Parliamentary Gossip.

NOTES FROM THE GALLERY

LANDS IMPROVEMENT AND---ACQUISITION BILL.

(BT TEI_GKAP_,—PARLIAMENTARY RE-

PORTER. J

WelmngtOK, Friday. We traverse the question area of the Order Paper in record time. -It is an arid, unin' beresting region, and we are nob sorry, to quit it We halt for the afternoon besid* the Lands Improvement and Native Land Acquisition Bill, which by the way does nob promise to be an oasis. This measure is divided into three parts, the first provides thab £250,000 > be spenb for-roads and bridges, and the money, when raised, Will be placed in a special account, and cannot be disbursed wfthout the consent ot Parliament. On the second part, provision is made for the purchase of native lands. At the present time the. Government, are negotiating for large areas in different parts of the colony. In the King Country there are 700,000 to 800,000 acres under offer; in Gisborne 500,000 to 600,000 acres; in the Awarua block 130,000 acres ; in Wanganbi 300,000. The money raised for' the purchase of native land will also be used for the purpose of roading of these lands, the Minister poinbs out. Members Will understand that they amount of money obtained by the Bill will only provide for a limited amount of work, but it will be the object

of the Government to distribute expenditure as much as possible, . Part-three makes provision for the manner in which the money is to be provided, bub the Minister does nob dwell on ib, and passes on to a general review of the measure. It is necessary, he contends, that the people shall be pub On the land if the colony is to advance, In his opinion it is^ useless to place settlers on land unless you provide them with the means of approach to ib. Ho hopes that such a measure as this will meet with the warm approval of members,

Mr Mitchelson is led to believe from what the Minister has said that the money is not for the purpose of roading and bridging Crown lands only. "That is co," the Minister is understood.. to say, then Mr Mitchelson is satisfied on .that point. As to the Bill generally, he is a supporter of it, and as to criticism of details, that he will reserve for Committee, When he will give all the aid he can to make ib workable and satisfactory. I assume this is a borrowing Bill, says Sir 11. Stout, who calls attention to section four of the Bill, which provides that the Minister may allow persons to settle on Crown lands to improve the same, and that such persons shall have prior righb to lease land. The meaning of this is that the Minister may seb aside 640 acres of firsbclass land to any man, and that ,the Colonial Treasurer may advance any money to him, thab he shall have priority of purchase, this is really an amendment of the Land Act, contends Sir R. Stout. Is it right, says he, that a Minister of the Crown should have the right to give to any man such terms without competition? Referring to previous loans that have been raised for the ostensible purpose of opening up Crown laqds, he says that in almost every case they have been diverted to other ends, and he ventures to cay that when the Public Works Statement comes' down it will be found that more than half Of the £250,000 i3 to be spent on roads that have nothing to do with Crown lands. He hopes the Minister will be content with a much smaller sum than that mentioned in the measure. , . , ■~ ■ " .

The Premier begins, by saying that h6 had hoped at least thab this Bill would have pleased Wellington's senior member, but it' seems thab nothing the Government Can do will please that fastidious gentleman. ,

V Nothing in the nature of borrowing," retorts Sir Robert, with his well-known laugh.

This old taunt from the old quarter does not discompose Mr Seddon. He maintains that there is no borrowing in the usual acceptation of the term, and points out that it is for the best good Of the Country that the scheme set forth in the Bill should be given effect to. In justice to the North Island it must be done. We can get land at a price which is cheap for the colony and just to the natives. He emphasises this point, and pulling from his pocket a telegram, he reads out a record of departures from Auckland to Sydney by the last boat; there are 905 of them all told. Are we to permit our population to drift away from our shoree in this way, asks the Premier. The policy of assisting settlers is by no means a new one. The Government have been steadily pursuing it all along, with the resulb that the settlement) and prosperity of the country has been increased. He is sure that there are not half-a-dozen members in the- House who. will note agree with, 'him ;as (to the necessity for adopting this course and giving assistance. It is probable that his colleague will take £20,009 or so f6> the purpose of assisting settlers to improve their hoWings. •• Let him takeifc alli'fsugeests M* Bell, and eeVeral Others chime in thati£_o,oW is tOO littler- • ..:::h.:.?■'.»: >:>' .fL-^9''. ":<l~ ' Hj' \ The bbj6ctio_jraised riirSlriß. Stoat against the B_?*sa th'e-'rtiund "t_«tilb'w-f

§iye unchecked power to a Minister to help is friends and be* guilty of favouritism in the matter1 of j granting money for roads and i. bridges in particular districts, is trivial, says the Premier. The Minister will have no such' power. It will rest with the House. ; The; Premier.can't? understand the criticism ot Wellington members on the measure, which will ofirtainly do more to advance the North Island than any other piece of legislation. This roads and bridges question is after all one of the most, important for, a young colony like ours, and "discussion on it must arise On the floor of the House. As to the accugation of borrowing, the Premier denies that the proposals ot the measure before the House can be looked at in this light. The policy of the Government here is nob borrowing $ ib is simply an interchange of, one value for another, and better value.

