The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2500, 19 July 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1888.

Equal and exact justice to all men, 01 tvliatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Of correlative importance with the work of restoring the finances and public expenditure of the colony to a sound and economical footing, is the imperative necessity for permanently settling the country with an agricultural population. It is a paramount obligation devolving upon the Government to provide every facility for largely increasing the numerical strength of the people of the colony, in order to enlarge our wealth producing powi-rs, and, consequently, in a corresponding measure, spread the burden of of taxation over many more shoulders. The settlement of the waste lands has not altogether been lost sight of by the present Government, nor do they ignore the beneficial results of the efforts in this direction made by Hon. J. Ballance, the Minister of Lands in the last Ministry. In the Land Acts Amendment Bill, introduced by the Hon. G. F. Richardson, the present Minister of Lands, it is provided in clause 13, that:— Notwithstanding anything contained in section three of the Amendment Act, (18S7), the Governor may from time to time, declare under the said section three that any land heretofore or hereafter to he set apart for village settlements shall be open for sale and selection in manner and subject as mentioned in the said section ; and all lands notified as aforesaid under the said section three, and this section shall be open for selection as village settlements under section six of the Amendment Act. The Amendment Act referred to in the above clause is the measure passed last year to amend the Land Act 18S5. Clause 3 of the Amendment Act provides that the Governor may, by notification in the Gazette, declare rural lands open for selection under the former Act, and clause G (Amendment Act 18S7) reads as follows All lands notified as aforesaid shall, at the time mentioned in the public notification, be open for purchase for cash at the price or prices mentioned therein, or (at the option of the person seeking to purchase or select the same) for selection on deferred payments, or on perpetual lease at their respective equivalents in prices to be arrived at as provided for by the said Act (ISSo). When Mr Ballance first formulated his scheme, we recognised in it a practical solution to the " unemployed " difficulty as providing an effectual check on the unnatural and rapid growth of towns in the colony, Its association with the land nationalising theory of the promoter raised a host of enemies against it. The only part of the experiment, as it was then, that gave us anxiety was the settlement in the far north. From our own knowledge of that part of tho province it seemed to us that its remoteness, want of access to profitable markets, and high cost of provisions, would prove disastrous to the settlers. Time and experience, however, have shown that although all those dangers beset the settlers, they have not been sufficient to :lrive them away and that they have been overcome. Therefore, all is well with them, and the whole scheme is a pronounced success. During the period between 30th March and 30th September last year, there were 1 S-l persons settled 3n lands under the Special Settlement scheme on perpetual lease, and 107 on village homesteads. Up to 31st March of this year the lumber of this class of selectors was 1577, showing a considerable increase in the demand for land .inder these special provisions. Due interesting find instructive 'eature is the popularity of the nerpetual lease conditions, to .vhich preference has been given >y the bulk of the selectors. Hie reason of this is obvious. Alihoughit may be a leading article in ;he creed of many people to value ibove all things the possession of an ibsolute freehold, however small ts compass, yet it is certain that to a nan whose sole ambition is to be issured of a permanent home, a life ;enure is as satisfactory as any other nterest. Death will cancel his perional retention of a freehold, as it ivill a leasehold. Under the perpetual lease tenure, a man, 1 tfitli limited capital, is not iom polled to sink in the soil , i large portion, perhaps nearly all, nf it in the purchase of the land. He is free to lay out his money in fencing, building, stocking and gensrally improving his homestead. ! His capital remains entirely above ] the soil for use reproductively. i We have said that we must have ! population, if we are to regain pros- , perity. So far the facilities for settling on the land have been ' ivailed of by the surplusage of our 1 swn towns. There is still an exo- i :lus of our population going on. 1 Last month over twelve hundred ] persons left the colony in oxcess of i the arrivals. This migration of the ' wrong description si ould not be. We must not only encourage those 1 ,ve have to remain with us, but re- > :stablisb some organised system by .vhich immigrants can be tempted | ;o come over to us in large nuni- i icrs from the United Kingdom and J >ccupy our agricultural lands. ( This question of utilising our 1 vaste lands for the purposes of settlement on a comprehensive scale ■ nust be entered upon by the General i government. There must also be a j ocalisation of the same object, and ( lounfcy or other governing bodies 1 n possession of endowments and f ands lying idle and unoccupied, t uust attract population around t hem, and settle them on the allot- c nent plan. There can hardly be a e

more reproductive and truly national method of laying out public revenue thnn this way. It is laying the sure and rocky foundation of a great nation. The primary duty of a wise Government is to legislate and administer in tho direction of making the people content, and that object is gained when thoy (tho people), can, at little cost and with judicious aid, take up plots of mother soil and make homes upon them. The village settlement at Akatea in our own vicinity is progressing satisfactorily, and illustrates the force of our arguments. In the same locality there are thousands of acres of public lands, and throughout the Waikato ample room can he made and found, for the absorption of thousands of people of the right stamp. All that is wanted is the proper action on the part of the central Government and the local bodies.