Land Tenure.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 204, 1 September 1904, Page 4

Land Tenure.

In the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening, tho Right Hon. the Premier, Mr Seddon, moved the following :—"That with a view to the further encouraging and promotion of land settlement and removing any anomalies and disabilities, if found to exist, it is advisable that inquiry should be made with respect to the constitution of land boards, the tenures upon which lands may be obtained and occupied, and whether Crown tenants labour under restrictions which are inimical to their well-being and unnecessary in tho interests of the .State ; aiso to enquire and advise whether the residential conditions now existing are too exacting and require relaxing, and as to whether, owing to varying conditions existing in respect to climate and land configuration in the several parts of the colony an alteration and variation in the law regard ng tenure and occupiers is necessary ; also as to tho introduction of tho homestead privi-i leges and as to working of the present ballot system and dealing with applications for land, and as to what lands have bfcen loaded for roads giving access thereto, and whether good faith has been kept, and also the amount borrowed, the amount spent, and the amount available ; also generally as to whether the lessees of the Crown are placed at a disadvantage in borrowing privately or from the Advances to Settlers Office; and, lastly, as to the condition and position of those of our colonists holding and occupying the lands of the State under the several tenures now obtaining, tho result of such inquiry to bo laid on the table of the House not later than fourteen days after the opening of the next session of Parliament." Speaking t 0 tho motion, Mr Seddon said that out of 21,000 Crown tenants not 500 had signed petitions in favour of the freehold. If all Crown tenants were to buy their land it would require seven millions of money, und if only a portion of this were paid up a material change would be made in the state of the colony's finances. Mr Massey moved as an amendment :—"1. This House, as representing the people (a), recognises the urgent necessity for reform in the land laws 0 f the colony ; (■!>) asserts its competency to devise remedial measures without the delay which would bo occasioned by the appointment of a commission of inquiry ;

and (c) is therefore of opinion that it should bo afforded an opportunity during the present session of passing the necessary legislation. 2, That wit|h a view to further encouraging and promoting settlement, giving more confidence to those occupying tho lands, and removing causes of irritation, it is desirable—(a) that tenants occupying Crown lands under leaso in perpetuity, who have complied with reasonable conditions, shall be allowed tho option of converting their leaseholds into freeholds, with limitation of area, and that all moneys so received shall be used for the purchase of further land under the Land for Settlement Act ; (b) that the conditions of occupation and residence shall be accommodated to tho exigencies of pioneer settlement, and that the regulations governing the cultivation and managemen* of land held under lease from the Crown shall It* modified to suit climatic conditions and the characteristics of the soil : (c) that the principle of the homestead provisions of the Land Act, 1883, shall be embodied in the Land Act; fdj That Parliameit shall be given an early opportunity of deciding whether the constitution of land boards should .be altered in the direction of securing the more effective representation of the views of tho Crown tenant^. ,, SpeaMrag to his amendment Mr Massey explained thai he did not wish to take away the leasehold. Nobody ■did • but tiio option of awmiring the 'freehold should bo given to tenants.- The oommisaiaa proposed was mffliri* a means ol pxulilvs Qfl tb»

evil day. The question was not a new one ; it had been discussed on every platform in the colony at last election, and whatever happened he was going to see it through this time. With the people of the country at his back, he hoped to compel the Government to give the Crown tenants the option of the freehold. Ho contended that his amendment to the land bill of last session (aftirintag the desirableness of a limited freehold) would not allow of the aggregation of large estates. The Premier's statement that Crown tenants had said they did not desire the freehold was incorrect, for he, personally bad never met a Crown tenant who did not desire the freehold. At present the tenants were interfered with in every direction by the Government appointed land boards which were en-' tirely out of sympathy with the tenants' desires. Mr Jas. Allen seconded the amendments The Hon. T. \". Duncan, who followed, supported the Premier's contention thftt different conditions were required for different parts of the colony. If Government were to give tho freehold, every leaseholder in the country would endeavour to secure it. A freeholder with a mortgage on his back was in a worse position than a leaseholder. It was 'better to leave the tenants alone until they asked for the freehold, and it would ho very inconvenient if a large, number of these people wanted to go in for the freehold now. Mr Buchanan quoted the systems of land tenure in vogue in France, Holland, the United States, Canada and Denmark in proof of the success of the freehold tenure. The process of converting the leaseholds into freeholds would be gradual, and there was no danger of disturbing the finance 3 of the colony t

The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr Hogg, and the sittings of all committees were ordered to he suspended until the conclusion of the debate. Ths House rose at 0.10 i...n. In the House yesterday the no-con-fidence debate on the land question was carried on by Messrs Hogg and Hanan (who supported the leasehold) and Mandor and Alison (who lavoured the freehold^