THE LAND COMMISSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 66, 18 March 1905, Page 3

THE LAND COMMISSION.

(Bj T*legrapb.-own Correspondent.)

NASEBY, Friday. The Land Commission sat at Eanfurlv on Friday morning. Jno. Forrester, holding a freehold and UI.P., thought if it could be restored deferred payment would be the best method by which to acquire land. Patrick Bleach, dairy farmer, holdin" a freehold and leasehold, said he was satisfied with L.I.P. tenure, but objected to the residential condition of leasehold tenure being enforced upon bona fide tenants. John Law, junior, said he bought a freehold of 1700 acres from the Bank of New ZeaJand ten years ago, having previously failed at a ballot. He believed m the principle of State ownership of the soil. He did not believe in re-valua-tion of LJ.P. land, but it would come to that in bad times. He preferred nominated Land Boards. He thought freehold land should be mortgageable to the Crown only, so that in the event of the holder failing the land would revert to the State. Patrick MeLuskey, who had failed to secure land by ballot, considered lease-in-perpetuity better than freehold, preventing the aggregation of large estates. James Scott, holding a lease-in-per-petuity, thought the land laws could be administered by commissioners and ranger 3 without the need of Land Boards. NASEBY, this day. The Land Commission heard evidence at Naseby on Friday afternoon. Jas. Brown, an old resident, favoured elective land boards. Jas. Hobb said the opening of the railway coincident with the high price of rabbits on the Home market had resulted in heavy trappings. The grass was growing better, and thr land was more valuable in consequence, James R. Kirk, solicitor, praised the machinery of the Advances to Settlers Act. He thought the' limit could be safely extended in some districts.

In connection with the loss of the ship Khyber off the coast of Cornwall, cabled during the week, an interesting incident is reported by the officers of the Taviuni. It appears that traders in one of the Paumoto group of inlands found a bottle last month containing the following message written on a slip of paper torn from a pocket book: "Sinking fast —Khyber." The rest of the message seems to have been obliterated, but as far as could ba snade out it bore a date of November last. The Khyber left Melbourne in October last for Queenstown, and a month later must have sprung a leak, which the crew seem to Kave been iinable to keep under. As stated she got very near her destination when misfortune overtook her, and she was wrecked, a large number of her crew being drowned.