The Land Question.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 463, 5 June 1890, Page 2

The Land Question.

[TO THE EDITOR.] Sis, —Up to ths present -I have always felt pleased, and, to a certain extent, congratulated myself whenever I have read or heard of reform, no matter frotn where it came. I do not mind what party in the political arena, nor do I care what man it may emanate from, so lohg as a re-form is brought about. Now, it is pretty well known that Mr J. D. Ormond is a great land owner; it is also well known that be is opposed to the national ownership of land ; and I am not going to assert that he is being actuated by any motive of philanthropy in endeavoring to bring a further supply of population into New Zealand—Mr Ormond is a very shrewd man, and there may be some scheme hidden away in his fertile brain which at present is latent as far as the public are concerned. lam not losing eight of the fact that thsre is soon to be a general appeal to the country, and that just about that time there will no doubt be a great many “reforms” brought about (in theory) pretty well all over the colony, but any man who will go to the House and carry auy reform in land, by placing the people more widely and cheaply upon it, and trying as much as lies in hie power to maintain that land as the property of the State, is deserving of some thought from the struggling toilers. Speaking of reformers, sir, brings to my mind the doings of Mr Gladstone some years ago, when ha had printed a pamphlet about as unOatholio as it were perhaps possible it could be. But since that time mayhe the whole world has been made aware of the fact of what he has not only done for the emancipation of the Catholics in Ireland, but what reforms he brought about by his Irish Catholic Bill, relieving- thereby thousands of poor people who did not Belong to a certain ohnrch, from contributions. Therefore, let us hope that Mr Ormond will prove to be a thorough reformer. The Chambers of C>m me: os are at last opening their eyesand looking at matters from a eerious p int of view, Thay are beginning to sse that if we are to increase our wealth we must do it by increasing our pnntilarion, and in order to do that we must offer every facility to intending newcomers by giving the land, " even to the extent of leasing them at nominal rentals,” as Mr Miller very wisely puts it, and I may say I agree almost in toto with the resolutions as put by that gentleman at the meeting of the Napier Chamber of Commerce, with the exception of the latter part of bis fourth resolution, which reads, "As well as for facilitating their economical conveyance to their destination," which, however, is not quite dear to me. He may mean that we should inaugurate a system of “assisted immigration,” Then, if so, that cannot be—the country oould neves consent to that; but if his fourth resolution has no tendency to “ assisted immigration ” then I hold that ths whole of his motion as published is not only the most necessary, but the most searching resolution that has come before the public for a long while, as it penetrates right down to ths root of the evil tree, and I am only sorry to see that Mr Miller should have been at all induced to give way to Mr Ormond. I have always taksn a lively interest in the land question, and I should very much like to see our rural lands dotted with the smiling and happy homes of the small farming class, and for this means I shall advocate that the Crown lands be retained by the State, and that the State buy up as much other land as possible, including Native land, and I should further suggest that the Crown deal even more liberally with people taking up land for settlement (not tor speculation) by offering the first two years entirely free from rental, but only to bona file settlers. Land is hot a commodity, that it may be taken away, it is the basis of *ll things, the producer of all things, therefore it should be the common property of all, vested in the right of the Government. All that is required by a man is a “ fixity of tenure,” then he is satisfied, he can thou settle down and improve, and contribute to the markets, both Homa and foreign, and become happy bj the fact of hla having a stalls io the country.—l ami *o,,