THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10303, 3 August 1911, Page 5

THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

MR C. R. SYKES AT THE TOWN HALL.

AN EXCELLENT RECEPTION

Mr George R. Sykes, one of the Opposition candidates for the Masttertoni seat, opened his campaign last evening, when he addressed a very large .audience in the Town Hall. The dress oirde was occupied j by quite a considerable number of ladies and their escorts. i The chair was occupied fey His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. M. Coradine), who bespoke for Mr .Sykes. a patient hearing, and said he had no doubt he would .give a good aooouait of himself in this, his maiden effort. He pointed out that the candidate! ' was a close .student of,. cu«\ent and j political events, and this should enable him to deal intelligently with the subject upon which he was to i address, them. j Mr Sykes, who was received with . applause, said he was highly grati- i lied at the reception accorded him. Hei was particularly pleased at the presence of so many ladies, which was an indication that they took a very live interest in the political affairs of the country. Mr Sykes i stated that he was well-known to most of those present. He had Jived : for thirty-five years, in the district. Portion of .this time had been spent at a sawmill, where he had learned something of the hardships as well as the pleasures of the worker. The remaining years he had spent upon a small farm, and he had been able to learn, the disadvantages as well as the advantages of farming. He felt that the experience he had gained might enable him to be of some service ,as a representative of the people. He would not traverse the political history of the Dominion, but would devote himself to the questions which were at present engaging the attention of the country. (Aplauso.) THE LAND QUESTION. "First land last, and every time," ■said. Mr Sykes, "stands ithe question 'of (the land. I -do holt thoughtlessly ■utter the truism that from the land •springs all the wealth and worth of & motion, for in. support of that assertion. I have only (to analyse the ehairaoter ~'aaid . value of' our exports .'■' foa- the year ended.3lst March.last. The. total, value for that period was £22.246,576, and when we reflect on the faet that of that, amount some' £19,000,000 represented the rr.lua of tlie ibonia' fide produot of the s'iuil, you wall agree that my stateniemt is substantially correct. But I go a atep-fuxtifaer, and declare that if we do not m> regulate our land laws as. to make for stability and permanence, there can, be no real national prosperity. lam firmly of opinion that thiiis Kjesurable result can only be attained by the (adoption of the following platform:— By giving all facilities possible to men of small capital to get- on the. land df the leasehold tenure was not available. If a man ,jvas satisfied, with the leasehold and 'oonaoientiously believed it to bo the better tenure, by all means let him have it and lot him retain it. But if a settler became possessed of sufficient capital to acquire the. freehold and desired it, it would .be advisable iini 'his own interests and that of the State to allow hiinrto do so. In connection' with the freehold tenure, I wish to dispel one delusion, which impresses and oppresses /the minds of our land .nationalist friends, that is, as the land belongs to the people it should not be-tdis-posed of, but as -a matter of fact Now Zealand has not parted with a single acre of its land, for it has reserved the right to tax the man who bought it, and never forgets to exercise' that right. While it is highly advisable* nay absolutely aiecessafy, rto assist the small capitalist to get on,the land* it ; ; : m tho,4 -ap-,; proved, land-seeker without;'capital should have :an opportunity of acquirng a small area of Crown lands on % riglit.toupwchase lea.se, ,s«id, advances made' him ,oind r ,-■■ iaM' land into profitable cultivation. The [ rental to be sufficient to cover interest on the total sum represented by the original value plus the advances made. This isystein. could well be oxtenideii 4o estates 'acquired near the populous centres. In. this assistance to assist the worker ' the land could be subdivided into small areas, ia cottage built thereon, and advances made for the necessary fencing, etc. The .rental to be determined ias ihoneltofoiro. In England this system has been the mean* of enticing the men from some of the large centres back on to the iland, Bind preventing others who otherwise would 'ihiave left the country from doing ;so. ■'" • ■''•'- "'" ■- . „ ■■ ! . LEASES IN PERPETUITY. ;

