THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1912. VICTORY FOR FREEHOLD.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10517, 4 January 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1912. VICTORY FOR FREEHOLD.

In a letter to "The Dominion," Mr H. Aim ore, the newly-elected member for Nelson, states tihat "the land question loomed large in the considerations of the people during the (rodent contests, aaid the verdict, must be taken, as one' favouiraMb to the fa-eehoM. The people have seen that it is in the ibest iditerests of the Do■mtkrion that tfacnlii£ies> slhou-M be provided whereby every industrious settler has a chance of acquiring the freehold" of his holding, and if he is animated iby this, hope, lit will act as ttiDi incentive, 'spurring him on. to make his land produce .up to it's utmost capacity." Mr Atmore prbcecdis to Kay tihat the people have dieatod their tie-sire for a, (broad., comiprehen-sive land, policy that will give, so far as one {feneration- can., -some finality on the question of land tenures. This is precisely the view that has- been- advocated hy the Reform. Party for 1 year® back. Wlhat is (required in thi® conutry more than, anything else at the present juncture is a system- of land stettlement which witt remove the people from the cities, and make the In pi'otkvceris of wealth, for themselves and the country. Whether men have the leasehold

or the freehold is not a matter dF very great concern. They should be given the land on sireU terms a© will enable -them to develop its resources to the best 'advantage. The ory of aggregation should not bo heard in t'he land, and it w'cu-kl not be heard if private owaurthip wore surrounded by pircper Too much time hus beeiL wasted in. cutr legislaI ti> e chambers' mi recent year® iai- discrasing platitudes rather than the broad principles- of land settlement. A'.T' the fustian- that has been spoken ' ' a-- dJ written' about the alienation of t] e land Mould have been avodded had n.en been roturaod to Parliament who had a true desire to placo principle above party considerations'. Those who speak of the alienation of the land, display a lamentable ignorance of political economies*, and a reckless disregard for known facts*. So long as the Orown retains the right of (taxation, it possesses all the control over meal' estate that should foe vested in any legislative institution. State landlordism is, in many respects, Lnrimicali to the best interests of the Grown and the individual, ■for it robs the selector of a great deal of his freedom'of action,- and places hini at a disadvantage in the matter of finance. If ni'en were given the fee sample of their, propertiesl in limited areas, the settlement of tlie land would progress, on the right lines, and the Domi'union would derive an incalculable benefit. The question of resai-mimg the large estates which, are at present only partly cultivated maist engage the serious attention of the Legislature, no> matter how vigorously the settlement of tire waste Grown and Native areas may proceed. Mr Atmore thinks that the imposition of the graduated: land tax will result in the sub-division of these estates'. On this point he is not as well imformed ■as, he might be. The graduated tax has- not proved, and is, not likely to prove a solution- of the problem. The judicious application of the provision of the Lands for, Settlement Act will serve all linumediate requirements. The rest might -well be left to voluntary notion, wflfclh is bound to follow the development cf the waste areas. In the -meantime, it is satisfactory to note that a considerable majority 'of the members who were .elected-at thle recent polls are pledged to . a policy of progressive land, settlement.. The operation of this' policy is the' best safeguard we possess against the extravagant demands of city Socialists. Once the people are placed upon the land and made happy and contented settlers, they will have no time for .revolutionary dognus or "new eva.nge'l" theories'.