The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 13,1869. " Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 58, 20 March 1869, Page 2

The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 13,1869. " Measures, not Men."

During the Session of the Provincial Council, which opens on the 22nd prox., many important questions will have to be discussed, and the dangers of a grave crisis averted. The demand for more liberal encouragement of the bonafide settler, feeble and intermittent some twelve months ago, has grown into athreat-

ening and organized agitation. It is no longer the selfish clamour of a single district, which might be quieted by a sop, but a determined expression of public opinion, that the Council have to satisfy. It is not a cry for more land alone, but a .demand for more enlightened and liberal land laws, our legislators will have to meet. A reform radical enough to meet the requirements of the population, can only be accomplished by an Act of Parliament, but, it is well known, that the recommendation of the Provincial Council, carries great weight in all

matters of this kind. We trust this recommendation will be judiciously given, and that the advice of those best qualified to speak on the matter, will not be neglected. The objections to the present system are numerous, but perhaps the worst feature of the Goldfields Act of 18Gi, is the provision for the throwing open of land for agricultural leasing, contained in its 33rd and 34th clauses. By these £he Governor is authorised to cancel the pastoral' tenant's license or lease* on any extent of land not exceeding 5000 acres, but the right of having his license cancelled over the whole of this block, or only over such portions as are actually occupied for agricultural purposes, is reserved to tie licensee. By this means the setter is strictly confined to his fifty acre section, and has no allowance whatever made for commonage. The absurditjr of this is self evident, as no sane man will venture to assert that any one can earn a living by the mere cultivation of fifty acres, a fact conceded by the Government, who are consenting parties to the evasion of the provisions of the Goldfields Act, by permitting one person to occupy four such sections under four distinct leases. The abolition of this clumsy method of remedying an absurdity, is another reform that is absolutely necessary. At present the unfortunate settler is put to an amount of unnecessary expense which is quite sufficient to prevent any small capitalists engaging in agricultural pursuits. He has to pay £10 deposit on each separate leas.c, besides having to pay rent at the excessive rate of 2s 6d an acre, before he can possibly have any return from the land. Were he allowed to take up a quantity of land sufficient for the support of his family, under a single lease, he would be enabled to lay out a considerably larger sum in improvements; the land would thus be brought into a productive condition sooner, and would make larger returns than can be expected at present, and the whole community would be directly or indirectly benefited. Were the 33rd and 34th clauses repealed, the runholders would be treated under the 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20th clauses of the same Act. where compensation is made a question of arbitration, and power is given to the Governor to cancel the whole or any part of the lease or license of a pastoral tenant Land for settlement under such a provision would, instead of being doled out in driblets, be thrown open inefficient quantities to al-

low of a suitable reserve being made for commonage. A reform of this kind would no doubt prove highly advantageous, but it can only be looked upon as temporary. Great benefit might be derived, and much money saved the country, by compelling all land required for settlement to be first proclaimed Hundreds. The compensation would then be very much smaller, and the lease system, with some alterations, might be introduced with advantage. Those alterations might make provisions for larger areas under one lease, the maximum being fixed at 3 or 400 acres, might prolong the term of leasehold from three to six or seven years, and reduce the rent to a moderate sum, say one shilling per acre. The settler would thus be enabled to devote all his capital to the improvement of his farm, and would be in a position to pay the purchase money at the expiry of Eds lease without crippling his resources. The right of obtaining the fee simple of the land should only be the reward of a bona fide settlement for the holding of land for speculative purposes is an evil which must be sternly repressed. But agriculture alone is not sufficient to ensure a man a competence ; he must increase his profits by the breeding and raising of stock. To enable him to do this a certain extent of commonage is necessary, and this, we believe, should not be in less proportion to the arable land than as three is to one. Some provision should, however, be made for preventing one or two large holders of stock monopolizing the commonage, and this, we believe, might easily be done by means of a scale according to acreage. By means of a measure of this kind the waste lands of the Crown would, instead of returning a paltry revenue as at present, be covered over with comfortable homesteads, each of which would contribute its share to the general revenue, and upon which a hardy race would be reared, able and willing to gain fresh victories over Dame Nature. Instead of sheep the hills would be covered by well tilled fields, and where one man earns — by kind permission of the mortgagees — a livelihood, a hundred families would .procure a comfortable subsistence/^Grreat as such a reform would be>we should prefer it to be even more thorough. We believe frpe selection,Tpayment extended over a long term of years, and immunity from taxation until the land begins to make some return for the labour expended on it, would form the basis of a still more excellent land s} r stera; but in this country of small men we must be satisfied with small measures, consoling ourselves with the old proverb, " better half a loaf than no bread." The duty of the Land League in the present position of affairs is evident. Formed for a specific purpose it has gradually extended its influence, and has become a recognized leader of public opinion. It should continue to agitate, should invite suggestions, and take to its counsels every man whose long experience qualifies him to express an opinion. Above all it should recollect that it is a league of miners, and carefully guard the rights of the mining community. It is its duty to see that no ground known to be auriferous is monopolised by one man. It should be its aim to obtain increased facilities for prospecting on agricultural leases, or even freehold land on due compensation for damage sustained. Some settlers here have shown a strong disposition to hinder mining operations by demanding fabulous prices for the privilege of cutting races through their land, the sinking prospecting shafts, &c, and it will be the duty of the League to obtain some definite settlement of this matter by a fixed scale of charges for entrance on such grounds." Above all, it is the duty of the Land League to conduct the agitation it has already commenced, not by fits and starts, but with the firm resolution to persevere until success has crowned its efforts and the country is blessed with a liberal and enlightened Land Law.