I believe in giving ■.the option of it-lie fireehbid, to tenants of Crown land in L.I.P. at the original value, plus ithie difference between the rental on the O.R.P. and L.I.P. The lea&e-•ini-pei'petuity (the 999 years' tease) tstairted with the best intentions by the late John McKenzie, has proved •a, very bad blunder. Five millions liave 'been .spent dn acquiring lands for Kiettlemient, but though on paper this, tenure shows.a credit .balance, against that has to fee placed the (Laaid tax lost to tine State. It is. claaimied that these lands belong to tlifi. iStatie, .but after all the State is really a. irent collector. 'Hie owner is an absentee and the. State has no power to tax him, while our own land owners who ispend their money in. tine country .are taxed heavily. Seeing that .a had bargain has been madie, if it-lie tenants 'are willing to .agree to ,a the State sliould be prepared to agree- to it, and sell the land to them art; the original cost to the Stat© plus 1 per cent, capitalisation, fee. The money for tlie purchase of estates was borrowed foT'shbnt teiins, i.e., isome 20 or 30 years, land no one knows what interest will 'he charged when, thle loans AviE have to be renewed. Under the leasehold system, pure and simple, the lands of New Zealand ca»-

not be settled fast enough. Five or six millions fcJave ibeon borrowed to 1 settle the .am© .*md a half million acres, but they have 'only touched ! the fringe of settlement; much, very I much, remains to be done. The Go- . vernmout Jar© borrowing 'at the rate; of £500,000 :a wear for the purposes'. of settlement, 'but they know quite j well that t&ey (cannot continue the [ [present rate of borrowing and settle j the land under utbe leasehold system which As jwiovHid by the provisions; embodied ia 'linear latest Laaid Bill i for the compulsory leasing of land] by the Govarnmeait, a. Bill by the Avay \ which, just tsaw .the ligliib of day, and ; Ifliem under Abe breath of hostile cri- J ticism faded .away, a fate which has befalleni the- .Government's annual Land Bills if or . some years past. The \ main reason igiv.on. by the advocates : of the .leasehold system with inecurT- ! ■ing valuations iis, Ithat the proposal, tfeo ;aUow the \Grown tenant uinder the L.I.P. to acquire the- freehold ds ghat the land iheld by them, at the' expiration of the lease—999 yearswould be' ever so much more valuable, and owing to the foresight of, tftiß present generation a splendid ■ endowment would .be available to the, then mniboro millions, which wall ' populate the ooumtry at that period, * about 2899 AJ>. Well, looking at { the question from this view-point j only I venturo «to say that, if the 1 per .cent, proposed to be levied as a capitalisation fee on all the L.I.P. sostaon* on. the .acquirement of the freehold of those-.sections wore placed at 2£ per .cent.' compound interest in some gilt-edga-fl securities, say British consols for the 999 years referred to, a muck .more substantial sum would be available to the for- j tunates who existed hero in the year 2599 A.D.

VIGOROUS POLICY WANTED. You will be in n«cord with me j when I say that a mare vigorous policy of land settlement is needed. The operatioms of the Land for Settlement Act, a* far as this.district has t been concerned, have been a complete dead-letter. Since the coming into force of that Act not one. estate has been resumed, not one acre has been settled. Has the reason, ever occurred to you vvhy this particular electorate has been singled- cnt for this unjust treatment? Estates c6htig-;i ueus to the towrt have, ,tb time ibeen voluntarily offered to the ! Government for "the purposes of closer settlement.' "Petitions- have been s«nt to the •aitithorities- setting fortir tha> desirability of acquiring these estates. The prices asked for tho . majority of those estates were pronounced by exports to bo fair and reasonable,"'permitting the. settler to pay his interest and uiake a decent ( living, and yet the Administration, which has met with such consistent j support for so many years, have J been blind to the interests of the Masterton electorate. I do not for one moment affirm the principle that the treatment cf any district .should be determined by the amount cf support politically-' that district b**towis, but on y iie contrary, I deplore the fact that too much of that sort of thing has been in evidence in the pas*. But J do say that this electorate has- not had its fair 'share of closer settlement. The truth is, this j district has beem rgarded as a pock- ] et seat, the people are seemingly i Content to miss the opportdnities presented to them, iaad yet remain loyal to the Administration responsible for this.. regrettable state of affairs. As workers, tradesmen, or commercial men, have you ever stopped'to think what, ibenofits would have accrued if in the past estates had been resumed', and as I have said before, they have been offered in plenty, settled by a prosperous and contented ooanmundty of settlers? Have ,you not the knowledge of the fact that for every extra producer placed on the land a. living would .he ['li^4n>^^'y^?>'.'%^'^ora-p^-. pie in the country it logically follows j that your : businesses a<nd trades would be kmnenseiy jbonefited. With v ah. inerefa-sed. j.graj«^^|>ur..^^ojTb&; and^' ; tlm,.. J»o|«w benefits accruing to <jur eountry generally. Fellow citizens, do you not think: that the time has at length arrived, when you rfbotild .arouse from I your torpor, and protest in a prac- ; tical manner at tlie next ballot I at the treatment that has been metj ed ont in tlie past to this town and ! this district ? »

