The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY,OCTOBER 13, 1877.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 103, 13 October 1877, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY,OCTOBER 13, 1877.

The House have gone into Committee on the Land Bill and have passed, without amending, what we consider to be an obnoxious clause relating to the' constitution of Land Boards. According to the old Act the members of these Boards are nominated' by the Governor. 'We nave repeatedly referred to this provision as a grave defect m the Act and- hoped that m this particular itbe new Act would be different. The House, however, haveapprovedofthe principle and there is every prospect of the constitution of these boards remaining the -same as heretofore, Now if the elective element is the prevailing one m the Government of the country, and properly so, it is hard to conceive why it should be wholly absent m the administering of the Waste Lands." The' settlement of these lands is of vital interest to the people, and it is but reasonable that they should have some voice as to the manner and terms of distribution. Doubtless the people would be quite willing to forego this right had the distribution of these lands by the nominees of the crown been equitable. But had it been so, the fierce cry against the land-shark would never have been raised. During the last few years the public estate has been dwindling away, but where ? Let the stormy discussions that have occupied the present Parliamentary session relative to shady land transactions answer this question. Capital and influence have done a great * work. They have

wrested block after block of the finest territory from the crown and placed it beyond the sphere of useful industry ; while the host of yeomanry upon whose tenure of the soil the future greatness of New Zealand depends are striving with the Land Boards for tolerable terms. Surely it is now time for a change to be made. Sinew and muscle should weigh something, even when set m the balance against gold. The monied class have' had more than an equitable share of the land and they are found egregiously wanting m the qualification most requisite for land owners — they have not m.ade the earth to yield its fruits, and a fetter has been placed upon, not capital only, but upon labor and skill. How much of this state of things is due to the conduct of Waste Land Boards we do not pretend to say, but certain it is that the constitution of these Boards is favorable to the production and continuance of a partial administration of Lands. It is safe to predict that an administration of a more representative character would be far more favorable to bona fide settlement and rapi£ colonization. A change from nominated to elected or partially elected Land Boards is therefore not the least of the good things that a general election may produce. ■■■'..