Established 1875 Manawatu Times. FRIDAY,JUY 20, 1883. LAND LAW AMENDMENT.

Manawatu Times, Volume VIII, Issue 318, 20 July 1883, Page 2

Established 1875 Manawatu Times.

FRIDAY, JUY 20, 1883. LAND LAW AMENDMENT.

believed the whole o!: that large area would have passed into the hands of large holders,. The Bill he no.# submitted would "pi ocee<Hn Jbe same direction. The Bill would es- - i ab] is h a sys tern by vßhi eh' pus fcbral lands on the perpetual renewal of leases system should /not be per-«, mianently alienated, and providing that the tenant should obtain the full value of his impiortments. J f .h.vjiad .his o\yn. . Way ,^ho _woylJ[, u<»t .alienate another., pastoral acre m the colony. Pastoral lands shonld remain i : public estate for all i-inie. i This Bill prop.. sed also that; anvoinj could hold one of these leasehold pastoral blocks, if holdiujj a freehold within a certain distance. The 'lessee \voukl also be required to put improvements on, the land m six years equal m value to four yearsA'i'enfcal. • The lease wOuld be terminable at 14 or 21 years^- and the lease might then be put up. again, on a 1 revaluation by arbitration, the ocempier to have the option of renewal at the value so fixed. The deferred-payment system w$b 4 . represented aa not being quite free from the speculative element. Th date hail been, he thought, unwisely shortened m 1879, for enabling the occupier to raise money on his section. However, 'the Bill -sought to check" specnlation m this/ class of holding by" proyidin a; that the deferred holder sho.u'd ;.not aoquire "a right to the freehold of his section until the end of sii years. The law was very defective as to 'pastoral 'deferred payment, and lie hoped m this Bill to avoid the evils of possible dummyism, and by enabling the holder to get the benelits of improvements m fencing &c, he believed the face of the country m : pastoral deferred-pay-ment districts would soon be changed. He invited the fullest discussion, and had -no doubt valuable suggestions could be made by members who bad carefully watched the operation of laud laws m the colony., . " ;

"Words we tlurii/s/'imd a <iro{) ftf ink filling likf dow iiiJoii a thought, produces tsbuf whioli inulcos , Oiousnuilsi ptiilmps millious Hank."

In the ffpiiSe of .Representatives on '^jiesday evening, £h« Hon. Mr Rol" jeatpn moved; the sepond, reading of the Land Act Amendment. Bill. Iv doing so he said this "wais th«( Bill affecting Crown Lands which he had brought before this .House, following, on the liberal land Act passedthrough the. exertions of Mr Donald /RteidiX The object' ot steto'di legislation should lie'i to • prevent couflicts and, .grievances , between classes m the' community; and to 'pr'^veut ! the extremes ;of . . wealth, and jpoverty, :No evil, cqjild bV;worse for phis State than that," involving d&ngers, and' troubles, and revolutions m the fu*. ture. The Biihi'hei had brought m h^the object "of promoting' ifche "facilities of obtaining laM frp'm ■ the State Without beiug' thrown on the merges • jbf^, money-lenders,/: and speculators, holding ,. ; Targe- estates. He. had .laid 0n. .-t^e- stable a report; showing the satisfactory, working of the Land Department. /.Last year's "iand revenue did not rpach j thp, of previous yeWs, for several' reasons. But on! thewHolefthe re^ 'suit was not miicK to be |eplored; I The 'sections on. tlie jesidence condition «verfl[g(|>t much lesft than . on' pßev.ibus .years ; v and it was ■ not the: main^bdsinesii of thd'dlapaftnient to ! create 1 the largest ahiouiit of re-. : , Jvehue : u m a palrticdlar ; y;eaiybu;t toi,'. 'protnoie the largestampunt" 6? bona. .fide settlement. , Refemng" Jg j the' :^Vaimate- Plains, h'(e,.sa|d.tha^.in' the la§t ;twp. and, ashal4Jye.ar|B £0,000 acres had been, disposed of,!: >pi«actically m" alternate sectiong of deferred and cash payment, the actuaP prpjq portion, l^irjg one-third'' of deferred" payment's K >nd ' two«thirda cash 'sec,ti^n^.,: Sppie. homesteads hadbeeii established 6n tb.OO acres, and.rthe country, -presented nojv a much altered appearance. Seferi ring' to;; ptage, .he said: more (settle* merit; wag going on 'there than m the' vpreyious peripid. , In . Qanterbury out of nearly ;3,000,000- acres of land, 1,852; 000 acres had been pujv chased by 'only 91 persons. That was riofc his notion of proper settlement, and he hoped jfuture settlement there and elsewhere, would be such, as; to socure the .occupation /o£ • the country iv suitable sused farmW jaccordingtothe varying piroumstanM ces. "'The arrears •of payments by deferred; payment 'Settlers were not . so ! ,largo or so' general as was com-'' monly stated, /&ndvfche hew principle pf.;iEinabijng^them,, I,_when,1 ,_when, m difficnX-'. ties, to capitalise their.paymentStW^as working satisfactprily. Referring to : the new system of : perpetual renewal of - leases, he 6aid ; persons ■iu«' tbi* colony^ as'in New South Wales, were becomihg cohvinced thai the "proper principle of settling the land was to secure a 'proper' tenure of pastoral lands, on the one hand, and to, secure .that the tenure of agricultural land for bona fide settlement should, on the other hand, be such as would ensure the occupapation of the land, without its falling into tlje frauds of large specuiatprs..:. The^ eiperienoe of tl^e perpetual leasing system during thtj last year was highly satisfactory on the whole; and he proposed to ask the House to re-affirm thY principle this yoar^by applying it m the same/ propo^n as last' year. In the Siratli Taieri block, if a portion had not hHQ «ff«r«d on thi»pii»cipl% 4 ho