AUCKLAND WASTE LANDS BILL.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1849, 4 September 1874, Page 3

AUCKLAND WASTE LANDS BILL.

(Extracted trom Hansard.) Tub Hon, dv Pollen, in moving the becond reading of this Bill, said it had seen passed by the House of .Representatives, it had been promoted by the Superintendent of Auckland, and iu the other House was in charge of an honourable member who was Provincial Secretary of that province. As knowing something of Auckland, he had taken charge of it in the Council. The Bill was based upon the report of a Committee of the Auckland Provincial Council, and the first recommendation of that Committee was, —" An endeavour should be mado to consolidate the existing land laws, and to administer the lands under one general system. No less than a dozen different Statutes of the Assembly, and Provincial Legislature are in force in reference to waste lands, and this multiplicity of legislation has produced confusion and contradiction in many provisions, and has contributed largely to impede bona, fide settlement." Accordingly, the Act proposed to repeal the existing Waste Land Acts of the Province of Auckland. That cleared the way for new legislation. The Committee, in their report, said,—"At the present time, no provision is mado for the purpose of classifying country lands according to their quality. Kvery large block contains a considerable quantity of second-class and inferior lands. The effect hitherto of applying the same conditions as to price, without regard to quality, is, that a few prime pieces in each block have been settled, while the largo balance has been left unoccupied. The Committee think that a classification of lands, as recommended by them, with prices varying according to quality, will promote steady and general settlement of all lands thrown open. Sufficient precautions should of course be taken to insure a bonhfide classification." Accordingly provision was made, in clause 17 of the Bill, for carrying out that recommendation. It proposed that the Superintendent should from time to time divide waste lands as they were about to be put up for sale, into town lands, suburban lands, rural lands, special settlement lands, and timber and mineral lands. That was a very minute and careful division. The report went on further to say,—"ln throwing open lands for settlement, two points have to be kept in view-Ist. Eevenue for roads and public works must, for the future, be maialy derived from sales of land. 2nd, Provision must bo made to open lands for settlement to persons of small means, in such a way as not to cripple them by absorbing the greater part of their capital in its purchase." It was also provided that the provisions of the Homestead Act should be extended, and land be set apart for special settlement. Town and suburbaa lands were to bo sold by auction under specified conditions. Bural lands would be divided into three classes, one portion of which would be sold for cash, another part might bo set apart for settlement under the homestead system, and another portion on the system known as the deferred payment system. Tho provisions of the Homestead Act were similar to those already in operation in Auckland —he wished he could say in successful operation — but notwithstanding that for a very considerable time a block of very fair quality, but ii an unfashionable .situation iu the North, had been set apart, but very few persons had availed themselves of the very favourable opportunity to got land. It might be hoped, seeing there had been an acquisition to the population of Auckland, and a probability of a considerable in the future, that mode of settlement might be more largely used than it had been, After a man had lived on the land for a certain time, and had performed certain works in the cultivation of the land, he would be entitled to have a free grant issued. . As to the disposal of land on deferred payments, persons might take up twice the quantity they could under the Homestead Act, and alter paying 5 per cent, upon the amount of the purchase money for five years, effecting specified improvements on the land, would be entitled to receive Orowu grants upon payment of the purchase money. The clauses relating to special settlements differed from those of the Homestead Act, inasmuch as land might bo disposed of out of tho colony. The Superintendent might make arrangements with intending immigrauts for settlement upon particular blocks of laud, and a very interesting experiment iu that direction was now being tried upon a valuable portion of confiscated laud in the Kati Kali district at Tauranga. That transaction had attained some celebrity, and might be traced in the immigration correspondence, from which it would be learnt that Mr Stewart had undertaken, upon very favourable conditions, to settle a number of families upon that blook. The system had been tried before in Auckland; but whethor from the uusuitability of tho immigrants, or the unfavourable quality of the land, it did not prove so successful as had been hoped. It was satisfactory to see that greater attention would be paid to the conservation and disposal of timber lands than had hitherto been the case in Auokland. It was not nooessary to ; oaU the attention of the Oouuoil to other portions of tho

Bill, excepting to some of the miscellaneous clauses to which he himself had considerable objection. Clause 70 proposed to enact a provision which formely existed in the Waste Lands Act of 1858 for tho issue of naval and military land orders. That system after receiving a fair trial, had been unanimously condemned, and tho authority under which tho land orders were issued was repealed. Ho wished he could say that any of the parties who had received those land orders had been benefited by them to the extent which it was hoped they would by availing themselves of the inducements to become settlers afforded by iho very liberal terms of those regulations. In point of fact, those land orders were disposed of generally at a vory low price. Ho had himself acquired aorae of thorn at half-a-crown an acre, and he was the fortunate or unfortunate proprietor of some land thus obtained under tlio authority of that system. It was clear that such a mode of dealing with tho land was most objectionable, and he should move that theso clauses be expunged. With respect to clause 84, he might remark that decided opinions had been expressed in the Council on the subject of the Volunteer Land Act, and he thought they should not allow the question of dealing with Volunteer scrip to be disposed of incidentally, as far as Auckland was concerned, by the introduction of a clause into a Waste Lands Bill. He would move, in Committee, that the clause be struck out. Clause 81 wa3 intended to provide for a difficulty which he thought was uot felt, and it was not quite intelligible to him. Under the old reflations of 1858, orders were issued under what was called "credit land." Land was taken up by persous who were supposed to settle on it, but the conditions had not been fulfilled, no Crown grants had been issued, and the land was locked up simply from the fact that it had been selected. Some claims had also arisen under what was called, the old money order system, at an earlier period than 1858, to which, he thought this particular provision, might possibly apply. He was not. quite clear about tbe necessity for, or the possible application of, this large power. Upon the whole, he thought that the interests involved in it were minutest present, and the claims to consideration of a somewuat doubtful character, and he knew that in respect to land claims tho provincial nature was weak. He was disposed to recommend the Council to expunge this clause altogether, fle did not see that there was any real necessity for it. With respect to the next clause 86, which gave to the power to make, regulations in certain instances, he thought that in the present case this was a supererogatory power. inasmuch as, in clause 71 of the Bill, the powers and authorities given to the Governor by the Waste Lands Acts of 1858, which it was proposed to maintain, were very large, and would certainly cover all the necessities that might possibly arise in the administration of the waste lauds. On the whole, he thought that tho power of making necessary regulations shouldremain in the bands of the Governor : at least, itwould bo quite as safely exercised by the Governor as by the Superintendent. He would therefore be. disposed to recommend that clauses 84, 85, and 86 should be expunged altogether. In Committee, no doubt the provisions relating to mineral lands, vvhich were of a very large and liberal character,, would receive the attention of the Council, lie would move that the Bill be read a second time.