"ALL ASTRAY."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 93, 15 May 1909, Page 6

"ALL ASTRAY."

LAND TAXATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

London, May 12. At Brixton the other night, Mr. R. L. Outlrwaite, the principal apostle of land taxation in England, gave an address on the subject. After detailing the present condition of population in England, he said: "How could that be altered':'' The policy (he continued! was simplicity itself. In the polony of New Zealand, about fifteen years ago, there were exactly the same conditions as prevailed bine. The men who first went out to that country were able to monopolise

great areas—estates of something like a million acres in extent. It was everywhere the same, and two-think of the land of the colony was held by a few hundred men. New Zealand was on the verge of bankruptcy; the streets were full of unemployed; banks were failing, and there was even talk of the colony repudiating its National Debt, for the colony had been run by the Conservative party representing the landowners of the country. Sir George Grey came to the colony; there was an election, and the country was' swept from end to end by the Liberal and Labor party acting in unison, the taxation of land was put in

the forefront of their programme, and so great an impetus was given to this policy that New Zealand lias gone on

prospering ever since, and has never looked behind her. This conveyed a lesson to England. To-day New Zealand, instead cf being on the verge Of bankruptcy, was probably the most prosperous colony on the face of the earth.

Improvements hail been placed on the land to the extent of fifty million pounds —a vast sum. If the people of England had the land they would put on it two hundred millions, instead of which there were no improvement-, but everywhere cottages were being pulled down. The fads are all astray, but the effect desired was produced.