LIMITATION OF AREA, m By iprovidiiig for "limitation of area, we .should ■effectually prevent aggregation. Lk> has been! a matter of surprise to me that, despite the protestations made by the people iagaiwst aggregation, nottring of » 'satisfactory nature •'- bafe-'e\*er been done to prevent it. 'From the North Cape to the Bluff at every election we hear tine' ipaatfot 'ary ; porters of 'the. Government against the evils of land aggrandizement, hut the cry dies away on the eve of the election! only to be renewed in three years' time. Can' you blame the individual in his ambition to add to the lands he already possesses, even if fbhe land he already own© is a livable area? But his ambition* must be curbed or restrained. New Zeafand is only a small country, the productive portion of which is comparatively liimited, and we can ill afford to have, thlaifc portion, controlled 'and occupied bya few settler®. For .the future the maximum, quantity of land to he held by any one person, .should bo determined on the capital value' of that land, irrespective of the -area. The quality of the land and its proximity to market should be the most important factor to be consid« Mv d in arriving at.that valuation. To obviate the land gambling which is now taking place in connection with our resfumed estattes, I would favour 'a ten, years? compulsory residence on the sect-ion. acquired 'before a transfer could be granted to a landless person. I would entirely forbid the transfer of a section; .to another holder of a section, without .a, duly constituted Board was satisfied by evidence produced that the section to he transferred

■was not a liveable area. By a long compulsory residence oio one but a genuine settler would bo prepared to tauter into occupation. Cases have come .under my notice, where successful .applicants have immediately disposed of their interest for a substantial consideration and then, dived into the lucky box again only to follow the same procedure. You will 'be in agreement with, me when I say that Ithis practice must not continue. For the future I would also disallow any transferee of resumed or Urown lands from ever again participating in a ballot, and you would find that this .procedure would materially reduce the number of applicants at the ballot box. If those •transferees want any more land they •must go a-nd procure it in the open tmar'ket. v

LARGE ESTATES. In connection with our present large estates where the same will not permit of closer settlement —and there are many such— it is satisfactor yto note the wretched law of entail, which" has been the means of preventing the-large estates of'.-Eng-land from being iroduced h. size by the- evolutionary process -:f time. does not obtain in tliis country. TShe law of this land demands that ifihe children shall equally participate im .any legacy that may be left then' by the parents, without good reason cam be shown to the contrary. This system in itself must have the effect of .gradually reducing the area or size of thoso runs which will not lend themselvos to close settlement. A century ago France, like England, was ;oocupied by a large landed proprietary, but when the law of entail was abolished, and it was decreed that all estates should be, on the dewase of the owner, equally divided among tho children, a beneficial effect was soon noticeable, and today France is the home of thousands of small peasants happy in tiw? possession of their little freeholds. 1 wish to be clearly. understood that I do not advocate the desirability of waiting one hundred years before this country becomes the home of thousands of small freeholders. On the contrary, I am of opinion that where suitable land cai ibe procured at a reasonable- price, so a® "to per-mit-of the' settlor being en/abled.to pay his way and rear hi® oMMren decently, at'shoulid be purchased and settledfortovith. But a large portion, of our lands, on account of their inaccessibility, or broken nature, or inferiority of soil, will <not, at present at a<ny rate, permit of close settlement.. As I have previously stated, it is -fab these land® that nature, by the (removal by death of the owners and the consequent apportionment among the survivors, will play its part. In short, 1 recognise it as a .sacred duty devolving on your representative ,to see that the evils complained of as happening in-the past will be obviated in the futuro. If 1 have the honour to be returned at nest election as your representative I shall pledge myself to 4o everything in my power to see that the platform just laid down by me shall be carried out as far as it is hu-nt-nly possible. LAND FOR SETTLEMENT.

