PERPETUAL LEASES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2135, 9 December 1890, Page 3

PERPETUAL LEASES.

Some figures have been placed before the South Australian Parliament whieh (says the Adelaide correspondent of the Newcastle Morning Herald) show that, in an unintentional sort of way, we are doing a good deal to realise land nationalization here. It seems that the five land boards, which have been allotting and re-valuing the land in all parts of the colony tor a couple of years past, have sold on deferred purchase 782,000 acres but have let en perpetual lease no less than 1,617,000 acres. The result is all the more striking because these lands are situated in agncutural districts and many of those held on perpetual lease were originally sold with right of purchase and were surrendered to the Government in order to obtain better terms. At first sight it seems inexplicable that a farmer should prefer a perpetual lease to a lease with a right of purchase; but the explanation is very simple. The perpetual lease can be obtained at about 2d or 2£d an acre, which, I think, represents a purchase money of some 4s or 5s and acre. But the Land Boards will never dare to fix the price at this figure ; in fact, they haye been expressly forbidden to do so by the Government, because it would mean a general depredation in all land values and the big men would never stand that sort of thing. The purchase money is therefore still kept at £1 p,er acre (or very little below it), so that the farmer is still better off in pocket by taking the perpetual lease. Thus capital, in its fear of seeing the value of land reduced, is helping to introduce a Bystem which it detests ahd condemns. The State still continues to sell outright the blocks in new townships, and it is of course, on these that the principal increase in value takes place without being earned by the owner. We shall soon have two million acres on perpetual lease, and this will at least give a fair trial of the system, which will no doubt be watched by the Georgians with interest.