ALLEGED LAND SALE SWINDLES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 351, 26 November 1875, Page 3

ALLEGED LAND SALE SWINDLES.

Jilt. MURRAY.-AT MILTON. . I le would now refer to some of the legislation of the House, and would just draw their attention to one Bill in order to show the way in which things were done. He alluded to 'the Taranaki Waste Lands Act. This bill made provision to allow an individual to take up Land at sixpence per acre fer 21 years, with the right of purchase at £1 per acre. It was clear that there was a- job in this. ■ Some people having engines of old flax mills wanted to start saw mills upcn this splendid piece of bush land. Some members of the House tried with him to have these lands put up to auction. .But the division bell was rung, members came trooping in from Bellamy's and other places, and asked, " What is all this about V " " Oh, Carrington's Bill ; he's a good fellow , we'll. vote for him." This Bill was passed through the House by twenty-seven members, and only the three Taranaki members and the members of the Government knew anything about it. Fortunately, the much-abused Upper House, altered it, so as to remove from it the imputation of being called a job. As an example of the way in which the General Assembly dealt with the business of the Colony, he might mention thai on the last night of the session which was just over,- the Immigration and Public Works Appropriation Bill was passed, dealing with £ 1.1,600,000, and this was discussed between the hours of one and four in the morning. Then the Confiscated Lands Bill, and the Disqualification Act—better described as the Corrupt Practices Indemnity Act—were also passed at the last moment. While referring to the last mentioned Act, he might say that several members had rendered themselves amenable to the law. It was well known that a very large number of the members of the House of Kepresentatives were implicatsd in transactions iu Native lands, and Mr. Studholm had succeeded in acquiring 100,000 acres of magnificent limestone country,. at a nominal, rental, for fifty years, with a. right to buy if the Government did not want it. The Government promised, if he would withdraw a certain motion in 1873, that they would not allow any private land transactions. to take place with the natives, while at the very time they were allowing their supporters to acquire th§se princely estates. Even, the Native Minister, above all suspicion, had acquired £IOO,OOO worth of land from the Natives. (Hear, hear.) It was not so difficult to say what members in the North fsland were concerned in these transactions as to say who were not concerned. —'Bruce Herald/