1 would provide that the money derived from the sale of the fireeh'old be'utilised only* for -tlue acquisition of further land' for settlement. This . means that all xsaviaa in connection with our Crown lands; or resumed estates, shall be paid into a fund for the purpose of purchasing other-laaids 1 . .4n* the- past such monies hiave 'been paid into- Revenue Account, and .consequently go to swell the ordinary revenue. In short, the Government have been parting with our assets, charging them to ordinary revenue, and tickling the ears of the multitude with the assertion, (that,the opuiitxy was . inordinately''ant. '"'. "■ ''■' v '/ ' ->■ THE "FREEHOLD. • Before dispensing with the land question^. utiOidec ;?ta*de«foiraii3to other; ,'imporjtar4 , QU*^. oll **,., tfee. like to my reasons for my advocacy of the granting of the freehold to all who may desire it, and who coniform to the law governing the same. My first reason is because the knowledge that he can make the lit—- ! tie piece of land he occupies his ; own .stimulate)* the settler-to further i'exieirtioiiu It induces ham to make sound and permanent improvements. I It encourages him to increase the fer- ! tility of the soil' by paying due atI tentiom to the crops he grows, the anainairesi he use®, and the methods: ! -adopted Jaii the graziiig of his land. "It is onily by the exertions tin&de, by the improvements affected and' by the latteatSpa .given,' ini to ftli^.!fertility ( -iOf the s#l that? a. .setotr; ler can hope to increase the produotions of hds> fanm,- and by so doing not onily in the individual biit on, the whole community is conferred: a lasting benefit. One Iras only to look around in the vicinity of this district to notice the contrast between, tlie leasehold iand tho freehold systems. If rtihe leasehold farm has been long in occupation one finds the fences in disrepair, the buildings showing the worse for wear and tear, the land itself giving proof of reduced activity. In fact the whole place discloses an: air of neglect. The freehold farm presents >a picture in direct contrast. r Jlhe freeholder feels assured of every shilling lie judiciously puts into the farm being returned to him in a direct or indirect way. He feels a British pride in the fact that the lands lie occupies are his or can be ma.de his in the lapse of time. He calte 'to miiral the fact that it was the desire to own ' a * little' patch'-'of ground- which lie could. call Ms own that induced Mm or his forbears to leave 'the shores, of England iand take his or their chance in the Antipodes, where land was offered in. plenty.

NATIVE LANDS. Before proceeding to another subjeofc I should like to saj a 'few words

ini regard to our Native lands. The ■drain of population to other countries continues, the incessant cry for land settlement goes on, and yet all those magnificent tracts of Native landi in the centre of this Island lying 1© and unproductive, only a few miserable acres being dribbled on to ithe market every year. Tite Maoris, mentally and physically almost .the equal of the Pakeha, are no fools, and where they have undertaken modem farming operations on their own, account they have been fairly successful. It woulu be well for the Natives, as well as the Europeans, if their lands were opened for settlement, if they had to forsake lives of idleness, and take their proper places among the farming community of the country. They could/ be trained for the work where Accessary, and assisted liberally. No one would cavil at this, and the Government would be making an honest attempt at solving the, difficulty. The creation of a system of Maori 'landlords drawing big rents from tbe lands- doled out to the white settlers- must result in demoralisation. No valid reason, can be adduced why the, Maori should not be brought into lino with the European) in the matter of settlement. He should have the same privileges and share the same responsibilities. The country has a right to demand that the whole ! subject of -•.ative lands shall be ! dealt with promptly and vigorously. 1 and effectively. The people. have 1 grown, tired of the stumbling block I of the Natve Department, the "taij boa" policy of the Hon. the Native | Minister.

