AUCKLAND WASTE LANDS BILL.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1851, 7 September 1874, Page 3

AUCKLAND WASTE LANDS BILL.

(Extracted toom Hansard.)

The Hon, Mr Stokes said ho had dissented from the Bill previously under consideration, and the same reasons induccd him to offer opposition to the presout Bill. At all events, ho would not bo open to the censure of his honourable friend, who accused him on the former occasion of hitting hard because the Bill had no friends. It could not be said that this Bill was without friends, seeing that there were in tho Council so many members from Auckland who were ready to support it. At tho same time, he must confess that the honourable member was so good-natured, and hi 3 censure was so mild, that ho could patiently listen to and suffer his robukes. One of his reasons for opposing the Bill would be tho samo as he had urged against the previous Bill: that in this state of transition—this chrysalis state-in which they might consider tho North Island to be at present, they might wait for its further development before considering seriously those Hills with a view to passing them. The same reasons and tho samo objections applied to this Bill as to tho Taranaki Lands Bill, and, ho thought, with greater force, becuuso there was a greater amount of discretion left to the Superintendent in this Bill than in tho previous one. Except wlioro tho prieo of bost land was fixed at 15s, the price in all cases was left to the discretion of tho Superintendent. There was also an objection similar to that urged by tho Hon. Mr Waterhouso against tho Taranaki Bill. Hero there were Dep ity Lund Commissioners to be appointed, and

they were to be appointed by the Superintendent. Now, hitherto it had been understood that the waste lands were under the administration of tho Governor, and in nearly all cases, as had been observed before, the Land Commissioner, was appointed by the Governor. But under this Bill, Deputy Commissioners, having equal powers with the Chief Commissioner of Lauds, were to be appointed by the Superintendent. Then with regard to deferred payments, so far there was an improvement on the Taranaki plan, that the amount of purchase money was to be paid within five yeai'3; whereas, under the Taranaki deferred payment system, the time given for payment was the same as in Otago—ten years.

The Hon. Mr Williamson said that this Bill contained tho same defect which distinguished tho Taranaki Waste Lands Bill. He had said all he had to say on that subjcct, but ho would like to strength en what had been said in opposition to clause 76. That clause gave the people powor to run their cattle on the roads. Ho was sorry to differ from his honourable and gallant friend Captain Eraser, when he said that in all parts of the world the same practice existed. He (Mr Williamson) had been in the old country lately, and he had seen the same thing, but under very different circumstances to what were proposed in the Bill. All cattle he had seen depasturing on pub'-ic roads at home had been tended by herds, and he thought very properly so. In the province for which this Bill was intended, tho settlers were endeavouriug'to enclose their land with live fences. Those live fences were planted on the road side of the fence, aud where cattle were allowed to stray on the roads, not only did they break through the fences, but they destroyed tho live fences. Where a man had a considerable extent of live fence, it was not generally under the supervision of himself or his servants, and it was known that people were sometimes addicted to assisting cattle in making openings, so as to let them pasture on their neighbours' land; but it was very difficult to prove that such a thing was done. He would support the second reading of the Bill, but hoped that in Committee the objectionable clauses would be erased.

The Hon. Mr Peacock would like to say one word on the subject of deferred payments. It appeared to him that most honorable gentlemen who had spoken on the subject imagined that the people who .took land upon that system had no money at all. Now, he took it for granted that a great many of thorn had saved money, and it was a great advantage to them to get the land on deferred payments, because the money they had saved could be devoted to furnishing a farm with stock; besides, their labour was capital. Ho thought it was quite possible that those men might make useful farmers. _ Besides, they were useful men to keep in the neighbourhood of large estates; because, when their labour was not required for their own purposes, it would be available for those who had to employ labour. He thought it was very much better to encourage those people to expend their money iu stocking their farms, than that they should have to spend their little all in land, and then to go to the money lender to get means to stock the land. They all knew pretty well what the result of such a proceeding was. The Hon. Mr Scotland, iu common with the Hon. Mr Waterhouse, was rather astonished at the hostility which had been evinced to this Bill-or rather, he should be astonished at it if he did not know that the mere appearance of a Bill in that Council, with a clause containing' the proposal to sell land on deferred payments, was certain to have the effect upon some honourable members that a red rag would have, brandished in the eyes of a bull,, or a bombshell thrown dotvn upon the floor of the Council. He should support the second reading of this Bill, as he would of auy Bill which had for its effect the speedy settlement of the country districts. If there was one thing more than another which alarmed bim with regard to the public works and immigration scheme, into which they had entered so largely, it was this: that the country and the towns did not appear to be progressing pari passu. The towns appeared to have a very large addition to their population -in fact, they seemed to be almost too mueh inflated—while the country districts seemed to bo languishing for population. They ought not to throw any impediments in the way of persons coming to the colony, either with a little capital or no capital, going upon the land; and they might very well leave it to the Province of Auckland to carry out those two systems. Auckland had pre-eminently shown her fitness to carry out such systems—witness the success of the fortyacre system, for it was a success, in spite of all drawbacks. He had lived in the north of Auckland, and had seen something of the working of that system. 'He had seen some of the most unpromising land brought into a very high state of cultivation by persona with little capital, add frequently with nothing but their strong arms to depend upon. The lion. Mr Holmes objected to clause 45, which was as followsAuy selector under the homestead or deferred payment systems may, subject to tho approval of the Commissioner being firstobtained, transfer all his right and interest iu any selection to any other person or persons, and such transferree shall have the same rights, privileges and liabilities as the original selector had. That was a sufficient guarantee that no land could fall into the hands of speculators, in the provision being hedged round with such precautions. He would give the bill his cordial support.