THE LAND QUESTION

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10519, 6 January 1912, Page 5

THE LAND QUESTION

j PAPER BY MR A. W. HOCC. AREAS HELD BY NATIVES ANH EUROPEANS. MR ATMORE'S VIEWS. | OROWN LEASEHOLD v. FRSEE- | HOLD. At a meeting of thie Mastertara Ibir-anfcib of the New Zealand Fecbera'tf 1 °* Labour on ThiuristLay evening-, the following paper oan the land qtuxstion was read' by Mr A. W.

During tlhe battle that has been', fought at the General Election many, political problems were dealt with - ; but the Stand qmcrtion was- /undoufoiji , ediy the paramount question of th».day. On that import-ant. problemi • was foenssed the main atteit'on of the contending sides. The Government was accused; of having no par* tijerflar poliicy, and tlheilr wavering attitude in dealing with monojjly and! ' aggregation, together with 'thei* mismanagement of the Native iancli?,gave stirring ground for dis3a.rsfa«* tiom. Mir Msa.s®ey and his Reforiiy

{Party as usual held out the tempting bait ito Grown tenants of bPiag fltowed.to purchase their lan-1 a.t the [original price, nsigmg that the Fiee- ■ hold was the only tenure that woußl j ultimately satisfy the land settler, /and:/that 1 its acquisition was a naturandi legitimate nghlfc. There is l&fc- , tte doubt that the dscl'atration of, I euohi principle® wool a great many ofi ! the small settlers'. over. Hadthey; perceived' the danger tihey were inaun* ring by idntiifyilng tih©m!S6lv>es witih} thie large owners, they might haw been more wary. Th© discussion of! the. land question, as still going «ni with! .unabated zest' and interest. Although the Reform Party has assidf uovLsty calffiedi attention to the larg© area—computed) by them at 3,000,-» 000 acites—bf Native land® tflrafc remain to. be disposed' of, it has failed! Itlo divert attention, from the fact thas a nmioh largejr area of far more valnilabiEe country is held unused and utnW improved iby a comparatively few! lEairopeans. In. round numibersi iJh© land held privately by European© is 18,600,000 acres. Besides thd® there are 18,264,000 acres leaeed from ttfie Orowm, and 3,500,000 acres leased*' from Natives, making a total' 'of about 40,(XX),000 acre&. Of this only; 15,680,000 acres is surface sown witiji , grass or improved in any way, leay* provedl ih H&wke's.-Bay there -ill"'".; ; be 3Gooper&o.»s. \"; Cfofy ' *3i^GoO. acrefiT': ihave beea i ploughed, and . acTe&'gTa®sed; : F<>rty pea" ,af thiiß^ , : - firie couiitry' being converted into good- farmis, mm mains unimproved. Five person# bold 428,000 acres, 16 hold 805,000 acres, 48 hold 1,280,000 acres, anxi 128 people hold 1,848,000 acres. lis Ofcago and Sooithliand 40 persons holdl miliicKa acres, and 26 panterbury . exceed) * two" moffiionwi' There iiS a good 1 deal) of sound logic itt a letter that has been, written by MirH. Atmore, the newly-elected membr for Nelison. He says': "The idteai of freehplids as the ideal, landtenure is beginning tot take firm hold of the people of this ccmntry," and after aieferring to the number ofl freeholkfers eltected to ParKamenit hd add s i ' 'The leasehold tennra-e is not • the last word on the land question, ate .some l'and reformers eeemi to thidik." "He mainitaitns that wo' ; .3to, not get; rid of the evils of laindlordiism by having the Stale as a llancfc lord inofcead of a private owner. H«f iconsiders the evils of private ownerislliap itn tlie par&t were dne to the fact! that thieve wast no restriction, of ITirres-tribted ownership, he holdte, is wrong,, nataonali'saition or no private ownertiliop iis equally wrong. A system of .freeholds cf limited aHea i» what is wanted. "Have your, land laws,", he says, "so that every wwkea- in town, or country has. rea w fcr becoming his o»\n MndJord, and you willt then, have a contented, happy and prosperous people." TheiL he adds: ''The largo estates must be dealt with; .-by a proper application of the graduated, lauli tax,,' and if this' is properly applied itfhere will be no need to fear amy. possibility of a re-aggregation of the fllarge holdings." Mi- Atmore'f? views are much in accord with those of many iland •■reformers. He recommends taxation cf land as a means of checkmating the evnlis of land monopoly. (}ne of my chief objections to the private owntership ;-of san<l ds the power it gives the.wvner. over itihe occupier. • The farmer tirely in the 'handsi of the capitalist, and saibject to any condition® he anay impose with, regard to rent and management. It) enables the capitalist or speouPatoi'' to hold land against labour, it creates Ilai'ge estates and faci.'Siitates aggregation-. It depopulates- ,*the country, reduces (l>rodWetioii ,-ilijaires the labour market, and makes tne family home insecure. Private landlordism' destroyis close settlemeait and produces a class of idle rich who live on rent .and interest. Uiiider the Grown ' ]ea,sehoW on the other hand we have a. rental! income of £600,000 annually. The Ca-owai Jeasehokl. enables 26,500 tenants, I'epresentwig over 100,000. ~souls, to occupy tne land ;< using their capittai or savings to improve their liokllngs and make them productive. It prevents the land falling into the hands of the mortgagee and capitalist. It enables the worker to secure a homestead: if he has. health and strength, although' his ■ capital may be limited. It prevents tiho . home (being wrecked and the famiJty evficted' even, if its head is_ thrdftlfess or dissipatied. Of course, Stf you impose th'e necessary restrictions the chief differences between freehold and leasehold' may be made to disappear. Except in. aiame, what martiej'ial dift'erence is there between, a .vent to t/he State and a> (land tax! J "Use the leasehold as a. steppingstone to the' freeho'M," says Ms-Atmoi-e. Mr Massey and some of lw« ifolll'oAvra'S iirge the same thing. Save as eaKlowmentsi for specific purposes the 'leasehioM may be abolished ir a .sHubstanitiaU Jia-nd ta« sueh as is. rej commended 1 for b% estates is applied Ito a3fl overgrown properties. By overgrown properties I mean areas ! that will carry more than one or two feimilSes. If it. is desired to substitute ai land tax it might be worth while to try the experiment, but tho tax in that case will' have to be suf-. iicient to prevent land aggregation and the evils of private i'andl'oa-dfem { a tax that wiM, enable the State to •dispense with the duties' on necessaries and, comforts; that-- jviHl l, compel produM'tive «ir«e by th.e oM'ner. and ■tfliat wiM 1 make land easy of acqu-;: tion by the worker, whether hj: has capiftal or not. Impose this, nanl the diferetiKCS bet\\e<Mi the Grown Seasenolder and fneehir Wca 1 will almost entirely disappear.