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New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 820, 11 June 1853, Page 2

rUy be'fhfown on all colonial laws ; foiy «ndej the present provision, ,it if possible that an °*"\ dinanc§ may be disallowed by the" Home Governmenittwo or even" three years' after ir has been passsd" and acted upon 5 here. ,To restriqt, therefore, the .veto.pf. the Colonial Minister as much as possible, or rather "to get rid of it' altogether, might, 'I conceive, be one of the aims 'of your Representatives. I should' be -the last to repudiate any just debt, to the New Zealand Company, or to any other body; but as no one in private life would be considered liable to pay a disputed account; until all its items had been gone into and proved correct ; so, in like manner, I consider that the Imperial Parliament, "after acknowledging 'the right of the settlers to the management of <the waste lands, committed an "act of gross injustice in saddling the land with a debt which has never been investigated, and which one ' of the present ministers of the Crown denouncedsin his place in Parliament as having been imposed upon the Colony by means of fraud and misrepresentation. • We liave a right to demand a thorough examina< lion into the > Company's. -accounts before .we are. called upon .to hand over to it any part of the proceeds of the land sales. '"Whateveramount may by- inquiry be .found to bave<been., spent for thebenefit of the Colony,- ought be paid ; but whatever portion of it has been' expended in other than colohteing objects,'r ought to be -repudiated. But, for my -own, part, looking to the opinions expressed by the. present ministry upon this question, I ia'n scarcely believe that they'will insist upon our paying a' debt in the contracting -of* which we had bo' part, and from which we have derived little or no benefit. '. 1 am in favour of a low price being put upon the waste lands;' for I believe that by giving facilities to the industrjous classes for the purchase of land in small quantities, and at a low rate, we should render the Colony attractive, create a steady and constantly increasing stream of immigration,- and thus, instead of, diminishing the amount of available labour in the Colon j, materially increase it. In fact, the extraordinary changes which have taken place in the neighbouring colonies during the last eighteen months, owing to the discoyery of gold, have not only rendered it unnecessary for us to keep up an immigration fund, but will in all probability cause a veryextensive emigration from Australia to this Colony ; provided, I repeat, .the attraction of cheap land be held- out to the successful, digger. And lam much deceived if -the quantity of land which will be sold almost immediately will not be sufficient to place ample- funds ajt the! disposal of the Government/ for theexecution of the requisite surveys and roads, every shilling spent on which will cause an increased 4emand for land,, and thus soon enable, us to .obtain sufficient funds for all other public works. While, on. the other.hand, I believe that, at £1 an acre, little' or no. rural land would be sold, at least fojegjany years, and ,there would consequently be no funds for public works. I also, doubt much whether, with the past experience of 1 the _difficulty_of_ jgeJlihg :•_ Jand _at_ one pound an acre, English capitalists woalxJ,. were, that price "maintained, advance money- on the security of future land sales. To preveh^'tfndue, monopoly by capitalists, (the chief danger to be apprehended from a low price), and in some measure to remedy, the evils we already experience from large tracts of country being allowed to lie waste, (the owners trusting to the natural progress of the Colony to- enable them to sell at an enhanced price), I should advocate the imposition of a \land tax ; but this is a matter which, will require much consideration, both as to what lands be made liable <o the tax, and also as to the mode in which it should, be levied. With regard to the proper mode of dealing with those waste lands of the country not required for agriculture, but capable of being used for pastoral purposes, my opinion is, that while every encouragement should be given to the occupation of the land by the grazier until "it is required, t»y the agriculturist, yet that the former should simply be regarded as the pioneer- of settlement, and should always be prepared to give place to the latter. • • I think that the Government Pastoral Regulations are upon the whole fair, though in one or two points susceptible of considerable improvement. *In order to encourage the stockholder to invest his capita) in the country* to improve his run, and build comfortable houses for his shepherds, I would advocate his having certain rights of pre-emption, and such terms "of lease, as would, secure him against any applicant who might want any part of his run for depasturing purposes ; but not against the bondfide purchaser, who, upon complying with the requisite forms, should at once be entitled to enter upon the land. I would advocate the princijile of giving to each Province the management of. its own waste lands ; not only on account of the various terms of pui chase which have been adopted,* but also of the gi eat difference in the character of the country in the six Settlements. •As this is a subject most important to the Provinces and to be- decided. by the GeneralAssembly, I think it is essential, that those members who are returned to the house of Representatives, should, at any rate during the first session, be also members of the Provincial Council, in order that on this, as on many other important questions, there should be no clashing of interests between the General arid Local Legislatures. - , , I am an advocate of the principles of Free Trade, and would willingly assist in amending, and altering the present taring which is justly complained of by both importers and consumers as being complicated, vexatious, and oppressive. I believe that the necessary revenue might be raised from a comparatively few articles, and those chiefly of luxury. More especially if our land sales are such as to. .cover all necessary expenditure for public works, which I fully anticipate will be the case. , There are many other subjects, such as, connecting the various Settlements by Steam, the introduction of economy into every branch of the public service, the erection of light houses and public wharfs ; and others still more important, to which, if you do me the honor of electing me, 1 will give .my best attention, but which would occupy too ,much .space were I to enlarge upon them in an. address like the present.