THE NEW LAND ACT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1860, 14 September 1906, Page 2

THE NEW LAND ACT.

(To the Editor of the Times.) Sir, —Is it any wonder that Canada is going ahead with leaps and bounds when her liberal land laws give to each emigrant 160 aores of land for nothing ? Compare that with what our legislators are proposing—that is no more freehold for settlers, but tenants of the Government for 66 years. I wonder if these conditions had been in force when MoNab, senr., came to the colony, where would MoNab, janr., our present Minister of Lands, be ? I venture to say not in his present position; and if his father’s getting the freehold of bis land was the stepping stone to his suecess, why should he want to deprive others of getting on in the world ? Is all ambition to be kaocked out of a man to posßesß a piece of land as his own to be handed down to hiß family ? and is he to be a serf to the Government for all time ? I remember hearing our member soy in one of his eleolion addresses that be was in favor of Crown tenants becoming freeholders at present values, but I suppose that now be has got in with ouch a socialistic Ministry he will back down on that point should it come to a straight out vote. The Taihoa polioy shown by our member has been a great drawback to this district, and it is about time we were represented by a European whose leanings will not be so muoh on tbe native side. Why should the white settlers bear the burden and heat of the day in paying rates and taxes to improve the waste lands of the Maori ? And why have these lands not been bought from the natives and put on the market years ago ? The answer is “Taihoa 1 ’ and “Ta'haa”; it will be a 3 long as the present member represents us. What, may I ask, has he done to put some of the large estates on the market under the Lands for Settlement Act ?—and so increase our population and production. He has 11 Taihoed ” so long that the properties have doubled in value, and of course when they are out up this means double the rent for the ooeky. I suppose the occky will wake up some day and put in a man to represen them who will work for the benefit of the di

triot, and not forget that there is Buch a plac as Poverty Bay when he geta to Welling ton. Do the Government tbiok they wil

( ever get any men foolish enough to go away back GO to 100 miles from civilisation to hew out a home for their families in tbe bush if they have not the chanoe of getting the freehold of the land ? If they do I djn’c know where they are to come from, and it simply means that by such laws as are now being forced on the country the waste lands between here and Auckland will remain waste ; but were the Government to put it up for eale in blocks of five to ten thousand aores, then it would be taken up and developed by those who have oapital and can employ labor, so that in a few years our exports would be considerably increased. But

under the present land laws I venture to

say we will all be grey-headed before tbe territory I have mentioned is broken io.

My opinion is that any lands that are now left are so inaccessible and of such poor quality that a new settler wants to have it

given to him to tempt him to go on it, and much of it I would not eyen take at that price.—I am, eto.,

BAHQRE TAIHQA,