THE NEW LAND BILL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1867, 22 September 1906, Page 3

THE NEW LAND BILL.

(To the Editor of the Times,)

Sir,—lt is probably owing to the faot that few people hero have had an opportunity of reading tho Now Land Aot Amendment Bill that so little has really bern said about it, for surely no measure placed before the country in recent years is of 6uch far reschiog impcriance and deserves more attention.

Time has net permitted me to properly examioß tho Bill, but, with your permisbi'oo, I will iodioate one or two of its provisions whiob, it seems to me, ohouid reoeive the serious omsideration of the community as a whole, and especially cf tho farmers.

The ileal whioh the people of this oo'ooy aim at, is the limitation of large estate?. The Opposition have always advocated email freeholds, but have held that this could be more eSectively, and with less injustice, be brought about by the graduated land tax than by proposals such as these contained in the Bill. The limit laid down that no one person shall hold more than £50,000 worth of unimproved value, is a pretty ample one, as, under ordinary circumstances, this would menu that a man was worth at least £200,000 beforo he could be touched ; bat the undigested nature of tho whole Bill is amply illustrated by clause 11, whiob, while going most exhaustively into drtails to compel the 63 who own more than £50.000 unimproved value in 12 months aiter tbo passing of the Bill to dispose of their excess estate, makes no provision to compel the person who may own £IOO,OOO worth in 18 months to out up hia excess estate at the expiration of the ten years.

Clause 15 is undoubtedly the moat serious prnvi-ion of tho whole Bill, as this will affect the smallest bolder of land, perhaps more than the larger farmers, for where is be to get his financial noeommo dalion ? It is obvious that no bank, loan company, or insurance oampaoy will be likely to lend money on mortgage if it oannot realise on its seourity. This clause praotioally lajs down the principle that every individual mortgage must be held by separate mortgagees, and it is certain that it applies to leases as weil as freeholds from t'ae words 11 owners, tenants, or oooupiers,” and it will apply to native as weli as European lands. It will prevent mortgagees, trustees or executors from administering estates, and in fact dislooates tbo whole land dealings of the colony, thereby driving much oapital out of it

In spite of th 9 desire by the great majority of Bet tiers —as evidenced by the Land Commission —for tba option of getting the freehold, this Bill swoeps this ohanoe away forever, and although under olausa 0 Jit gives the right to an existing tenant to surrender his lease under certain conditions and have his bolding put np to auotion, it is improbable that many tenants would run the risk of availing themselves of this clause, as there might bt Ababa with longer purses to covet Naboth’s vineyard, consequently the poorer and struggling settler whom we desire to assist the most would be the very last to bo able to take advantage of this privilege. The conditions eet up under olause 8, that a tenant paying 50 per cent of the capital value is exempt from the restrictions contained in the lease, does not make him even an approximate freeholder, for he is still bound by the statutory restrictions and those imposed by the regulations. What chance will the poor man have of getting a piece of freehold when the Optional system is done away with ? The man who will be compelled to cut up his property, by the ,£50,000 limit will want cash, at least purchasers who can find all the purchaso money within the ten years. The workers under the Workers’ Dwellings Act aro rightly allowed to acquire their freehold on easy terms. Why not extend the same opportunity to the workers on the land ?

As I atn trespassing perhaps too much on your space I will with yo’ur permission defer the discussion of the Endowments under the Bill and other aspects of the Land Question for another letter.

I am, etc., W. LISSANT CLAYTON. Gisborne, Sept. 21, 1906.