The Daily News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25. THE NEW LAND BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 25 October 1907, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25. THE NEW LAND BILL.

t is pretty .<afe lo s.;y that Lho Land Jill, paused by the House of Representaives, will go through the Legislative Council without material alteration, and! teeoiue the law of the huul. The Bill! nakes for a substantial improvement in I he conditions of our land laws. The I 'eternal' lease has been knocked on lie brad—in itself 110 small aehievenent. For it is substituted an optional »(j years' renewable lease upon Crown amis and a positive 33 years' renewable ease upon all lands for settlement. In 'espeet of the former, the option of the l'eehold is allowed; but not in regard x) the lands resumed by Hie State. The lonflftions of these leases are eonsideribiy improved, the restrictions as to Topping, etc., being modified, giving tenmta practically a free hand after they lave paid oil" a percentage of the capital i-rthie of the sections. Present holders if lease-in-perpetuity holdings are given .he opportunity to obtain the freehold, not at the original valuation, but at present valuation. Only a sentimental consideration would move original holders to make the exchange. Thev would stand to gain nothing bv the transaction excepting the satisfaction they would derive from the knowledge

that they were holders of the fee-simple of the land. Original lease-in-perpetuity tenants, it has to be borne in mind, though, are now few in number; the bi" majority of them have sold out their interests, and the present tenants have had to pay for the increment. To the latter the option of changing their tenure into that of freehold is of more value, and as time goes on and r,ba

position of these lessees improves there > should be a general tendency to make the conversion. The freeholders have 1 reason to feel gratified with having ac- < complished this much. Machinery is pro- ] vided for the prevention of the ffation of Crown land estates, the liinit 1 being fixed at fi 10 acres of first-class 1 land or an equivalent in second or third- ! class. Few will lie found to find fanlfc • with this clause, which, as a matter of tact, was not opposed by a single member in the Lower House. Another important ctaijse is that which provides that for the future, when land has to be acquired eompulsorily under the Lands for Settlement Act for closer fctflement, the pi ice paid shall he an increase of a certain percentage on its unimproved value as shown l>y the owner for taxation purposes. I'nder the existing arrangements compensation is fixoefbv a compensation court, of which a Jud»e of the Supreme Court is president. ° The new proposals mean that in cases where are taken over liy the State the amount of the purchase-money will bear a close relationship to the amount upon which the said estates are assessed for taxation purposes. This has not bv any means been the case in the past. It will be interesting to watch the effects of _ the operation of the clause. Beneficial changes have been made in connection with the ballot conditions. Prefer ence.is given to the landless, and power provided to set apart areas for married people with children and for those unsuccessful at previous ballots. It is a pity some such praiseworthy provisions were not in force years ago. Had they been, the colony would have been the iiicher and settlement the more success- . . these alterations are provisions to make dummyism a more difficult and risky undertaking, if not actually au impossibility. The present law requires a tenant to be in possession a year before alienating. The term has been extended to two years, and the conditions of resilience have been made nwre ellcctivc. The proper enforcement of this provision should have the very desirable effect of putting a stop to the gambling that has disgraced the administration of the land laws durin» the past decade. In the concessions made to Crown tenants is a reduction in interest in the case of all future lands ■taken up or present leases converted and the provision for their representation on the Land Boards. As we said at the outset, the Bill is a decided improvement on the present laws. ' An honest endeavor has been made to remedy the flaws in the old system and to make the lot of the man on the land and the man who wants to get on the land easier and safer than it lias been heretofore. More remains to be done, and no doubt will be as opportunity arises. In the present instance thc'partv of reform has made a marked advance and has reason to feel gratified with the results already achieved.