The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, MARCH 23rd, 1876.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 89, 23 March 1876, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, MARCH 23rd, 1876.

If it were possible; .to >-. analyse the motives which induce the industrious portion ". of the community in the' home country to leave theii? native land and emigrate to the Colonies, we believe it would he found that in the great majority of cases these motives. were convicted with the acquisition of land. The desire to obtain a portion of the surface of the globe which one could call his own, w&uld seem to be, It not I an inherent principle, at least a very strong desire implanted in human nature, and to satisfy which, men will suffer any amount of inconveniencies and incur dangers innumerable. Poj litical reformers in the home country I openly advocate from time to time the loosening of the bonds of entail under which so large a portion of the lands have for centuries been held and transmitted intact from one heir to another for all time coming, but all to no purpose. These bonds have been so securely ri vetted, and so powerful is the influence brought to bear to keep them secure that however saving and industrious the people may be in the home country, they have no prospect of ever seeing the entailed estates unlocked and open for sale. " The land question " thus has driven population to the Colonies where greater facilities exist for J the acquisition of freehold estates. It is hot, therefore to be wondered at that legislation in connection with the land should be closely watched by settlers in the Colonies, nor that the strict decorum of legislative halls should sometimes be infringed upon in the course of the many warm debates to which the land question gives rise. The foundation of the struggle which has just been brought to a close in Victoria, was the land question, and although every right thinking individual must condemn and j deplore the unbridled passion which was manifested in the course of the de- j bate, and the degrading language which Was employed, more particularly by the Opposition, still, denuded of the obnoxious elements, the debate was an important one, and could not fail to prove interesting and instructive to many in this country. The point aimed at by the Opposition seems to have been to prevent the landed estates of the Colony being monopolised by a few hundreds of wealthy individuals who did not contribute anything like a fair share of the cost of Government or of improvements in the shape roads, public works, railways, &c, the taxes for which bear so heavy upon the general community. To obviate this the Opposition sought to levy a special tax upon a sliding scale, and to be imposed according to the extent and character of these holdings. Sir James M'Culloch and party, at present in power, oppose any such mode of dealing- with the land monopolists, and by the adoption of a very arbitrary and an English stratagem shut the mouths of his opponents and thus secured a victory. The Opposition members are now agitating the country, and are meeting with a very large amount of sympathy which may perhaps reverse matters at next election. In this country the land question has, above all others been fertile of debate in the past, and is likely to occupy the same position in our legislative Councils for some years to come. There can be no manner of doubt we have amongst us a class of men whose aim it is to grasp the permanent tenure, by fair means or foul, of the lion's share of the people's inheritance — the landed estate of the Colony. The great barrier which has hitherto prevented the attainment of their object has been the Provincial Councils. These, elected by the body of the people, and acting more immediately under their control, have as yet to some extent at least obstructed the wholesale alienation of the land to monopolists who contribute little or nothing to the expense of Government or necessary public works. Government has been upheld, railways and other pubiic works have been constructed, and the work of colonisation carried on at the •expense of the people, and consequently the representatives of the people in Pro-" vincial Councils have contended for the -waste lands thus rendered immensely more valuable being made available for the use of and occupation by the people. The General Assembly on the other hand-has persistently thwarted and obstructed the action of the Provincial Councils in this respect, and its legislation has notoriously been onesided — "in .-favor of the squatter and the monopolist. Witness the obnoxious Hundreds Regulation Act which will for ever remain a disgrace to those who supported it. Now Provinces and Provincial Councils are to be abolished. The very boundaries of the former are to be utterly obliterated, and unless prevented by the stern resistance of the people, the land fund will assuredly become common property, or rather will be entirely swallowed up by the extravagance of the General Government, for, although our land fund be made colonial revenue, we do not believe one penny of.it will ever be applied to assist "the weaker Provinces;": Some sanguine but silly individuals seemed to live, in hopes that Sir Julius Yogel would on his return to this country at once embrace the opportunity they seemed to think he had of identifying himself with the anticentralist party, and cast the fictitious influence he has obtained- into the scales, on . the side of

the people and their, just claims. All **.uch are surely now undeceived. His address -"as Premier" ai ■•-, Wanganiji revtaJg the man who was ." pulling the string" during the last session. of Assembly\ It shews who has all^long been goa^ng on the " Reynoldses " ip the^ most arbitrary manner .to deprive the hard-woiMiig settlers of this Colony of their polity. ' territorial, and pe/cuniary rights. Xlbe speech reveals Sir Julius in all his r^Wd despotism and unscrupulousness. \Neither his own most solemn pledge\ repeated again and again, nor those ol his colleagues, are to be in the least .'regarded. The Provincial boundaries are tp be broken down, and the political rKlways. the cost of which were to be charged locally, are now to be made colonial Charges, Many other instances of direct bihaches of faith might be given. The objiHt of the Premier is now made plain to\he most obdurate — the whole political, power is to be centred in Sir Julius Yogel, and the whole resources of the Colony are to be poured into his purse to he expended for the benefit of himself and friends as he from the German baths, or wherever he may locate himself may dictate. Such a power he has not yet quite secured. Tbe people still have their land and their land fund, and we much mistake the spirit of the community if they will not resist the carrying out of any such proposals as the Premier now most impudently puts forth.