The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, AUGUST 6,1898.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 324, 6 August 1898, Page 2

The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, AUGUST 6,1898.

In another column we print a short summary of the remarks made in the House in reference to the delay which is taking place in disposing of the properties in the hands of the Assets Realisation Board. This is a matter of great interest in this district, where so many of the estates are situated. If this land passed into the hands of individuals who would work it energetically, a marked advance in prosperity to all resident in the district would be manifest. It has always been maintained by the Government and their supporters that the legislation which they have been instrumental in passing had not barred settlement, This, of course, is not believed by any man whose opinion on the subject is worth a groat. What does Mr Fraser tell us with regard to the land in question 1 He says, many of the large estates could not be sold, because buyers feared that, after purchasing them, and before they had had time to make anything out of them, the Government would avail themselves of a depression in the land market to step in and purchase under the Land for Settlement Act. The Minister for Lands said : " It was quite impossible to sell some of the larger estates at the present time . . . Most of these would have to be sold as a whole, and the Board would have to wait until some one came along able and willing to buy." The opinion of Mr Fraser we quote above gives the reason why these men do not come along. Mr Lang struck another reason why the land is not sold. He very rightly pointed out that the Board did not adopt the ordinary business means of selling land. It is, no doubt, the case that if a land agent omitted to advertise and .sat down quietly for purchasers to present themselves, he would do very little business. But the land agents depend upon results to earn their commissions. On the other hand, if the members of the Realisation Board dispose of the land, their yearly salaries would cease. This being the position, the suggestion of Mr Massey, that the land should be handed over to the Lands Department, must be accepted. There

would then at any rate bo no in- | ducemeut to a body of men to keep the business alive by endeavouring " not to sell." Again, if a man wants to purchase land he goes to either the owner or his agent, and expects him to name a price. In the case of the Realisation Board, they wait for an offer, and the majority of those who are in a position to purchase, recognise the probability that if they name a price their offer will be used as an incentive to some other man to offer more. Lot us for goodness sake have a little common sense and business acumen instilled into the members of the Assets Board or have some steps taken to wipe the institution out of existence.