGGESTED. J : vTHE : : MILWAY BILL. POST AND TELEGRAPH PROPOSALS.

The Legislative Council sat at 2.80 • P- m v The .Land, Laws Amendment Bill was • further-: considered in Committee. When Clause 31, regulating the subdivision of suburban, or village land' was under .consideration,. the Hon. J. E. ; Jenkinson'suggested l that a Town Planning Board should bo set up to control 6noh subdivisions. , ' . The Hon';' 'H. D. Bell'"said l that the present provision .was thah, the Governor must 'approve of all subdivisions, and it,wds .tlicf intention to improve tho present: syatom'.'by taking more caro beforo ' the Governor, agreed to .give his consent /to,subdivisions. An amendment by Mr. Jenkinson to set up a Town Planning Board, consisting of tlio Minister of Lands, the Sur-veyor-General,',' of tho Public Works Department, and two borough engineers, was rejected on the ;'voices. ■ : . . ' Land Ballots, As an amendment to Section 86, dealing with land ballots, the Hon. J. Anstey moved to substitute /a .new clause, providing: (a) That every 'landless .applicant shall have ono chance -for each allotment for which ho applies, (b) A landless applicant with children dependent on him shall, in addition, have, one chance in respect' of each such child..; (c) Evory landless applicant, who within'tho two years immediately preceding the ballot has unsuccessfully competed for land shall, in addition to the chanco referred to in paragraph (a), have one ohafice 'in respect "of each f occasion on which he has so unsuccessfully competed, (d) A landless applicant with children dependent on him who, within' the, tiVo years immediately preceding tie billlot; has unsuccessfully • competed for land, shall, in addition to the chanco referred to in paragraph (a), have one chanco in respect of each ,child dependent on him, and also ono chance in respect of each occasion on which ho has unsuccessfully competed. Hitherto, Mr.' Anstey argued, attempts to give preferenco to certain doserving applicants had not only given preference, but had exoludcd all other applicants. His own proposal, lie thought, - would- got over tho difficulty of giving preference without an exclusive right. - ~ - -. • • Tile Hon. H. D. Bell urged- that it was a serious tiling for a private member to move to alter entirely the methods of conducting ballots, and a very serious thing for Parliament to adopt, that system in- the face of the more technical knowledge at tho disposal of the Minister. The proposal had been given very'serious considern- , tion at the hands of the officers of the Department, and their opinion- was that tlio scheme propounded by Mr. Anstey would not get over the difficulty, to which he had drawn attention. The amendment was rejected by 14 votes to 9. Lands Acquired Undar Mortgage. The Hon. J. D. Ormond moved an . amendment to Clauso 43 dealing with lands acquired under mortgage. Mr. Ormond urged that' lending companies ■ acquiring land occasionally, under mortgages ought to have.a longer period in i whiolu to 'dispose'. of - those . lands to avoid : the : limitation provisions of tlio land la'ws than that allowed—two years. The effect of this short term of grace would bo disastrous to-many of tho big lending companies,'-and'would, in turn be disastrous, to settlors on the land reqmi'i'ng advances. He moved an amendment to the that the :title < deeds of lands acquired under mortgage in excess of the area limit allowed should bo retained by tho Registrar of the Supreme Court, and should not be delivered to the mortgagee except upon tho disposal .of 'the land by salo by such, mortgagee* ,to vso.raa,:boii,a*ikle>', purchaser, not .disquallfii!d£froffl Acquiring it by tho size of -his* previous holdjng. The Hon. JI. D. Bell asked that consideration of Clause 43 and the amend- 1 ment be,.postponed,-and it .was postponed accordingly.' ■■ . ; y : .,,.. v Rfislilerico.Again. .; \ On Clause 48, giving the licensee of a pastoral run a right in tho ovont of the run being subdivided to acquire ono of the subdivisions at tlio upset - rent, tho Hon. J. Anstey moved to add' the following. now sub-clause:— ••'Evory license under this section shall bo subject to a condition that.the. licensee shall be required' to rosido on the run for the same period as in the , caso of lessees of small grazing runs: Provided that the board may in any particular case modify the conditions as to residence in such manner as it thinks fit." The Hon. H. D. Bell opposed tho amendment, arguing that residence never had been n condition of pastoral ■ tenancy. The Bill gavo a pastoral tenant some protection over-his improvements and encouraged him to care better for bis.run, but it was surely inequitable to send him to live on tho bleak 'side of Mount Cook, or on_somo other high, inacccssiblo spot; and also thero was no security for a homo on pastoral country, for tho better portions of these pastoral runs wero continually being taken for settlement in small grazing runs. Arguments usually advanced in favour of compulsory residence on other lands did not apply to pastoral lands. The amendment was defeated by 21 votes to 1.

Mr. Thome Georgo (to Mr. Anstev): Well, you've got a record, any Way! Mr. Anstr-y: I'm prouder of that vote than any that has been taken yet. He added afterwards that he was convinced the Council had made a mistake which would have to be rectified later. At tho evening sitting tho remaining clauses of the Bill were passed with the amendments proposed bv the Lands Committee, and tho Council proceeded to deal with the postponed clauscs and the now clauses. Clause 10, disqualifying persons who, having had one Crown allotment, dispose of it/ from obtaining any other Crown or settlement land, was amonded at tho instance of the Hon. J. E. .Jenlcinson to except from the_ opera-K-m of the clause the acquisition of Crown or settlement land by an executor or beneficiary under a will or in an Intestacy. Acquisition Under The Council roturned to consideration <,f the Hon. J. D. Ormond's proposed

amendment to Clause 48, providing for tlio acquisition of land by lending companies under mortgage* in excess'of the uiaximum area permitted. Mr. Ormond moved his amendment in a ..slightly different form: "Provided that the conveyance or transfer executed liy the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall not be registered, and' that, the deed shall be retained by tho Registrar until a bona-fide re-sale of tho said land has been made to a person qualified to make tho declaration/' The amendment waß agreed to. ' When tlio Bill was through Committee the Hon. J. E. .Jenkinson congratulated tho Leader of the Council on the "courteous, able, and subtle ■ manner" in which he _ had piloted the Bill through Committee. The congratulation was endorsed by cordial ■ "hear, hears" by the other members. Tlio Council rose at 9.10 p.m.