THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1912. SUB-DIVISION OF ESTATES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10710, 30 September 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1912. SUB-DIVISION OF ESTATES.

A closer'scrutiny of the proposals of the' Government for the sub-division of estates convinces u.s that they ai'c of a negative character, and that they avo not calculated to meet the growing demand for land for closer settlement in the Dominion. Under the Bill, the Government may agree ii; writing with an owner in respect to his estate, and once this agreement is signed, the owner is surrounded with all sorts of restrictions. He is compelled to offer the .land for lease or salo by public tender at a price to bo agreed upon with tho Minister. In tho case of a sale, he is compelled to accept 10 per cent, of the purchase money, and to stand out of the balance for a period of not less than tel: years, while the interest payable on tho balance of the purchase money if restricted to five per cent. In tin case of lease, however, with a right 01 purchaso, the lessee may purchase at any time during the term of the lease. It will thus be seen that the man who purchases outright cannot mako the land his own within-two years, while the man who leases may obtain the fee simple at any time, provided he pays tho amount specified in the tender. There is a glaring anomaly in these provisions. Clause 25 states that "it shall not be lawful for the owner after tho execution of an agreement with the Minister to sell, mortgago or charge his estate or interest in tho land, the subject of the agreement, or in any part thereof, without the previous consent of the Minister." Thus, immediately an owner enters into an "agreement" with the Minister, whether his land be sold or not, ho loses all right to deal with it by private treaty. The only return the owner will receive for handing over his property to tho Government will bo the cost of goading, bridging and surveying, and this cost will be a first charge on the property. If, therefore, the lessee desires to convert his leasehold into a freehold, he will require to pay off tho mortgage to the Government for roadiug, etc. It seems to us that no owner, in his right senses, would enter into an agreement which Avould involve the sacrifice of his right to deal with his estate as he thinks fit, for the doubtful advantage of having his property sub-divided and roaded. There may be individual cases in which an owner desires to sub-divide his estate amongst his family. In such eases it would pay him, no doubt, to secure the money for reading from tho Government at 4 per cent. The land would be offered by public tender, and the members of th*> family would out-bid tho general public, because tliey would really require to pay no money. We haTe yet to learn, however, that it is a function of tho State to provide money at a low rate of interest for th« benefit of landed propriet-

org and their familias. Tlio clause j which provides against aggregation is I merely a surplusage of words. It says j that "no| person .whoso tender for any allotment shall be accepted shall i be* permitted to acquire by purchase | nr lease any other allotment of the I same land." There is nothing to prel y-nt a lessee, however, from securing an allotment in an adjoining property, | or elsewhere. But in view of tho absurdity of the general provision for sub-division, the clause affecting og- I gregatkm, ineffective though it may be has no particular significance. As we' have already pointed out, the whole proposal is designed for the asdistance of private families, and cannot bv any stretch of the imagination, bo held to be a solution of the problem of closer settlement. This .section of the Bill appears to have been nastilv drawn and badly drafted. Ihero is," for instance, no provision whatever for dealing with cases of default, and this will at once be recognised as a serious omission. Wo confess to a feelincr of disappointment at the action of the Bill dealing with voluntary sub-division. It has nothing at all'to recommend it, and it will oe surprising to us if it receives the indorsement of the House.