THE LAND BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 4 February 1907, Page 4

THE LAND BILL.

A RE-DRAFTED MEASURE. In his speech at Auckland on Satnr day evening Jhe Premier mudi' an important -tavcment on the (bwennnenl J-aud Rill. Sir Joseph said lie woo d liko the iliti'-s of the Government's land pioposals to poiiit to one silicic Hue thai 1 meant ili.it the] freehold was to be taken away from the people. He vie i tied anyone to point to such a pro- | po->aJ. There had been all kinds of j idea* disseminated for the purpo-es of j showing that the Uovernment was a destructive one. that ail obligation? | devolving upon the individual—the sanctity of contract between man and between the Slate and the people—v.ere to be iguored by Ihe downline! : in carrying out a destructive policy. "Let me say," Sir Joseph emphasise! strongly, "that there is not a line in tiie Bill winch would give power to the (iovrriundnt lo take awav one acre of freehold." lie further stat"d that not one of his colleagues was what he might term pledged to tno Bill line for line. Instead of wanting to tik. l away the freehold, as one section of the community interpreted the action of the Government, they were making a proposal so iliat it would be impossible for large, estates t-> continue in this country. j LIMITATION OF ESTATES. The proposal wan to limit estates to the value of taO.OOO. The opponent* of this clause said they were prepared to approve n system <>f graduated luud tax, and sis a i\atural corollary it would compel a man holding a large area to get rid of a considerable portion of U. This, tiii'Ji. being the position, it was self-evident that they were at one in their desire, according to their own arguments, to limit the area that any one person with large means could hold, '"Then, if we arc at one," he asked* we notcome togetner as common-sense people and say we arc trying to achieve the one end—that of getting thousands of settlers in the colony by the abolition of the large land-holders?" (Appause). If. however, the £50.000 limit were iK>t approved, then he took it 'that the increased laud tax proposition would he agreed to. lie did not care which it was, but it had to be one or the other, not in the interests of tie Government, hut in the interests of the great mass of people in the colony. "1 want here to say/'' lie continued, u that there is room for a difference of opinion as to whether it should be an increased graduated land tax or limitation of the amount; and 1 say that we ought to intelligently discus that aspect in order to achieve the same end." LEASE-IN-PLRPET U IT Y. The Premier went on to say that there was a section of the community urging the Government to pass legislation conceding the right to men who ten or fifteen years ago obtained Crown lands uuder certain conditions of lease to dispense with those coven ants and acquire the freehold of the land at the original value. "I toll you that you will never getanyLegisature in this country to do anything of tiie kind,' the Premier declared with emphasis. lu the JirsL place. it was not a fair proposition that_any man competing for Jaiul u. dor the I system;, say, 'con. or iifteen years ago, should have th.* right to say that cue man trying to get on the land was to be denied the right of taking tue increment of the land if tiie tenure were to be altered. Then there was the vitally important matter involved ol cancelling a sacred contract entered inlo between the tenant and the State, and if once au administration was coerced or compelled by agitation to give effect to such a pernicious doctrine, one could not tell where the line would be drawn. "1 say it is a right thing to-day to urge this wholesale violation of contract, to .agitate for such a doctrine in the nope of getting a majority to support it. It would be excessively dishonest to apply it to contracts between individual and individual, and equally dishonest to apply it to contracts between the State and the individual." The only safe and proper way of .-itch a change about as (that agitated fi.,r was by mutual agreement." (Applause). PROPOSALS TO BE SUBMITTED, believed that during the next session of Parliament a Land Bill would be place.! on the statute book which wou.d meet the conditions of the country generally, which wouid meet present requirements and future requirements of the people. but which wouid not give the right to any pr- ; son to demand thai a icase he might have should he cancelled. Referring to tec land- for settlement scheme, i he said tiiat the acquisition of i estates of course had ;he elfeet of in- 1 creasing the total vaiue of the>e lands i and also those adjoining, to a Ireumn , dous extent, and in this connection h-> 1 would pome out that they must be \ careful not to allow the prices paid to get beyond the point at which it 1 » was possible to dispose of tiie kinds |

tc sellers at a fair rental. Jt was here he thought that (lie advantage of the Government's policy iu regard to the large estates came in by asking the owners to cut off the fringes of their estates and dispose of them at fair prices on the freehold system during a r r :" a -

FOUIt LEADING t'OEK'Y ilEAsii;i;s.

During the next session ol rai'liament the tJovcrnment would >sulmiit four leading policy proposal*. The iirst would bo the Land Bill, ami the .v/cond the endowment scheme, which he though should be separated l'rom the other land proposals and embodied in it distinct measure. It would then be easier for the matured judgment id the House to be appiied to these endowment proposals than if the whole question of land tenures was kept continually cropping up in connection with the matter. By separating ihe.se proposals and placing them in another Bill they "would not impair the principle in any way, and he thought the judgment of the House could then be applied to it with greater expedition. The Government expected io place 1 hi» measure on the statute book nexi session. The third plank was the native lands proposals, which would be submitted on the liues already indicated. (Applause).

LAND TEXUUK. Speaking at Levin ihc other night, Mr McXab said:—A great deal of importance has been allotted to the Premier's latest utterances 011 this question. As they know, there was a considerable diversion of opinion amongst people a B to the propor method to be pursued. When the Government brought forward its policy to limit the areas and capital fioiu iheii opponents, <\No. That is not the way to do it. JNil on a graduated tax." In regard to proposals he (Mr MeNab) had been called "wild/' "rash," and dangerous"; jet lie felt that if they pressed for an increased graduated tax they would like to say that some ot those people who were now clamoring fur a gra,duakU tax would not be very well phased. Sueli a tax would not be merely twopence "rash," and "dangerous'" yet he fed I be a tax of a very dilFeiviu kind to | that. So man would feel Ihe pressure' of the limitation proposals of the (iovernnient. but a graduated land tax I would be fell by every landowner from whence the graduation commenced. Jt | was. he thought, infinitely better to j bring down proposals which said. I "Th'Te is your limit, we don't wain lor threepence in the pound, it would I the people vi-ie prepared to go further than tie- liowrnmenl and pres-; for a gradual* tax. let them depend upon it no member of *the Ministry 1 would check the impetuosity of the publie in this direction, (Applause). In regard, however, to this propo-ai to make the owner- take the respOii•Hibilijl'v 011 'their own «shoulders lie firmly boliovod that one'' Ihe people reali-ed what this proposal meant it would take all Ihe power of ui>- Ministry to stop I lin people in ill,. they would follow to carry i! sn<o, effect. lie thought it was inlinilely safer to commence whe.v Caey knew the evil exi-ied and afterwardadvanced along sober lines; but he was quite prepared to admit that a graduated tax would accomplish nil ihe fiowrnment wauled and a great deal more than ino-t people thought, (Applause). The (Jovernnient's policy would be to turn. five or six freeholders. It was the fear engendered in the minds of the large landowners of the coming of a body of small freeholder* that made them object to the Government's proposals, but he t"ok it that the feelings of tin l penpV of the colony was in favor of che proposals, (Applause).