FOES TO FREEHOLD.

NZ Truth, Issue 234, 18 December 1909, Page 4

FOES TO FREEHOLD.

The wave of opinion m favor of the freehold is possibly the most astonishing thing that has occurred m the political history of New £Daland since the Dominion was granted responsible government, and .is probably ons of those cycles of public feeling for which all countries have bean noted. The question of whether a Premier like Sir Joseph Ward should sacrifice all other Liberal princijilss and place iiie Government of the country under,, the Tory rule of ttoc Masseyifes by accepting certain defeat on the subject of the leasehold is a burning . question throughout New i&ealand, and some people wonder if the Liberal^Labor combination which has passed the most democratic legislation , m the world will hold together m view of the new crisis, or whether the majority of the Labor people will accept the Wardian compromise until next election, which might furnish an entirely new House on the land question. It is certain that a Massey Government would not hold office for five minutes, and as Labor is also insufficiently strong to accept the reins of power, many who disbelieve m the freehold are contenting themselves with entering a formal protest against the proposals m the Land Bill.

In. Christchurch the Canterbury Trades and Labor Council has issued a manifesto stating that the Government by its land proposals had undone part of the Liberal legislation of the past twenty : years. The Council recalls tbe Soup Kitchen era of the Atkinson Government, when the cry of the landless was heard and the curse of land monopoly had been lifted from the country ; but although the success of buying large estates m the past was recognised, the redistribution of land had not gone on fast enough and the aggregation, -of estates Was- still : continuing. The nianiifesto declared m favor of land nationalism, and expressed the opinion, •that the vicious and unworthy proposal of the freehold from an alleg.edly Liberal Government would result m private laiidlordism, which had been a curse right down the centuries. Labor therefore proposed to enter the field ol politics and explain to the workers the effects of the gigantic steal of the public estate that was meditated by the Ward Government. From this out, the Labor party pledged itself to dissociate itself from Liberalism. South Christchurch on Saturday last also expressed lite strong disapproval of the freehold proposals. J. A. McCullough, workers' representative on the Arbitration Court, expressed the opinion that the ' freehold proposals were a violation of tbe principles that had placed the Liberal Government m power twenty years ago. The enormous amount of money that it bad cost to place each leasehold tenant on the land was enlarged upon, and the enormity of presenting these people with the land at the expense of the rest of the population Was epoben of- Labor, he said, must send its own men to Parliament. A Governmßnii tenant present mentioned that there were 4417 of his class who. were entitled to the freehold und«r the Land Bill. He had neighbors who were anxious to obtain the fee simple of their land on the astoundingly advantageous terms proposed by the Government. His immediate neighbor would be able to acquire his section at £90 an acre, wfcllst the value of land m iiiat vicinity was anything from £400 to £450 per a cre. The tenant suspected that when his neighbor acquired the freehold ho would sell out and -pocket a cool £10ft0. The freehold on those terms was extremely desirable, and it \sw.iid lose a good settler to the State. After further discussion, the following motions were carried : — "That this meeting believes that the freehold tenure is the most pernicious form of tend tenure and most empaat-ica-Uy protests a.cair.st the proposal to grant the freehold of their sections to Cro'vn tenants, and the . sale of any mor» of the Crown iands of the Dominion." "That this meeting decides to-night to form a branch of the New ; 'Zealand Labor Party m Christchurch South." "That the secretary write and notify the Canterbury Trades and Labor Council that this branch of the N.Z. Labor Party is willing to co-operate m any action it may purpose taking regarding the leasehold question."