The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29. THE DOMINANT QUESTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 226, 29 October 1909, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29. THE DOMINANT QUESTION.

.ii association of New Zealand .bom reidents lias recently been formed in Vi'lliiigton, its cardinal object being (, 0 nlist the interest of Xcw Zealanders in natters of mutual concern. The associaion asked (he president (.Mr. (.1. T. Loulon, formerly .Mayor of Pcioiio, himself . native-bora .New Zealamler and his nother before liini) to submit a policy or the endorsement of the society. I I'his was delivered the other evening, t was u " meaty" and, striking message ic conveyed, and worthy of the serious •onsidcr.itioa of everyone who takes any utcresi. .a ihe all'airs of the country, Kiniuil.iriy that portion of .Mr. Loir lon'.-, remarks which referred to the jreatct, <il all questions allecting the people, tint laud question. It was, he said, true that no set of politicians'had so far attempted to grapple with t.ie jueslion so Lhat it had been solved and legislation had come into operation,' which iii its ell'ect would applv the rvinedy to a present and increasing i„. justice. We had, of course, a tax on the unimproved value of laud, which was a subterfuge in taxing', if the effect desired was to increase the productivity of land and the number of tillers of the soil. We had also a graduated land lax which was inequitable in its operation, because there was no need to distinguish between large and small landowners, (he wealthy or ihe pour, where just principles of taxation prevailed. We had exemption from land taxing, lor which there was no warrant; we had advocates for a single tax and no other lax than Ilml. which would no| he lair in its operation; for land nationalist) - lion, which was not necessarv; fo r ihe leasehold, which would be no'advaata.'e to Ihe Nluio ami a great disadvantage In the n,cr of the laud: and there were other nostrums which were eipialic wide of the mark. Mr. London proceed eil to say Ili.it a land lax wilnuut exemption, hi an even rale in ihe c of value without exception, was necessary ior certain and iniporlnnt needs of ihe Slate. This might indeed be a tax con tribiiting u large anionni to the revemi . and was tl bligal.ion „f || u , i iin ,| owner to discharge to the Slate; but iliis landowner, purchasing laud as he had done, was surely entitled to I Jut t which he had given good aey lor. and if at any lime he was to lie dispossessed of his land he must be compensated lor it in t.he full measure of its value. To bring aboiil the repossession bv (he Stale of ihe laud by even a gradual system of increased taxation, was it noi honest: The recognition of this principle was the basis guiding individuals in their business, and the Stale had no more warrant for deviating from rectitude than anyone else. Now, whilst this proposition might be generally admitted, it was quite beyond his conception why the State should continue to recognise an obligation to invest the individual landowner with a further thing of value which had no present existence, mil which in due course the State or it.people (which was the same thing would create. It was in the considera lion of 'this subject w«s found tin remedy for a portion, a large part in deed, of the present most pressing (lis content. Why, he asked, should no Parliament at once enact that it reeog nises the value of the interest in th land of the present possessor, at th time uf the coming into law of this mea sure, that the lam] should be valued a its value on that date and taxed am rated for such purposes as State air local government might require Iron time to time? After (he interest of th individual is so ascertained, it shouh be enacted that of any additional valu attaching to the land, subsequent loth coming into operation of this enactnienl and caused by increase of populatioi the creation of public works, or an, other causes population primarily hrin about, the State shall receive for ever CKIO of value, so created an annual ta of .C2 IDs, the amount of tax of emirs to rise and fall as the value of the lan appreciated or lessened, In the even of the sale of the land the State wo ill be entitled to the dill'erenee between th owner's interest and the Slate's an owner's interest— represented in theeas of the State as the capital value 2'/ per cent, would amount to, in rclatioi say, to ii/, percent, or the current, rat of interest. Had the late Premier en cried his great influence successfully a the lime of his advent i : . power t bring about such a inei-'nv Stat would have taken as its share of prcscn laud values' nearly two millions of n c ner year without doing lln act of inju* lice to a single person. Itni ibis woul not have been possible as the land wont lot have gone up in price as it has i he same extent, with illegitimate specn a Lion in land rife. Land, under thes mprovod conditions, would have in valu >orue a proper relation to that which i vould produce in rent or for tilling, an he tendency would have been to (lis redit the holding of land for specula I iv imposes. Land speculation of this' kin. lad been the cause of unproductiv mblie works, the senseless dcslrnctb, >f many millions of feci of timber -th icst crop the land. nr. at. least, nine ■f if, will ever produce, because settle lent in the forest area had been expt bed by the demand for land, whils undreds of thousands of acres of olhe mil. unused or badly used, was liel, gainst, the user by tile land speculato ind olliers who had more land th.i hey had capital nr energy lo prolitahl levelop io their own advantage and Mi lenelii of Ihe people. It was eoiiccivabl hat had the timber area been lui rrmhinlly invaded as the land wa ictlicd by people, who were holding onl. s much land as they eojild prolitahl l levelop, the question of reforesting lii aflds of the countrv would nol hav icen h pressing one for the next hal •enlury. and a great ami proliUble ex )orl trade without restriction ..hoiil. lave been possible. Rut this was specu alion on the what might have been vYhat was to he done now. and wha mist be done very soon, stave we o( Ihe day as we ,niav. was that the indi I'idual landowner, for his own sake even nit more particularly for all Ihe icsiil .if the people, must nol be allowed t. •ontinue to take 101 l oil' the laud of i thing lie was not personally respousibl for creating: even charging him ■>'/.. pe cent, on .future values was giving'h'iii a concession which could only lie ex pused because, it would cultivate legiti mate enterprise in land holding. Tit measure advocated was to kill for eve illegitimate speculation in futures ii land, and if this condition of ihing. were, brought, about. Mr. London bclievci the ell'ect would be In many instance Ihe reduction of lajid values, bringin; it back lo a usable and profitable re turn. Ureal areas' or accessible lan. near (owns and markets would hccoin at once available for sell lenient (a I here would be no indue cut to hoi. land for a rise in value) (he. largest pot lion of which would go lo the Slate, am as a consequence there 'would be abnii dance of work on Ihe laud for peopl who liml their inherilance a closed dnoi ft would be seon that bv this proces the question of leasehold, freehold o nnv other principle of tenure did no inn Iter, bet the individual have t.h freehold even at a small price as hi title, so that the tsiate was' safeguarde as lo future value and all would b well. Jfr. London promised to subs..

quently elaborate the principles and the oiroet of the proposed system. The prin- \ eiplcs nre practically tlm.se adopted liy I the Chancellor of the Exchequer anil the

British Government and included in tne Budget over which so much strife is taking place in the Old Country. There is no doubt that applied to urban and suburban lands the principles would operate advantageously, but we are afraid that in regard to the rural lands of the dominion values —probably " prices" would be a more accurate word —are already at boom level, and therefore there would be little or no margin for the State lo participate in, supposing the principles were adopted. The | position, of ocurse, would be entirely dill'creiit had such n system been in force, say, a decade ago, but every intelligent nnd disinterested person will lie ready to admit that hind speculation is flic greatest curse from which the community sutler,-', and if the proposal outlined by .Mr. London, nnd adopted by the British (iovcrnnicnt, would obviate or discourage this pernicious state of a flairs it, adoption should be welcmed.