POLITICAL POINTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81849, 25 September 1906, Page 3

POLITICAL POINTS.

STATE ACQUISITION OF MILKING MACHINES. As ih'' Government had acquired tlic patent rights of the cyanide process tor the mining industry. Mr Jennings thinks that it should fol'ow Mich a piecedent and investigate the qualities of the Hutchinson milking machine, uilh a view to acquiring the patent rights for the industry. I; the lights were acquired, said the member for Egmont, the Government could dispose (if milking machines at a reasonable rate to per suns who would otherwise he debarred from procuring them. The lion. Mr. M'Nab n plied: "Hutchinson and I. iwience-Kin.iedy-Gilles mi king machines are bring installed ai I he V.eiaroa i xperimenlal farm for the purpose nf sin,wing the winking of these machines 10 s-tt'ers. The question of purchasing the rights cannot be cnterutined."

LAND HILL POINTS EX PLAINED.

The Hon. Mr. McNab naturally found during his short visit to Dannevirke last week chat settlers in Hawke's Bay, who will be more affected than in any other pan of the country, are manifesting a keen *nterest in the land proposals. A deal of misapprehension seems to exist there, as in other places, regarding the incidence of the £50,000 limit and the transferees' "maximum area'' declaration. Though we have already made this point thoroughly clear, it may be explained again. First and forenust. the two proposals are entirely independant. The £50,000 limit, which applies to all existing estates, will compel any landowner whose land bears an unimproved value of more that £50,000 to dispose of the surplus within ten years, so that at the expiration of that period his property is valued at not more than £50,000 unimproved. The transferee's declaration—an entirely different thing—will be brought into force in connection with a sales cf declaratlonland. The object is to prevent any man holding more than icoo acres of first-class or 5000 acres of second class land. This will be achieved by makingevcrypcrson. who buys a piece of land, regardless of area, sign a declaration that 'he piece he is purchasing will not bring his holding above the limit named. Holdings of more than 1000 acres first class or 5000 acres second-class cannot be reduced until they change hands and a transfer comes for registration, except, of course, they arc assessed at an unimproved valuation of more than £50.000. Then they will ccme under the operation of the other proposal, whether they are being transferied or not. —"New Zealand Times.''

UNUSED NATIVE LANDS. "Tin* return presented to the Council showed that there were 7,457,000 acres of native lands," said the Hon. J. D. Ormend in the Legislative Council on Friday last, "and of this area he judged that two million acres were either occupied by natives or let by them to Europeans. This ho considered a very liberal estimate. Another million would be required to make provision for natives for all lime. This meant that there was an area of 4,497,000 acres left availab'e for settlement;'.' F*>m this enormous area some considerable deduction should no doubt be made to represent land that no possible system of management can turn to profitable use. From this point of view the figures for Taranaki, in Mr Ormond's supplementary return, are the most interesting because they are rather more detailed than the others. In this district 495.: 10 acres, of which nearly 400.000 acres are >,till in bush, are held in blocks of 1000 acres or more: and no less than 482,700 acres are ,f 'cr.bed as unproductive. The number of natives interested in the land : s '•■'y-2, but the total native population resident on it is estimated at ft-m 2So to 300. Thus the average interest of the native owners represents about 55 acres, and the average earning capacity of the land under existing; conditions, measured in Maori-, is mut to iveiy 1000 acres. Can a mote insane method be (oncei ved than that which retains a legal but unascertained ownership in thou sands of acres of land for natives who can make no use „f it, a nd at the Mnif time present an insuperable bar to settlement by (lie pakeha who eou'd otherwise make a living- out of the land and pay the native owners a good rent? '

AN IMPORTANT MEASURE. The Loral Subsidies Bill now before Parliament is a measure of groat inierosi lo all local bodies, as it proposes to alter the basis upon which the subsidies are payable. One of tlte provisions is that when the total capital va'ue of the rateable property of any borough exceeds ,£5.000,000 no subsidy shall be payable. Another proviso is that instead of the maximum subsidy being £450, it is to be reduced to .£350.

STATE COAL MINES. A report submitted to Parliament yesterday concerning the working of State Coal mines shows that at the Point Elizabeth colliery a disappoint nig feature had been lite thinning- of the coal seam now being operated «.n as the workings advanced towards the rise of the fields. The quantity of coal raised during the past year was in the gross 131,516 tons. Development work now in hand consisted of the erection of a powerful haulage engine and air-compressin;;-planl, the former to deal wiih an ou'.put of 1000 tons daily from dip workings. Steps were being taken to improve the facilities for handling coal at the seaport. The Seddonville colliery piodueed 4(1.055 tons during the year. m< si of which was consum-

OH-T.NSIVE ITISLKIATIONS. The lion. Mr. M'Oowao's Offensive Publications Bill wa - distributed Friday ninniing-. The mneur? gives autiioiiiy by wan ant 10 a constabr to ent r in the daytime, evil by force, any premises in which he ha- reason to believe that any obscene picture or printed or written matter is kept for the purpose of sale or diMtibutiun or exhibition for purposes of gain. A .ill-tire < f die peace may issue the warrant. All the articles seized mav be destroyed, after the lapse of a curlain time. The occupier of the premises in which the aitic'es are found is to be summoned to show cause why the aitic'es shou'd not be