The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1886. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1490, 8 April 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1886. MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS.

It is evident, judging by the utterances of the Premier at Invercargill, that there is a diversity of opinion in the Ministerial camp on questions ot vital importance. There were two points on which the Hon. Mr Ballance and Sir Julius Yogel laid great stress. These were : that land should be purchased for the purpose of settlement, and that a large loan should bo raised. The Premier is reported to have said at Invercargill that it would be absurd to go in for purchasing land while large areas of land remained in the possession of the Crown, and as for large borrowing, he believed the time had arrived for “ edging off, ” that is, ceasing to borrow so much, These opinions are therefore diametrically opposed to each oilier, and consequently the conclusion one must naturally come to is, that the Premier is not at all in harmony with his Ministers on queslions of such vital importance to the colony. Taking the first of these—that is, the proposal to purchase large estates—we must confess tliat we were somewhat staggered by the views the Premier holds on the subject. Mr Stout is welt known as an advocate for Land Nationalisation. lie has lectured on it, he has spoken on it, he has identified himself, with it in every possible way ; yet when the matter is put before the public in a most practical way, as Sir George Grey has done, he turns round, and says, “It will be time enough for the Government to buy land when it has sold what land it has still left unsold.” If the Premier has been properly reported—and we earnestly hope he was not —his change of sides is the most extraordinary we have come across for a long time. However, we will not discuss that point. We shall see whether it is advisable for the Crown to purchase large estates or not, The objection Mr Stout raises to the proposal is that the Crown has yet a large area of land undisposed of. It was indeed new to us that the Government had much land undisposed of. We understood that Crown lands were let to Crown tenants on pastoral leases, and perpetual leases, and if so, bow can it be said that they have not been disposed of. Mr Stout has always favored the leasing system ; no one advocated it more persistently. Unless, therefore, he intends to change the system, he ought to regard the Crown lands as virtually disposed of; for as soon as the leases of the present occupiers expire he must bejready to re-lease the lands again, There is another matter connected with the Crown lands. They are almost all unfit for being cut up into small farms ; they are principally composed of sheep lands, and consequently of no pVactical value fur settlement such as is required. To us it appears plain that these lands ought to be regarded ns disposed of, while there exists a great necessity for extracting much more from the soil than we do at present. What is ruining us is that we cannot produce anything like enough to keep ! ourselves. Too large a portion of our 1 population is unproductive, and hence the reason that - we are not expoiting anything near as much per head as the other colonies. This might be changed by settling more people on the land, but as good land fit for such settlement is held in largo blocks, such a course cannot be adopted unless the present owners are bought out. Mr IS tout once favored a progressive land tax that would have the effect of“ bursting up ” large estates. Surely if there was a necessity for “ bursting up ” the large estates a few years ago it cannot be held that it is unnecessary to do so now. The population has since increased, and consequently the necessity for an extension of settlement has intensified. What can Mr Stout mean then ? Does he want to resort to that vile way of bursting them up by imposing on them taxation that they cannot bear ? Is it not more honest to give them fair value for their land, than to force them into bankruptcy by imposing on them burdens which they cannot bear ? In our I'oinion the only legitimate way of dealing with them is to buy them out, and the pfflpent timo is extremely opportune for doing po. They are pretty tired of their bargains ; they are very anxious to sell if they can get buyers, and it would not be hard to make a deal with them. With regard to the question of borrow-

ng, we are not worry at all to see the Premier putting dnwu his foot against immense loans. We are fairly convinced that more borrowing is indispcnsibly necessary, but we do not believe in borrowing enough for the next five years all at once, and letting it lie idle in the meantime, while interest would be accumulating on it. The greatest caution must be exercised in respect to borrowing, because if the money is lavishly spent in unproductive works the result will be serious. With regard to borrowing, therefore, we have to congratulate the Premier, but his views on the land question are to us unintelligible.