THE LAND BILL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8258, 11 October 1906, Page 5

THE LAND BILL.

THE RENEWABLE LEASE. The position in regard to the renewable lease system, said the Minister of Lands in the House on Tuesday evening, Is this:,.-,that in 66 years the quality of the land is known and we oan to-day make any sacrifice we like because at; the end of 66 years the colony will be more than recouped. 'And it is the intention of the Government to aofe upon that soheme. We do not iutend to say to the people of a district how they ought to work -their land, I do not hesitate to say that we would rather give £tkem the land ten, twenty, or more years rent free under this renewable system, knowing that at the end of the term the colony would 1 be more than recouped by the expenditure.. I would put them on these lands and give them euob facilities as would make the system infinitely mbre attractive than dumping them ou the land as the colony is doing at the present time—giving them very little access in the way L of roads to their properties. WHY CITY LAND IS NOT IN THE LAND BILL. The Minister of Lands, on Tuesday night, explained to the House why the Government had net included city lands in the new measure. The Minister said: If you were to put a barrier such as we ; are putting here, refusal to allow the lands to be held—not to be held under strict conditions, but not to be held at all-the result would be that, say, the banking corporations of the colony would be unablejio open branches in all the towns, cities, and boroughs of the colony, be cause in two or three of the large cities they would utilise the whole of their maximum. The consequence would be that in any particular place whore they were anxious to form a breaoh they would be unable to do so, because they held land outside tbe limit. The same remark applies to inaur anoe companies and to people carrying on business as merchants and to all that class of work. (A voice: Why not apply it to the farmer?) The Hon. Mr MoNab: Under the Bill the fa'-runr oan go into any city or borough and there is no limit on his purchasing land inside a oity. It would! prevent that competition among merchants and among business men in tbe colony, and t* at is all in tbe interests of the farmers.