THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1907 LAND LEGISLATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8431, 1 May 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1907 LAND LEGISLATION.

What was. the. history of our land legislation since the death of Sir John McKenzie? This question was asked by Mr T, Mackenzie, M.H.R., during the course of an address at Wyndham last week. Continuing, Mr Mackenzie said that in 1902 a Land Bill was introduced, * which, among other things, endeavoured to embody the leaseholders' principles, clause 6 of which was drafted for the purpose of allowing the [Government to have of tenures in which lands could be disposed of. This was struck out by the Waste Lands Committee, and the Bill was dropped. About this time Mr EH, the singletaxer, of Christchurch, induced the Government to ignore the law and open Crown lands for selection on lease only at Kawhia. In 1904 the question of land tenures engaged the attention of the House as no other question did that session. The Government was afraid of the question, and would not [take the responsibility of legislating, and finally the Land Commission was set up at a cost of £IO,OOO. The majority of that Commission recommended, "That any lease-in-perpetuity tenant under the 'Land Act, 1892,' after the sixth year, might be allowed to convert to occupatioh-with-right-of-pur-ehase tenure upon payment of the accumulated amount of 1 per cent, the difference of rental between the

two tenures, with compound interest added; and that all lessees under the occupation with-right-of-purchase tenure be permitted, after ten years occupation and fulfilment of conditions, to pay off the capital value of their land in sums of £lO, or multiple of £10." • When, however, the Government received this mandate from the people, it declined to make a test question of the land policy, and the session closed without anything being done. The next act in the drama was the advent of Mr McNab, as Minister of Lands, with his declaration that he would stand to his guns or go down . with them. After that emphatic declaration Mr ' McNab withdrew his Bill for the session. Mr Mackenzie would not say that Mr McNab was wrong in that, but Ije thought he should have insisted on passing, as he had promised, the provision restricting operations in connection with large properties. That not having been done, Mr Mackenzie's opinion was that, by the time tbejjHouge met the land available in connection with large estates would have very nearly reached a vanishing point. It did not look as if the Government were going to stand by the Minister's guns of 1906. Mr Mackenzie believed that if members were free to state what they-believed to be correct in connection with land tenures, there was a vast majority in Parliament in favour of the optional principle. They ought to approach this question absolutely free. They ought to thrash the matter out and do what was right. Parliament has not for years been free to do so, but has been controlled by the city theorist. They should meet this artificiallymanufactured public opinion and strongly set' forth their belief in the maintenance of tenures, which had proved so successful in the past, not only in our own country, but in so many other lands.

"THE BREAK IN THE WEEK."

When it was originally proposed that employers should give their employees a half-holiday£every week, one of the arguments most repeatedly urged,by the Labour party was that "a break in the week" was absolutely essential to the workers in this country, unless they were going to develop into something approaching "the submerged tenth" of Merrie England. Of course, it must be understood that the words "Merrie England" are used here with the most intense emphasis. If effect were given to this "break in the week" sensation, it was urged that it would produce wonderful results in the way of developing bodily health and improving the mental and spiritual condition of the public generally. The strong feeling that existed in many communities in regard to the dire necessity' for a "break in the week" is evident from the fact that when the compulsory half-holiday law first came into operation it was decided to observe the halfholiday on Wednesday. This was about as near the exact middle of the week as it was possible to get, and there are many still who prefer to have their half-holiday during the week instead of at the end of it. There is no necessity for, neither is it desirable, "a universal Saturday half-holiday," as we notice Mr Hanan, M.H.R., advocated at Invercargill the other night. More uniformity certainly is required. The question will never' be satisfactorily settled if the present "two half-holi-day" system is allowed to continue. We have read the petition which the business pe*ople of Masterton have forwarded to the Minister for Labour, and, candidly, we do not think much of it. The petition really asks that the present muddle be allowed to continue. The Minister for Labour may be willing to concede the request for a time, but Parliament is hardly likely to allow the present state of affairs to continue. -There should be more uniformity in the different communities. If districts could be arranged, we believe, it would be advisable, and, in our opinion, Parliament should be asked to pass amending legislation in the direction suggested.