REFORM LAND POLICY.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 94, 21 April 1924, Page 3

REFORM LAND POLICY.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —I hold no brief for the Reform Government, yet I like fair play. Your correspondent, Mr. Hall-Skelton has again made a fierce tirade in your j columns in regard to the above. His aci cusations are rather too loose and general Ito carry much weight with the thinking public. For instance, he says that "1090 persons out of a population of 1571,745 own 18,368,390 acres." Now the population consists of men, women and children. Is it not fair to include the men, women and children of the landowners, say four to a family, which would give not 1096 but 4384 persons? Surely landowners do not own their land jto the exclusion of their families! Of course even this disparity is very improper, but Conservative and Liberal Governments have, for over half a century been endeavouring to remedy j this state of things by legislation, but j have failed. Your correspondent does I not tell us how to prevent people with i money from buying land and creating i large areas. He may find consolation in the fact that heavy land tax and death duties will even up matters somewhat. Then Mr. Skelton attacks the Government in respect to its policy of settling the returned soldiers on the iand. He must surely remember the great public demand for supplying the soldiers with good land in going order. It wa3 said at the time that these men deserved the beet at our hands. Landowners naturally took advantage of this big demand and put up their prices accordingly. What was the unfortunate Government to do under such circumstances, except to pay high prices. It is scarcely fair to blame the Government j now Fifty years ago p I heard I a fierce debate in the 'House of . Parliament in Melbourne on the land questin, and ever since it has been a burning question in most countries. To-day we eeem no nearer to a solution of the problem. Your correspondent must be of a sanguine temperament, if he can solve the knotty question of equitablel and laws by a mere wave of his magic wand.—l am, etc. JOHN A. BBALE.