Marsden Thompson, after a somewhab lengbhy but very practical dissertation rof I the best -methods 7 of settling* bush lands, goes on to state that he is afraid that tbe Government will meeb with some difficulty in dealing with the natives. Maoris (he tells us) sire very much averse to any restrictions being put on them with regarded the Belling Of their lands, but with care he thinks.negotiations can be successfully carried out. Speaking as a North Islander Marsden is sure that"every settler in that; part of New Zealand will rejoice when the measure becomes law. Mr Button says he does not object to the principle of buying land where it is required, if it can be proved that we are not to be losers by it. Endeavouring to-set; forth the position in which the colony/Will be- placed by the policy of assisting settlers, which finds expression in this measure and others, Mr Button declarestbaf it will cosb us £1,000 for every settler we may put on the land. Mr Button's argumenb, well thought out and

well delivered as it is, does not interest the House very greatly. Put into a nutshell, his speech amounts to a decided objection to this policy of advancing money to settlers and buying of land without any adequate prospect of ever being able to repay the money with which we afford assistance and make purchases as is righb and proper! The truth of this argument is contested by another Northerner, viz., Mr McGowan. The member for Quartzville thinks it absurd to look at the matter as Mr Button has done. We must look at it from a national point of view, and remember that the lanci boiigfit in our own country becomes part of the national estate, and that the more we can get people to settle on it and improve it, the more are we increasing the value of that national estate as a whole.

The member for Auckland's argument is still,further assailed by Mr Montgomery in a fluent speech, which is most favourable to the Bill and its author. The latter gets a large meed of praise: from Mr Montgomery, who considers Mr WcKenzie the best Minister of Lands the colony has ever had,' and his land policy the best policy, which will be perpetuated by all his successors in office.

Captain Russell falls completely to see the'cause for thin eulogy which has come from so many members. Statistics go to show, he contends, that that policy has not been very successful, and he cannot be so sanguine as to believe that there is anything in the latest expression of it in Such Bills as the one before him, which promises much good to the colony. He thinks that there is no necessity for raising such a large sum for the purpose of roading and bridging the country and buying native estates. In conclusion. Captain Russell declares himself against borrowing, which must result in the ruin of the credit of the colony. A laugh greets Mr O'Regan on his rising with the remark that he has come to improve the Bill. His main contention is that every district which receives the benefit of the money to be raised in the Bill, should pay for ib, and at the conclusion of his speech he moves as an amendment tbat the Bill be referred back to the Government for the purpose of introducing the principle Of betterment.

MrCarollmakesasnirited speech in favour of the natives and the land administration of the Government. He is againsb individualism of title where a large number of owners are concerned.

Mr O'Regan's amendment ia lost on the voices.

Then the Minister rises. His first words are directed against Air O'Regan, and he certainly does give that self sufficient young man a very large slice of his mind. Never yet has Mr O'Regan been more Beverly dressed down. The Minister is in excellent trim, and goes for bis opponents in a most spirited style. That finished, he explains the possibilities of the policy which he is endeavouring to carry out, and a most attractive picture does he draw, one which not even the Opposition can resist applaud- * A little before 2 a.m. the Minister concludes, the question is put* A crowd of members, Mr O'Regan among them, be it noted, flock into the right lobby, and everyone can See &t a glance that there is-a big majority for the Bill. As they defile out, Messrs Geo. Hutchison and Buchanan, who both spoke agalhst the measure, are seen among its supporters, and are greeted with great laughter and hand-clapping. Then the Speaker reads oub the numbers ,42 to -7«P The second reading is passed and the House adjourns at 2 a. m.

i The following are the seven who voted *gainSl»Jthe _ill Alleti, Button |? 4rnfh»*vGreen, Heke, l-*atata,'fthd Capb! Russell.