THE LANDS REPORT.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10733, 13 August 1900, Page 4

THE LANDS REPORT.

I The annual Report, of the Department of i Lauds' and Surveys, shows a considerable falling off dm the area, of Grown Lands taken 1 up comparedi with, the returns of four or five years ago. Last year there wefe 2310 selectors or purchasers, and the area taken up was 1,573,823 acres. In 1895-6, there 2865 selectors, and 2,662,344 acres—in other words, fchiere was a falling off of more than a million acres last year, compared with the area taken up in 1895. To make the comparison worse, it appears that a large proportion of tlte land taken up last year was pastoral land, which can he taken up in blocks of 2000 acres and upwards. It appears that the amount of agricultural land left tor disposal by tihe Crowx is small. It is now practically admitted tnut Pomohaka as a failure. We are told that "several hold"ings hadi to be declared forfeited during "the year owing to the lessees having failed "to meet their financial obligations, a result "of having started with insufficient capital "or on borrowed money, and possibly, too, "with deficient knowledge of farm " work. Consequently-there is at present " a less number of selectors in occupation " than a.t March 31st, 1899." Seventeen of the tenants have petitioned Parliament to come to their relief, and it is- evident the Government are in a great difficulty to know what to do in the matter. One passage in the Surveyor-General's repeat is well worth noting. He says: —"The lease i-a perpetuity " tenure still takes the leading position as to " the number of selectors, which is owing to " the fact that this system was obligatory in "many case* Where, however, the choice

"of tenure is left to the selectors, -which al- " ways occurs when lands are thrown open " for so-called free selection, it will be seen " that the occupation with right of purchase, which allows the tenant to obtain " the freehold, is more favoured than Uie " other system. This has been the case for " the last few yeaxs. The following figures "illustrate this:—Selected for cash, 95 '' selectors, 16,510 acres; occupation with " right of purchase, 395 selectors, 117,771 " acres; leasa in perpetuity, 348 selectors, " 111 ,108 acres." This simply confirms what wo have always said, namely, that the love of ths freehold is inherent in the hearts of the people, and that although our settlers may put up with a lease as a means of acquiring land in the first instance, they will not rest satisfied until they hay« received the option of converting it into what is essentially the Anglo-Sason system of tenure.