The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1886. MR BALLANCS AND THE RUNHOLDERS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1647, 1 March 1886, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1886. MR BALLANCS AND THE RUNHOLDERS.

■ ;.•'. ■ ■ ■ ■■ -^— • — » — — -.: ■ . - ■ The "lords of the soil "have interviewed the ' Minister of Lands and begged him to reduce the rents which they pay, to Government for the pastoral lands which 1 they oc-| cupy. Probably but .little, hope of mercy was entertairiecl by'tHe crest-; fallen growers of wool, but despair leads many a man to ;clutch at a 1 straw rather than sink without some struggle for existence. The following is the account, as furnished by the United Press Association, of the interview which took place between the run holders and Mr Ballancb on the occasion of his visit to Dunedin this day week : — Mr Ballance, Minister of Lands, was waited dri to-day by a number of deputations. The first was from runholders requesting' a reduction of rents of pastoral runs, which they asked for on the ground that since 1882 there had been a fall of about 32 per cent, in the price of wool, and stock has also dec-lined. Mr ) Ballance said the question was, a serious one financially, as it meant an addition to the property tax, and must be looked on in that light. The amount of money the Government were receiving from the rents of pastoral runs was about jG200,000 a-year, and it must be apparent that any considerable reduction might mean a loss of £50,000;or £100,000; and in the present state of the finances of the

colony that would impose the necessity of further taxation. He questioned whether pa-toral tenants had any more right ,tp a<-k for a modification of their contracts than those who had purchased land for cash in 1882, and who had also suffered f roin' the fait, in the price of staples. Hei^woaliJ like, to, know if wool" had gone up, inslead. ; *of tailing,. would more rent have heon offered ? The depu; tation stated that if wool had risen and 4hep. fallen they would not be there,*! but theire had been a continuous .f<dl the leases wer taken up. Mr Ballaxce said the matter must come before Parliament. He would lay it"" before the Cabinet if possible before rent day — March 15. This episode 'has' its own special significance from the ,-faGt, that tli6 Minister for 'Lands belongs to a party whose members profess nb friendship for the " squatter," but who rather make a boast that- they will "some day "wipe him from off the face of the earth. Mr Ballance was firm ; of course, the usual Ministerial promise was given that the matter would be brought to Cabinet, but from the remarks that the Minister made, the runholders cannot oxpect him to be a warm pleader, on their f Ijehalf. v > It. is quite true what Mr Ballance; said;,if the Government were to re-| duce rents in sorae.cases they would J be. literally, besieged with applications for similar concessions from all parts of the Colony. The only way in whieh any assistance could be rendered would be by enquiring into^the merits - of individual cases,; granting concessions only to those' who really deserved them, and even 1 this woulpl be forming a precedent that niigtif be- much abused^in the 1 future. But although we believe Mr Ballance's opinion . will be generally endorsed, by the public, it is,, of course, easy to see. that the " anti-land-monopolising " party will be jubilant at the snubbing which the southern runholders received. They will even, perhaps, argue that the time is coming when the pastoral estates will all be relinquished and pass into the hands of tenants of small means. But this does not follow ; and even if it did, it is difficult to. see how the smalL farmer, could hope to work . tne land morei profitably than the capitalist whoj carries on operations on a .largerscale. Wool is. rapidly becomingl almost a drag in the market, ard the lands in question are unfit for any} other kind of husbandry. In thei face ofithis it might, perhaps be wise; if the Government took a more! lenient view of the case than they' might otherwise do. After all, the; Colony must look upon the wooltrade as its chief means of support until some 1 other . staple product, takes its place. If times are really; bad, and if wool is really almost unsaleable,' then Government 'might be justified in granting concessions. It is quite true that in the event of the present; lessees being compelled to throw up their leases the same lands would be taken up at lower rents. Ifi_the' Government are satisfiedtwith; their present tenants, they might feet disposed to extend a certain amount of consideration and consent to make moderate concessions — even if only temporary ones — so that the expense and other drawbacks which a change of . tenants would entail,' might be obviated. "We admit the difficulty of dealing with the question so. that nprhardship or injustice may be* 1 done/ and at the* same time avoid the risk of establishing an un-i desirable' arid possibly vei y awkward precedent. We are inclined to the opinion that urideir all the circumstances,, the. Government or Parliament'will not recognize tlie poHeyj or expe.qliency ot granting the v c6n-i ciessions desired , by the Dunedin .deputationists. ., :.. ( :1 ,,, .;,, , . ; }