The Southland Times.. FRIDAY, MAT 17, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1579, 17 May 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times.. FRIDAY, MAT 17, 1872.

The land resolutions which were passed by the Provincial Council last year were accepted by the House of Representatives without any serious alteration, but the session of Assembly came to a close before the Bill had passed through the Legislative Council, and the introduction of the proposed changes was delayed for another year. The Provincial Government have tbis session adopted the sensible and practical course of introducing a series of resolutions based upon and almost identical with the Otago Waste Lands Bill of last year, as it left the Honse of Representatives, with tbe view of securing their speedy passage through the House when introduced again, as they will be this year, and so avoiding the danger of their being again lost in the Legislative Council for want of sufficient time for their consideration. It is not our intention at present to analyse in detail all the provisions of the proposed measure, consisting of nearly two hundred clauses, nor to speculate on the shape in which it may ultimately pass the Colonial Legislature. There are, however, a few prominent features in the resolutions as adopted by the Provincial Council which are worthy of notice. The political constitution of the Land Board is if possible to be retained. Amendments introduced with a view of giving an independent and judicial character to this body were rejected, and with the exception of one ex-officio member (the Chief Surveyor), the members of the Board are to be nominated by the Superintendent, which is the same as to say, the Provincial Secretary for the time being. As a matter of fact they have hitherto been, and no doubt are intended in future to be, the members of the Provincial Government. This arrangement is justified by Mr Barton and Mr Shepherd on the ground that those who deal with the land ought to be directly responsible to the Council, as representing the people of the province. It is easy to see the enormous political evils which this system is likely to produce, and at the same time to understand that it is an arrangement likely to commend itself strongly to a certain class of politicians. As the whole subject has to come under the decision of the Assembly, , we content ourselves for the present with saying that if there is an executive department of the State which it is desirable to keep free from the slightest trace of political influence, it is that to which is confided the administration of the public lands. The next point of importance apparent in the resolutions is the alteration which it is proposed to effect in the position of the pastoral tenants of the Crown. It is proposed to repeal the Hundreds Eegulation Act of 18G9, and Amendment Act, 1870, and to substitute a plan by which the power of proclaiming Hundreds is placed in the hands of the Governor, on the mere recommendation of the Waste Lands Board, that is to say, of the Provincial Executive. Tbis is not understood to affect the leases granted under the free selection provisions of the Southland "Waste Lauds Act, 1865, although this exception ia nowhere expressly provided for. These leases, however, are affected by an amendment introduced by Mr Lumsden, which provides tbat blocks of land may be set apart, by the Superintendent's proclamation, in any part of the Province, within which licenses to occupy and leases on deferred payments may be granted ; and also by an amendment of Dr Menzies's, providing that when settlement shall have taken place to a certain extent within a circle of five miles in diameter, such district may be proclaimed into a Hundred on the petition of the inhabitants. It is further proposed to extend to the Southland district the power of selling land that has been open for sale iv Hundreds more than seven years, by auction, at an upset price of 10s. We may remark in passing that all the Southland Hundreds have now been in existence for more than seven years, and that the effect of this provision will probably be to place the greater part of the land now occupied by the settlers as common pasturage in the hands of private persons, in large blocks, and at a low figure. The system of licences to occup y , and leases on deferred payments, presents the greatest innovation on the established practice of disposing of land which has hitherto prevailed in New Zealand. As the resolutions now stand, it appears that this system is proposed to be applied to all the land comprised in the Hundreds both of Otago proper and of Southland. The leases are to be for three years, and the annual rent 2s 6d per acre. The amount of rent paid up to any given period may be claimed by the occupier as an instalment of purchase money, the price under this arrangement being 20s per acre. On payment of the balance, the land becomes his. Or they may be for' seven years, at the same rent, and at the end of the lease, or during its currency, the land may be acquired in fee simple by paying the difference between the amount already paid for rent and the price, which in thia case is 255. Any

arrangement which will encourage settle- ( ment and attract population, so long as existing rights are fairly dealt with, will be a boon to the country. But we have not much faith in deferred payments, especially when the ultimate price to be paid ia so high. To collect the payments under this system is always difficult, and the free selectors are likely to use their political power in course of time to obtain a relaxation ofthe terms. It would be a much more attractive, and we are persuaded a much moro profitable plan, boldly to offer free grants of limited area to every one, immigrant or old colonist, who would be at the trouble to take up the land, fence it within twelve months, and live on it for three years. We might then claim to have a really liberal land law, and the permanent benefit to the revenue from increased Customs returns would be a splendid recompense for the loss of the first price. .