LAND LAWS AMENDMENT BILL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8551, 9 October 1907, Page 5

LAND LAWS AMENDMENT BILL.

By Telegraph-—Parliamentary Cora^espondent. WELLINGTON, October 8. The House, this afternoon, went into Committee, on the Land Laws Amendment Bill.. At clause 3 (providing that no Crown land is to be hereafter leased in perpetuity) the Hon. C. 11. Mills, Wairau, moved the omission of the word "no," urging that lease-in-perpetuity was the best obstacle to the aggregation of large estates., and the State was the best landlord a man.could have.

Mr A. W. Hogg, Masterton, said he was sorry that there was any intention to abandon the lease •in-pcr-petuity, as it had been the means of settling large numbers on the land. The lease-in-perpetuity had helped to place a great many settlers in a position of independence. That form of lease had proved (the stepping stone to prosperity. Mr A. W. Rutherford, Hurunui, took a contrary view, and held that a renewable lease would be beneficial alike to private individuals and to the State. Mr Fraser believed in fixity of tenure, and pi'otested against taking from a / lessee the increased value which he had. been the means of creating. He would support the amendment on the ground that the next best thing to the freehold was I the lease-in-perpetuity. Mr W. T, Jennings, Egmont, also supported the amendment. Mr G. Witty, Ric car ton, pointed out that 999 years had been fixed by the late Sir John McKenzie out of pique. That Minister's intention was to fix 33 years. Someone had urged 99 years, and Mr John McKenzie had capped the proposal by .making it 999 years, which was ridiculous. Mr D. Buddo, Kaiapoi, referring to the journals of the House, showed that Sir John McKenzie's original proposal was 50 years. The Hon. C. H. Mills here stated that if his amendment were carried he would move the adoption of the optional system. The amendment was, however, lost by 40 votes to 20. ' Upon the House resuming after the dinner adjournment, Mr E. W. Alison, Waitemata, moved a further amendment, tho effect of which was that all Crown lands should be disposed of under the O.R.P. system, which had, he said, been of advantage to the State and the people. The Hon. R. McNab's reply was that the amendment, if earned, would prevent an applicant from acquiring land under the optional system, and limit him to occupation of lease.

Mr W. F. Massey, Leader of the Opposition, urged that the most effective way to settle the Crown lands was to give a tenant the right of purchase. Whether the amendment was agreed to or not there was a certainty that a provision of the kind proposed would eventually have to be adopted. Mr J. Stevens, Manawatu, averred that the clause was a compromise which had been arrived at between the freehold and leasehold sections of the Government party, and on that ground he would support it and opDose the amendment The Premier deprecated the introduction of party at this stage of the proceedings. He contended that no party would be able to carry out the Opposition's extreme freehold view 3. The discussion on the clause and amendment bids fair to continue throughout the sitting.