The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1908.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2093, 20 January 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 1908.

SAIALL GRAZING RUNS.

There are many indications that the present Government is disposed to regard very lightly the obligations imposed upon it by its predecessors, particularly in regard to its land policy. No one objects to -the principle that- the best interests ot the Dominion demand close settlement, hut that is no excuse for breaking existing contracts, or acting with undue harshness towards those who farmed the land when to do so was unprofitable, and entailed serious hardships. An in,stance of the attitude referred to k; given in the case of a' number of small grazing runs in the Poverty Bay district, the leases of which fall due in about twelve months from the present date. It lias been a prevalent belief amongst the lessees of these ‘lands tlent at the end of -the first period of their lease of 21 years they would be given tlio option of renewing the lease for another similar term, provided they accepted the fresh valuation placed upon the runs by the Land Board. Apart from the wording of their contract with the Government, they claim that this is altogether ® reasonable course, inasmuch as a 21 years’ lease is extremely short as tenures go, and in the case of those leasing bush lands in this district, has not given a reasonable opportunity for them to bo recompensed for the pioneer work .that was necessary. When one remembers tlio conditions existing for very many years after these leases were taken up in 1885, it will be seen that there is a good deal in the contention. The rents were certainly fixed very low, but the prospects wore correspondingly unattractive, and the Government had some difficulty in getting the land, taken up. Those who took their future in their hands with these runs found themselves living a life of isolation, coupled with severe privations, for many years. Until the bush could be cleared and grassed—which was then a much more difficult matter than it is now —they had to even pack their horse-feed many a weary mile, as well as every single article necessary for use' in their distant camps. AYhen at last they were able to accommodate a few lots of sheep and cattle, they found their undertaking still mirennnierative, tor it must bo remembered that it is only within a comparatively recent period that the establishment of freezing works in this vicinity, and tlio improvement of communication, has anado these backblock runs capable of giving anything lilio substantial returns in the prices realised' for surplus stock. In other words, the runs have only within recent years commenced to be a payable proposition for the lessees, and it is at- this stage that the Government proposes to step in, and, brushing aside all the moral and legal claims of the present occupier, divide the land amongst a fresh lot of tenants. The contention, we understand —and this belief is borne out by the reply of the Hon. Air. AlcNab to Saturday’s deputation —is that the lessees were never considered to be in any other position than that of temporary occupants, holding the land till the Government should feel the time opportune to' subdivide it for closer settlement.i If this is really the case, we can only express the opinion that the Act has been worded in a most ambiguous manner, with the result that tenants have ljeen grossly misled. That oiureaders may more fully understand the position, the essential clause in the Act is here quoted. It is headed “Renewal of Leases,” and reads ae follows:

If, ou the determination of any loui .', it lie determined that a run,, either a.s lo the whole or part thereof, as 1 the ease may he, shall again he let, then a now lease id the whole or such part, as the case may be, idnull be offered to the existing lessee at least twelve months before the expiration of his lease, at a rent L> ho ascertained 1 ns hereinafter specified-. This is the only clnui-e in the Act which deals with the position occurring uL the end of the first 21 years, and win: knur legal authorities may say on the matter, nine out ol ton laymen would most certainly read Ibis as giving a right of renewal on a. Irtish valuation to the present tenant. H seems exceedingly -improbable that twenty-one years ago tenants cognisant of Ihe position of N.Z. sheep-fa ruling would have taken up land' had they not considered that the short lease would he renewable for another term. Concerning t'lio Government’s intention in the matter, legal opinions dill’er as to whether it has the right to subdivide and let to fresh tennrils, .mil if our latest legislation is open to similarly free interpretations by future Governments, then may pr.i.eiit landholders look for trouble when a isocialistic 'Government gets a good grip of the (Parliamentary machinery. It is generally recognised lhat whatever the intentions of the <!-. .'- eminent which passed the 1885 .Act, and whatever views the tenants held at that time concerning the contra -I. they were making, the actual voiding of the Act will not prevent the Government from taking control of the land on tho expiry of the present lease, and selling it to oilier settlers. AY'hat the present oceuniere claim it, that the Government cannot let, •

fresh tenants so long as the prose 11 ones are willing to renew. Lego I acumen can, of course, discover all sorts of hidden meanings l in phi'o statements of fact, hut to the ordi iary individual it would seem that Mu Government is assuming powers fill u were never intended to be given by the framers of the Act. In aay case, the least that, could have been done by the Sodden and the Ward Alini.strics was to liavo made a straiglr.out pronouncement long ore thin as to their intentions in the matter, instead of leaving it to the ■eleventh hour before making it plain to the country that the policy now proposed was lo be adopted. Even now, with only a few months to go before the twelve months’ notice to quit or otherwise.is to be given, tenants si re in a quandary to know what is to be done with their individual leases. The only gleam of hope given to the deputation on Saturday by the Alinister was his reminder that if lessees considered l they ha I not received proper treatment by the Land Board, they could always appeal to the Minister, and each case would then be considered on its merits. In this connection it may be useful to bear in mind ALr. AleNab’s admission that North- Island lands with their rough bush country should have been treated l differently from the flat lands of the South, the implication being, that in his opinon the- leases in this district were not long enough to give -1 in occupant a reasonable chance of being compensated for his .pioneer work. It is, of course, a great -temptation at a time when the popular cry is for closer settlement at any pree, for a Government to pounce down upon, lands which have, after years of arduous labor been brought to a profitable condition, but the ethics of fair play must bo observed by the State at all times, and the contracts, written or implied, made with the old settlers must under no consideration be broken.