THE NATIONALSIATION OF THE LAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1747, 15 September 1883, Page 2

THE NATIONALSIA TION OF THE LAND.

Ar a mooting hold a few day-, ago at Lyttelt >n Mr, A. Joyce explained In-, pioposod scheme foi the nationalising of the laud. He said, with John Stuait Mill, that no man nude the land, and theiefoie no man had a right to the hole proprietorship of the land. He mentioned lieland^as a country suffering from the effects of individual piopiietoislnp. The improvements made by the Irish tenants instead of being a benefit had until lately been .simply an ukcuso to laise the rents. This has been paitly done away with by the IrMi Land Act. Why .should there be one land law for Ireland and another for other British possessions ? One nobleman in Scotland owned moie than 1A million of acres of laud, and 12 pioprietors in that country owned more than a quarter of the whole acieige. And heie, moie than 18 millionof acies had beon alienated from the Stat_ j since the starting of the Colony. Had we any more right to dip r >se of this land than to sell the an w e breathed at so much per 100 cubic feot ? Now Zealand, if properly cultivated, ought to provide for a population of \~> or 20 million of poople. The speakei knew ol a tract of magnificent land 20 miles square in the Noith Island that was used for nothing but sheep mns Through this land a railway had been made, winch the ratepayei i have to pay for. The Colony paid L 4,000,000 yeaily for interest, and the public debt per head of the population, including children, was LloO. Thougn the Colony had parted with a laige poition of the land, it was not too late to prevent the remainder fiom being alienated. This was one object of the Association. The other was to enable the State gradually tj re-accp.iire the lands which had bsen parted with. The laig-e blocks of land held by individuals formed one of the greatest disadvantage* we suffered from. Tf holders of land had to pay lent there would be no such things as persons holding blocks of unprofitable land. Persons taking land, and being unable to soil or sublet it, would take it only to work it profitably. The scheme should work better than auy proposed form of taxation. The first objection to the scheme was on the ground of impracticability. One of the objections was that it would be so open to Government and private jobbers as to be unworkable. .This, he thought, could be overcome, as the i\ hole working of the scheme could — through Parliament — be placed in the hand os the peoplo. Another _ objection was that it would be impossible to raise the necessary money. This, he thought, could be done by exchanging the mortgage debts on land to 6 per cent Government debentures without' incieasing the Government debt, and these would be taken up without difficulty in London. The obstructions which might be put in the way of the scheme by the Upper House (which mostly consists of large landowners, who might throw out the proposal at the first time of asking) might be removed. The pressure which could be brought to bear through increased taxation would probably do away with their opposition on the second attempt to inaugurate the scheme.

Messrs S. Cochrane and Son will sell by auction at the. Land Mart, Fort, Street Auckland on Monday October Ist a farm of 310 acres adjoining the well-known Gorton Estate. The Newcastle Road Board invite tenderr for road works and fencing near Havelocks' Hill. The * thoroughbred horse Ariel and the pure bred Clydesdale horse Nugget are advertised to travel the Waikat.o district this season. , An announeeineni re the New Zealand Labour Exchange appears in another column. Is a shop at the East-end^ of London a bill tyas exhibited inthe v window recommending a certain patent medicine,, with | the very dubious hea'diug, " Try one box ; i on other medicine -will ever be. taken.". " Boy;' can T go thrdugh this gate rto v the.nVer.f'prilitely, inquired a" faahion;ably?df<fMed lady£?i " Yes'em ; a loadj of