The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1889. Land Tenure.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3188, 25 April 1889, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1889. Land Tenure.

We have before us a pamphlet entitled" Land ho," advocating " the re-purchase and settlement of the large freehold block," from the pen of Mr Alexander Joyce, 'the writer sets forth his object by sajing," It appears to me that the time has arrived when we may, by the adoption of a bold and just policy, ensure an early and enormous extension of the settlement of the colony, and in laying my views before you as to the lines upon which I believe this policy may be conducted, I do so with the view of calling attention to the advantages to be secured to the colony by the repurchase and settloment' of the large freehold blocks." He then proceeds to deal with the advantages which he supposes would accrue from the adoption of his scheme, which, briefly stated, are a largo increase in the population of the colony, a corresponding increase in its exports, and a return to prosperity. Mr Joyce proposes that all the larger estates in the colony, say those of 10,000, acres and upwards, should bo re-purchased by the Crown, divided in suitable holdings, and let on tho perpotual leasing system. There are about 260 holdings containing about seven million aprej, which he would deal with first of ail. The value of these properties for property tax purposes is put down at £15,500,000, and Mr Joyce proposes the issue of land debentures to the value, of £1,G00,000 yearly, the extra £IOO,OOO per annum being required to cover expenses. These debentures would be issued on the security of the land re-purchased, the rentals of which lands should be specially applied to the payment of interest and the repayment of principal. A tenant - shall haye the land for a given term, with the right of renewal at a fresh valuation; and should he desire to give up possession at the expiration qf his term he would be required to give six months notice. Where there is an increase in the value of land over and above the amount required, he proposed to appropriate the amount as follows:"5 per cent interest on the capital expended to be set apart for interest and administration: one-third of the balance to go to the Consolidated Revenue of the country ; one-third to be applied to the re-purohase of debentures, which debentures shall not be cancelled, but held by the Commissioners until such time as the whole debentures issued shall have been re-purchased. The interest received by the Commissioners to be applied to .the purchase of other debentures. The remaining onethird should be local revenue for the district in which the land. was situated, to be applied iu lieu of, or to assist local rates for roads, etc., or for charitable purposes," Wheip townships are formed by the increase of settlement, the rentals from tjie town sscti9Bs gliguld Wong to the

community, presumably the community-, within eaoh township. Such is the outline of Mr Joyce's scheme, which, it mil be seen, borders rather closely on Socialism. The proposals which it contains are not by any means new, though they have been concrete form than we have seen them before in this colony. They would, no doubt, present many advantages if they could be realized; but we are afraid that if Mr Joyce were to be appointed a special commissioner to' carry them into effect,

be would tind himself surrounded by so many difficulties that he would soon be converted to a belief in principles that are less visionary in their nature. He appears to differ from other writers on the same subject in one very important point, namely, that he proposes that the State shall work the land let oii lease at a profit beyond a fair rental. It is quito possible that this is not his intention, but oil what other principle can he exp3ct to pay working expenses, interest for debentures, and take up the debentures themselves, all out of the receipts from the lessees ? A fair annual rent paid foi* a property cannot possibly leave a margin of nearly one third. Agaiu, he takes it for granted - that the debentures could be sold at par, a point where we certainly differ. For reasons that need not now be gone into, the credit of the Colony is not very good at the present time. Every loan that it has floated has beeu heralded by the statement that the works which it proposed to carry out with it would be of a selfsupporting nature, and bondholders know only too well that a very large percentage of these works were noth-

ing more nor less than political' jobs, which -were known to he useless from

the very beginning. . If the Colony

were to go to the monoy market now and propose to borrow fifteen millions for purposes that were never

heard of before by the lender, it would stand very little chance indeed of obtaining any portion of it. We think too, that Mr Joyce labors under some misapprehension as to the relative position of a freehold and a perpetual leasehold. The only real difference is that in the one case the

land is granted in porpetuitj on a sum that is supposed to be equivalent to it in value, while in the other it is granted on payment of an annual sum that is supposed to be an equivalent to the value for that term, The difference is therefore more imaginary than real. He forgets too, that tho Government has used tho chances of obtaining freeholds very largely in the past as a means of attracting. capitalists to the colony who would be justified in complaining of harsh treatment if tbey were now to. be ousted from .land which tbey had taken up under a title which they believed to be indefeasible. That the system of selling the land has been abused cannot be denied, but it seems to us too late to remedy what has been done by such a radical change as that which Mr Joyce proposes. We are afraid that his ideas of forming townships on land held under perpetual lease would] prove quito unworkable. If a person were to take up a section of, say, a hundred acres, and tho land should prove suitable as a township, would it be taken away from him ? If so, what would be the use of saying that he had a perpetual lease ? Again, if .the community of a township is to havo the benefit of rates accruing from the sections, what wouldrbe the use of charging the tenants any rent at all?. Would it- not be much. simpler and . less expensive to let tliem have the land for nothing? The subject which Mr Joyce has treated may find practical application when the world is over-populated, but not till then.