The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING GISBORNE, AUGUST 10, 1906.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1835, 16 August 1906, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING GISBORNE, AUGUST 10, 1906.

Tuh inclusion of Messrs Eowlds and McNab in the presont Cabinet, and the allocation of tho portfolio of Lands and Agriculture to tho latter instead of Education, has given rise to come speculation as to whether both thoso Ministers have not already abandoned their individual opinions in ordor to socuro seats on tho Treasury bonches. Ever since the personnel of the Ministry was publicly announced it

wasregardod as certain tint Mr Eowids would have to carry his Singlo Tax and Freotrade opinions in his pocket because neither could havo a place in tho programmo of tho party as a whole. But regarding Mr McNab it was more diliicult to arrive at a conclusion. lie was certainly sound on

tho Education question, and had devoted a lot of attention to tho sub ject, for which reason lie would havo mado a very excellent Minister in chargo of that Department. But when it was discovered that he had been chosen for the portfolio which ho now holds tho news of that appointment gave rise to a general murmur

of uncertainly, for no one seemed to know exactly where ho stood. His attitude on tho question of freehold versus leasehold was apparently as obfeure as was that of his late chief, who refused to declare himself one way or the other and appointed a most exponsive and useless Royal sion to find out for him where he should finally stand. The real purpose for which that Commission was set up was to find a sure pointer to public opinion on and as the Commission has not fulfilled what was expected of it in that respect Mr Seddon, truo to his inc'.incts, maintained a neutral attitude, and probably intended to do so until ho could find

out for certain which way tho cat was inclined to jump. Mr McNab has been twitted with an equal want of decisiort, and we are told that when he was recently passing through Christchurch he “ protested strongly against tho suggestion that personally he is ‘ unsound ’ on tho Land Question, and thought that the idoa must be confined to Canterbury.” He added: i; lf it moans that I am not in smpathy with tho land policy as understood by the grout majority of tho Liboral patty,

thou thoir suggestion is quito unfounded.” JIo further oxplaiued that ho .hud “ consistently supported the Soddon Government on their land

proposals, and that ho fully approvod of tlio amoudinontu which Mr Sodden

foreshadowed in his policy speech at Kumura in January last.” Unfortunately this information throws no light upon tho question, for wo look in vain through tho Kutnara spooeh roforred to to iind any roforoneo to the quostion of froohold versus leasehold. Hero is what Mr Soddon had to say on the matter, and hero also is all Mr MeNab [ lias committed himsolf to approvo '• —■

“ What was the inundate of tho pooplo “of tho colony ? In tho first jdaco “ they had cortainly decided that “ monopoly must bo chocked. This “difficulty must bo grappled with, “ otherwise it would bo a sourco of “ groat danger to tho Commonwealth. “ Thoro must bo an ndvanco of settle- “ moot of tho right sort, there must “an amondmont of tho ballot system “ in tho direction of giving priority to “ those who with largo familios had “ been unsuccessful in previous ballots. “In tho North Island thoro had been

“an almost unanimous declaration in “ favor of tho sottlomont of tho Maori “ lands. Thoro wore five million acres “ of native lands and au equal quantity “ belonging to tho Crown. For the “ purposo of furthering tho settlement “ of those lands tho Government had “ recently appointed a Nativo Land “ Purchase hoard, consisting of the “ Undor-b'ocrotary of Lands, tho “ Undor-Socretary of tho Justice Do- “ partmont, and Mr Sheridan, head of “ tho Nativo Department. This Com-

“ mission would propound a Bclieme “ for disposing of the surplus native lands, while at tho same time taking “ good caro that tho natives wore not “ left landless. Tho Government in- ‘ tended to sot aside a million acres of “ Crown lands for educational pur- “ poses. Tho Stout-Vogel Govern-

‘' mont, when passing their Charitable “ Aid and Hospital Act made provision “ which had not been put into oper- “ ativo effect, for setting asido 250,000 “ acres for tho support of hospitals “ and charitablo aid. Tho “ ment intended to amplify that pro- “ vision, and would ask Parliament to “ set aside half a million acres of “ Crown land for those purposos. The “mandate of tho election was also “ompliatic on the question of limiting “ the holding of land, and preventing

“ tho aggregation of largo estates. .It “ was very important that effective “ measures should bo taken to prevent “tho serious evils that had befallen “ oldor countries falling into the hands “of tho favored few. If that were “ done those favored few would prac- “ tically control the lives and even the “ souls of tho masses of the peoplo ” From the foregoing no one can con cludo that Mr MeNab has very decided views on the matter, or if he lias thoy may bo summed up in this one short sentence —Whatever the groat majority of the Liberal party ugreo to, thoso are my sentiments. But the Southland Times gives another

version of the matter when it says that “ on the land question Mr MeNab “ expressed his mind clearly in his “ election addresses in 1905. In his “ speech at Gore, after frankly confes- “ sing that Mr Seddon had never had “ any intention of introducing land “ legislation during the session of “ 1905, and the land debate simply “ 1 wasted the time of tho House for ‘‘ days and weeks,’ Mr MeNab stated “ his own views definitely. He favored “ tho freehold. The leasehold, with “ the right of purchasing the freehold, “should be continued, and Crown “ tenants under the lease in perpetuity “should be given the right of acquir-

“ ing the freehold of their holdings at “ their present value.” In that Gore speech Mr MeNab is reported to have said: —“ Were they going on for all “time buying estates and piling up “ debt and difficulty ? What he “ urged was that there was now “sufficient invested in land, and they “ could keep it there, and, at the same “ time, keep it in a comparatively “ liquid condition. If they gave the “right to purchase the freehold, they “ would not need to borrow more. “What tho tenants paid for the pur* “ chase of their lands the Government “ could use to buy other land, and they 7

“could restrict the aggregation of “ estates, . . Four millions were “ now invested, and it was time they “ gave the right to acquire the free- “ hold, and did away with the neces- “ sity of borrowing for the purchase “of further estates. He wanted to “ ask supporters of the lease in-por- “ petuity system what the colony “ would loso by abandoning it ? He “ thought they would lose nothing. . . “ Now, when changed conditions made “ it impossible to carry out the original “ intention of legislation, there should “bo machinery under which the “ tenants con'd change the conditions “ without appealing to Parliament. “ The only way was to lot the tenants “ havo the right of purchase, so that “ they could sell and go elsewhere “ when necessary." It thus appears that tho new Minister for Lands is on the horns of a dilemma, for his latest utteraueo scarcely bears out his election pledges, unless he can show that tho “great majority of the Liberal party ” favors the freehold, which perhaps ho has somo reason for thinking he may be able to do.