THE CROPPING RESTRICTIONS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12936, 16 October 1907, Page 8

THE CROPPING RESTRICTIONS.

MODIFICATION ASKED FOR. (SPKCIAL TO THE IHES3.")

WELLINGTON, October 15. Ten members of Parliament, headed by Sir William Steward, waited on the Minister for Lands this morning with o request that the Lend Bill should be amended in the direction of freeing Crown tenants from the r 4 ion of the cropping regulations they had put 30 per cent, of . nents on their buildings. Sir , a m declared that one of the principal reasons for the igitetion in favour of the freehold for Crown tenants was the vexatious nature of these restrictions. Where a man had greatly improved his holding it could, he thought, be taken for granted that he would not injure aia property. The Bill provided that where the tenant paid off one-third of the capital value of his holding the restrictions no longer applied. The deputation, therefore, urged that a man who improved his holding to the extent of 50 per cent, (nnd maintained thcee improvements) should bo in precisely the same position as a tenant who paid off c third of tho capital value. If the clouse in the Bill could not be re-eommitteed, tho deputation wished to know if the Minister would have the amendment inserted in the Upper House.

The Minister, in reply, said it would have been noticed thr.t the proposals in the bill, when in Committee, had been enormously modified in the direction referred to by the deputation. He took it thot the deputation required a modification rather than abolition of the regulations. He did not know to what extent this could be done, but he would look into the regulations to see if the Government could not be niihler in its requirements. It had to be remembered that in the great bulk of cases which did not come under the Lands for .Settlement Act, what the deputation urgod v.ne practically th* requirements of the Bill. The question of tho oir.ount to be paid before the Government could remove restrictions had been very carefully thought out before the proposals had been embodied in the Bill. He would put tho whole matter before his colleagues. A deputation from membcrs'of the Upper House also pieced the matter before tho Attorney-General.