The Globe. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1878.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1307, 28 May 1878, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1878.

The necessity of liberal land laws is strongly urged by the members of the present Ministry. It was a favorite topic of the Premier during the last few months, and Mr. Ballauce also referred to it at some length in bis speech at Marten. It was plain, bo said, “ if settlement was to bo encouraged, that they must bo prepared to forego .a portion of the revenue from land. As settlement was all important they must throw open the land to the people, who wore thirsting for it, but liavo it not, and by every legitimate means locate the people ■where they will do the most good for themselves and for the colony.” Ho praised the action of the Otago Waste Lauds Board for the course they wore pursuing. Every block, he said, that fell into their hands they were cutting up for sale on deferred payments. “ The cousequeuco was that little or no land revemio was being received from Otago, and that it nearly all came from Canterbury. But in Otago, if they did not provide a land revenue, they provided for settlement.” Ouo would imagine that, in the opinion of Mr. Ballauce, the people of Canterbury were in some way to blame for the present state of affairs hero, and that the largo land sales which take place every week wore a source of annoyance to the Government, It is no doubt quite true that the waste lands of Canterbury are passing rapidly into private hands. Speculators are taking up enormous tracts of the country, and are either parting with it at a profit, or arc selling it to the hand Jute settler who has to pay an increased price for the privilege of acquiring the land on deferred payments. It may bo asked what are the Government doing in allowing such a state of things to exist. They are the professed friends of the poor and the oppressed. They wish to make us believe that they will use every means in their power to give facilities for settling uu bud, JNow, th« Laud Act of last

session provides for tlio proclamation of land on deferred payments. Clause 53 of that Act reads as follows: —

The Governor, by proclamation in the Gazette, may from time to time set. apart out of any suburban or rural lands such blocks or allotments of land as ho may think fit, and set the same aside for deferred payments, and in such proclamation may fix a on which the land shall bo open for application. And he may also in like manner set apart for sale on deferred payments such blocks or allotments as may be recommended by any Land Board, and may also from time to time alter, amend, or revoke such proclamation. It will therefore ho scon that it rests with the Government to proclaim land as purchasoablo on the deferred payment system. Why is it, then, that this course lias not hocn taken with reference to Canterbury laud ? Why are tho poor men in this province treated differently to thoso elsewhere ? If the Government were honest in their professions, would they not take immediate steps to proclaim a portion of tho unsold lands of tho province as under tho operation of tho deferred payments clauses? Wo are aware (as explained in an extract from tho Press published elsewhere) that a doubt has boon raised in some quarters as to whether they have the power under the Act to do so, hut Ministers have made no attempt whatever to carry out tho manifest intention of tho legislature. They have not issued a proclamation in tho Gazette as laid down in clause 53 of the Land Act, nor taken any public stops whatever to bring it into operation in this district. Had they done so, and had tho proper interpreters of tho law decided against them—a very improbable result — they would have performed their duty. But they have chosen to do otherwise. They have, for tho sake of tho revenue, defrauded tho working men of this district of largo tracts of valuable laud which, under tho deferred payments clauses, might soon have been occupied by a thriving population. But while they are in a most scandalous manner allowing our waste lauds to pass away for ever from tho reach of tho working man, a different process is going on in Otago. There tho land is being carefully nursed in tho hope, wo believe, that a largo portion of it may ho reserved for public works in tho district. But thou Otago is strongly represented in the Ministry, while Canterbury is not. Tho Otago members in the Assembly did not support tho colonialisatiou of tho Land Fund for nothing, and Mr. Macandrew will take very good care that the district does not lose by the change. Wo wonder whether the supporters of tho present Government hero are satisfied witli the treatment Canterbury has received at tho hands of Ministers. Not only has her laud fund been taken from her, hut the land itself is not going directly into tho possession of thoso for tho welfare of whom tho Premier and his colleagues profess to bo so concerned. Yet tho Government have not raised a finger to prevent it. At tho expense of the working men of this district, they are husbanding the land of tho other provin • cial districts, and selling ours to meet the financial requirements of tho colony. So far, thou, from the working men of Canterbury having cause to bo gratified at tho accession of the Grey Government to power, they ought to have quite tho opposite feeling. While the Premier was tickling their ears with fair promises, some of which have turned out already to be false, his Government were quietly robbing them of their birthright—selling their waste lands as rapidly as possible, when they should have reserved a large portion of them at any rate, for sale on deferred payments.