BORROWING. , Now in 'regard to the financial question. I desire to say a few words in regard to our borrowing policy. The Prime Minister, when speaking on the subject at Devenport some few months since, said: "Supposing Parliament stopped making, provision for all the Public Works, what would happen? Within two or three months half the business-people, in the country would be insolvent and two-thirds of the men now in employment would be cut of work." What a splendid commentary on our Liberal rule, that after 20 years it should have produced this result, That a curinilment of the Public Works would mean financial ruin. Alas for the self-folid at policy laid down and bequeathed by John 1 Ballance. And yet this is the same person who in 1893 made the following, pronouncement: —"The Government believe that borrowing is not necessary, and have decided to conduct the business of the country without- having recourse to it. The policy of selfreliance has borne fruit and economy in both public and private life has assisted to bring about a happier condition of things. Never in the previous history of the colony were its prospects brighter." This is the man, so honest in his convictions, who is one of the Party who have succeeded in piling up the National Debt by borrowing until it has more than doubled the amount when the foregoing statement was made. Self-re-liance and. economy of administration are not in the vocabulary of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, Bart., P.C., ' L.L.D., etc., democratic Prime Minister of the Dominion of New Zealand. | In my opinion, it is necessary for us to continue to borrow to a certain extent. Public Works have been started which it is necessary to complete, and works not yet in progress, but of a payable nature, will have to be undertaken. The country must be judiciously developed. But is it necessary to borrow so much as we are doing?. Is it necessary to raise money so much' at & venture?. Ido not believe it is. Our piecemeal Public Works pqlicy is responsible for a good deal of our lavish expenditure. If the local governing bodies were treasonably fin&nced anch permitted to carry out the whole of the public works of roads and bridges a large saving would be effected. At present the matter of roads and bridges is largely a question of patronage. The Public Revenue Act, of 1891, empowered the Government to transfer the whole or part of "the moneys available tinder any vote in aid of any other vote in the; same class.*The< Actofe liieQ-iicreased^e ; }iini>6f: , a sure; sign of growing; .extravagance. Not content with this. r limit was ftirther increased to £200,-. .000 per,,imnijm.' vote '.certain sums for expenditure upon oer-t' tains'wqrksy. Government may decline to start such works-'(in which; case the vote lapses) or they may expend the money on some other part of the Dominion on works of a similar nature. The financial pull this sorb of thing gives the Government over the people is tremendous, especially in election year. SPENDING THE MONEY.

, But now let us pursue the question of finance (as it concerns our expenditure) a trifle further. The time has come, surely, when it would be well to pause in our career to tak* stock. Are we spending the money that we.do borrow to the best advantage? Are we getting value for rt r and, if so, what is the value? We have under construction 'at 1 pr&sent qurfe a number of railways—too ' many of: "them. Yet. the list i s -being added to continually. The curious part of it is that 'when 'people go to the -Government and, ask that " certain .- railway projects should be entertained, tho l loan difficulty is raised at once. For many years we have been agitating for a railway from Masterton through some of the finest country in the Dominion to Hawke's Bay. The reply is always the same, "There is no money." Yet we hear that new railways are promised as pressure is applied, and others have been added to the early list. Why this discrimination and differentiation? Whoso the fault? Why is Masterton always in the back-wash? If money can bo made available for a railway from Napier to Gisborne, why not for one * from Masterton to Waipukurau? And as with railways, so with roa<ls and bridges. There appears to me to be but one way of escape—a Public Works Board, composed of non-politic-al commissioners, together with tho control of the railways and their con-, struction by commissioners. If Par-. liament is ever to occupy its proper. position, if it is ever to reach the altitude which we as a people should help it to attain, then its work mu«t , be freed, and its members relieved from the petti-fogging, log-rolling exactions which are at present the bugbear and nuisance, of political life. Local bodies are the proDer institutions with which to deal with the requirements of settlers. Local ' bodies understand the wants of settlers, and could enter more freely into iheir (Continued on Page 6.)