TOWN EDITION. The Daily Telegraph MONDAY, JULY 25, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3143, 25 July 1881, Page 2

TOWN EDITION. The Daily Telegraph MONDAY, JULY 25, 1881.

In moving the second reading of the Alienation of Land Bill, the Hon. Mr Whitaker said :--It appears to me that a facility forobiainipg land by the people generally is one of the most essential necessaries of good land laws. It is the business of rhis- Legislature to place it in the power of every man, by patience, frugality, and industry, to pet land. Every facility for obtaining land should be afforded to tbe people generally, because I am quite sure that, so far as land is distributed among tbe people, so far we shall ha*e people who are desirous of maintaining a decent and respectable order of things, and not in the position of being agitators for the purpose of upsetting the Constitution or dealing violently with any property. I think it is a most important thing that in a new country such as this we should pass such laws as will facilitate the acquisition of land by the mars of the people. It is idle to say we will divide the land and give it to the Deop who are unable to cultivate it. Many years ago I was under the impression that we had only to give land to people, and that success would follow. After the introduction of the Constitution Act I framed a lai d law to give forty acreb to every man who would come into tbe country. I admit it was a failuie. We have also bad an instance in the Waikato, where we gave fifty acres to each man, and there we find that these fifty-acre sections have been absorbed into o*;her farms. I believe there are not fifty out of the two thousand who are holding their land at the present time. It is impossible to force these things by laws into tbe direction in which they are to go. What I say is, let us afford every possible facility for every man acquiring that which he can best deal with himself. Let us remove all obstructions, and let us reduce the expense of the transfer and acquisition of land—the conveyancing part I mean —to tbe lowest possible figure. If we do that, that is all it is necessary should do. We ought to go as far as that • but as long as these wills and settlements are allowed to rule the land in tbe way they do, such a state 'of things cannot reasonably be brought i about. As I said. Ido not want to limit | a man's power of dealing with his property as ho pltJiHeH while he lives, but I v?hen he diss I think the land should be j free from any restrictions he may, through caprice or otherwise, choose to put upon it. Now, Sir, that is what we endeavor to do by this Bill. The Hon. Mr Whitaker having explained the provisions of the Bill concluded an admirable speech as follows:—When we look round aod see v.bat we have done in this country, looking at tbe laws which, as 1 have explained, we brought into the country aud what we now have on the Statute Book, I am sure we must be satisfied that we have made great progress, for it must be remembered that

this has all been done during the lifetime of one generation —in the space of forty yeare. We have dealt with a large number of the laws,and ye have placed them in a position which, to a large extent, meets the requirements of the colony. We have dealt with questions of the greatest importance. We have abolished Drimogeniti'.ra. We have simplified the " s ev of fillet. We Luwe placed the trans;ir of "land on a very satisfactory footing. We have given the franchise to every ;nan resident in the colony who is a .British subject; and we have inaugurated a system ot sducati.iu which will provide ihn : that every ma", who has to use the Jraacaise shall be educated at the public expense. Sir, I lir.nk, looking at the great advances we have made during the last few years, we have everything to be proud of, and what is required now is to simplify the law in the direction I am at present proposing. I think, when we have done that, it will be unnecessary to go any further in that direction. No doubt there are theories as to the State resuming possession, as there are also proposals to make a compulsory division of the land; but I cannot say that I wish to see these plans carried out. I question both their practicability and desirability. I think when we have carried out the reforms I have suggested to-day we shall not be able to go any further with advantage in that direction ; but if any reasonable proposition can be brought forward to go still further, I shall always be quite ready to give my best attention to it.