Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7. 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8883, 7 August 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7. 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES

AT present disputes as to the value of estates proposed to be taken under the Land for Settlements Act are settled by arbitrators, but Ministers are striving to secure estates more easily by proposing that in future there shall bo payable by way of compensation in addition to the ■ Government assessment,a.sum rang-, ing from 2% per cent to 10 per cent of such valuation, the 10 per cent being payable when thej the , assessment does not' eicaed £25,000. In the course of his remarks on the Imprest Supply Bill, Mr Lang referred to this subject. The present tendency, he said, was

to make the valuations high, as that meant more revenue to the Government, the /assessment at present being only for taxation and rating purposes. The now proposal, however, contemplated' that these assessments should be used for the purpose of the compulsory purchase of estates, and if the proposals were carried it was quite possible that the assessments would be made low instead of high. The owners would be. compelled to sell to the Government at these low assessments, plus the % to 10 per cent, according to the value of the property. Ho claimed that such a proposal was most unfair. As an instance of the unreliable nature of many oi the Government valuations, he referred to. a case that had come under his notice. The property—a leasehold one in the first place—was. assessed at £3500, as the value of the lessee’s interest. The lessee objected, and stated that he was willing to part with his interest for £7OO. The valuation was then reduced io £3185. The lessee still objected, and in the end the valuation was reduced to £1414. The lessee subsequently sold his interest in'the property for £375. When such mistakes as those were possible, at present, what reason, "asked Mr Lang, was there to supjiose that it would not be possible for mistakes to be made the other way, and for the assessments to be made as low as they had been made high in this case. At present there was no doubt -that the unimprovec values placed upon property were too high, and it was significant, !« added that the Valuation Depart ment’s valuations would not he ac

copied by the Advances to Settler Department for lending purposes Even if a valuation had been madi only a week before an application for a loan was received the Advance to Settlers Department insisted oj having a fresh valuation made by it own valuer. In the course of th game debate Mr Massey referred to"; statement made by Mr Allen Bell a the provincial Farmers’ Union Con forence at Auckland in May last, j was stated by Mr Bell that lie hai been informed by a Govorumen vainer in the Auckland district th:* his (the valuer’s) valuations ha. been returned to him from th Valuation Department with in struotions to revise them by puttiu up the unimproved values. Sine the statement was made considorabl correspondence on cho subject hapassed between Mr Bell and th Valuer-General and the latter we asked by Mr 801 l to afford him a opportunity of proving his stateuieu before a competent tribunal. i'J Massey said that ho would now rc peat this challenge to the Minis! e in charge of the Department.. X reply was made by the Minister 1 Mr Massey’s remarks.

FOR years past the socialists hav ■ been sapping the foundations 01 civil government, with the object el giving unrestricted play to teen theories. Laud tenure, of course, has hoeu assailed, because the socialists realise that the man who owns a homo of his own is nos 01 a socialist, and that all the eloquence of ranting agitators is wastes on freeholders. For some tune p;--: there iias also been a movement- : ; progress aiming av giving to tec majority, who arc non-ratepayer.-, the control of local govenuaeur. t'cfunds for maintenance of wr.ich supplied by ratepayers who constitute the minority. ’do are gin-1 to notice, however, that at las t there is some prospect of resistance to this latest proposal, and the lead which is being taken by Blenheim should ho generally followed, n. great mistake was made when the ratepayers allowed the local franchise to be extended to allow voting power to others than tho actual payors of the rates. This has emboldened the socialists to mala further demands. There was no real justice in extending the franchise. The socialistic theory is that the man who pays the rent really pays the rates, anti therefore he should have voting power. But, apart from the fact that tire man who only pays rent may flit at any moment, whereas the rates ho assisted to impose remain a charge on fixed property, it may bo as justly reasoned that as customers provide the revenue and the profits of a shopkeeper or merchant they have a right to share in the control of his business, and even to demand that ho shall inortirago it to provide thorn with funds for present expenditure.. That is what the socialists are demanding in regard to local govern-, meuc. They find that a paternal: Ministry, chosen by themselves, has; kindly given them opportunities to ! gamble for portions of other men’s estates without staking anything themselves, and they naturally sec no reason why they should not extend their operations, and not only secure the control of ilocal government, but force the property owners to rate-mortgage their properties for a number of years to sirpply the cash to b.e scattered among the uonratepayors. This latest demand should meet with the stoutest rosi--

tan.ee, and if that resistance is >ot successful, then if. may be still more desirable for those with fixed stakes in the country to encourage the formation of rifle clubs.

THE fact that over seven thousand farmers were cited to appear before the Arbitration Court at Christchurch should cause the farmery on this coast to note the aggressiveness of the socialists and the effects of the work of the agitators who have sown strife. We recently published ,he demands of the Agricultural Labourers Union, and it must have been patent to every farmer who road the list that if such demands, are granted then the prospect of‘ making a living in the farming industry is very seriously imperilled. It is also certain, that increased cost of working the laud means a fall in : laud values, which is a serious matter born to the man wnohas borrowed and the man who lias lent. ■ It has been suggested that if the agricultural industry is specially, handicapped as a result of agitation by those who have succeeded in fixing thoir own wages, and .shortening the hours during which they do a limited amount of work, and who have algo artificially increased the cost of all supplies, then the only remedy that can be applied by the farmers will be to resolve to reduce, the amount of cultivation, etc., for. at least a year, doing with as little labour as possible. This, of course, will mean loss for a time, but the: first loss may save greater. As we; have pointed out in previous articles, while all other-industries can “pass on” a-ny increased cost of working, the farmer cannot do so, because his produce has to compote with the world’s output. This subject is one which should attract the immediate attention of the fanners’ organisation with a view of having the primary producing industries exempted from the operation of the labour laws, and also compelling the abolition of the restrictive duties.

IP the workers were not possessed with the idea that they are injured by cheap supplies a Minister of the Crown would not be found ■starting a campaign against prison jsado goods, such as that Mr Millar - is undertaking. Under proper social

conditions, indeed, the best use that could bo made of those who have broken the criminal laws would be to compel, them to work for tho rest of the community, who would then have to labour less. But at present ioxno of the womens would raihei soo the prisoners kept in pampered idleness than allow them to contribute to the world’s work and wealth.