LAND GRANTS TO RAILWAY COMPANIES.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 10, 19 July 1882, Page 3

LAND GRANTS TO RAILWAY COMPANIES.

The San Francisco correspondent of the Otago Witness writes : — When be lex as .Jepuhic went into the Union, it stipulated that its land should belong - wholly to the State, consi qucntly r.o conflict of title arises. A mirchaser buys from the Texas lam) of.ice, and _ets bis patent, and that is all there is about it; but Texas has o-iven away the best part of her public domain as subsidies to rai roan corporal ions, who will sell their territory lor far more than the co-c of railroad construction. H there ever was a mistaken policy in the world, writing troni the light of experience, it is for a counlr\ to transfer its public lands to any f-yndicate or corpora'ion to create a credit on which it can raise money to build a ra'l' ai. r I he Mate cou'd borrow rnoio-y on as g - ond terms as piivate speculators, while the land would remain under public control as tbe heritaire of tbe people. The \vroii!< that ha-; been per pel rated on the American people and Cat-ada by i tie enormous land grants 'o railroads Ciiriuot ha estimated. To set down in figures an equivalent to the public loss of wealth in this way is sT.py imp.ifsible. Upon no-account whatever should > ew Zealand or Ausiralia jt, ir. with any land as a bonus for raiboail construction. If private capitalist will not. build a ialway without a laud grant, th? CovernmtMit should have nothing to do with them. Ji could rhise money by mortgaging :uc pubic est ue and build the railroad, instead of alienating the land from the people tbat speculators might mortgage it for the same purpose.