OPPOSITION LEADER

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 228, 27 June 1928, Page 12

OPPOSITION LEADER

SPEECH AT HASTINGS REFORMS LAND POLICY CRITICISED Bl TKLCGBAFII.—PRESS- ASSOCIATION Hastings. Juno 26. Mr. 11. E. Holland, Loader of the Opposition. concluded his pre-sessional tour at Hastings to-night, when he addressed a large audience in the Assembly Hall Mr. Holland devoted practically his whole speech to the land question, criticising the Reform Party's policy. Mr. Holland took his hearers back to 1912. when the Reformers challenged the waning Liberals, denouncing them, and at. the same time making all kinds of promises. The Liberals. during fifteen years, had increased the national debt by £20.000,000- The Kefonners during a similar period l , exclusive of war loans, had increased the debt by £80.000,000. He understood from the president of the Farmers' Union that some figures were omitted from the year book, and he could not ascertain the position properly. The Reformers proclaimed themselves friends of the farmers, and made many promises. The Land and its Holders. ]\Jr. Holland stated that there were 43.500,000 acres of rural land in New Zealand in 86.000 holdings. Of the holders of rural lands, nearly 7000 held 30.000,000 acres, leaving 13,000,000 among 78,000 people. Referring to the larger holdings. Mr. Holland stated that the Government diminished them by one only during the last: year. He admitted that they must consider value besides area to judge whether holdings were large or small. Dealing with the evils of mortgages, the speaker said Mr. Coates told the farmers that he would give them the freehold. How many owned the freehold? If merchants and banks held the title deeds it was not really freehold, only mortgage. Some workers were accused of going slow. Mortgages were never accused of going slow: they worked day and night, getting the farmers in the end. (Laughter.) Air. Holland quoted figures showing that during the Reform regime registered mortgages increased by 242 per cent., while capital value increased by onlv 92 per cent. Instead of giving the freehold Reform gave Dominion-wide mortgage-hold, which was a strung e-hold on the country. The Reformers claimed to be champions of the freehold. Why didn’t they let the farmers own their own land? Interest on registered mortgages was something for farmers to consider. The total annual interest bill at 6 1-3 per cent, was over £19,000,000, and 5-> pert cent, of it was on rural lands. They shoul’. realise that the farmerse shared the great burden of £10,000,000. The large percentage of mortgages under £lOOO showed that the farmers were carrying the heavy end of the iiiteiest bill. If the Government brought forward legislation to reduce mortgage i i ter.es t it would have conferred a greater benefit than tax reduction. While overseas banks reduced the bank rate of interest outassociated banks lifted the rate from b* to 7 per cent. Although Reform promised the farmers finance, the Year Book showed that since the Government came into power the amounts borrowed at a low rate had been reduced, while amounts borrowed at a high rate had been substantially increased. Transfers of Land.

Mr. Holland dealt with the evils of land transfer. During 16 years there had been 484.000 transactions —about three for every holder during the period. The consideration money of the transfers totalled £513.000,000, and the costs involved 5 per cent., making a total cost of nearly' £26,000,000 in transferring, from one set of holders to another. He did not contend that all were unnecessary, but a large proportion were due to mortgages. The result of the Reform land policy had increased the land agent s business, and the great, costs involved must in the end be paid by producers and consumers. The laud's only real value was its productive value. When raised above that it was loading against the producer and consumer alike. The LabourParty proposed that the Land Transfer Department do the work that land agents were now doing. Mr. Holland challenged any small farmer to prove that he received any benefit from the reduced land taxation. He quoted figures to show that the only benefits received were by owners who had large taxable balances. He stated that a mere handful received a quarter of a million sterling. . . Air. Holland criticised the financial legislation to assist the farmer as ineffective, and said it was not availed of bv'farmers with the exception of a tew. He spoke of the State and agricultural banks on the lines of his previous speeches. . Unemployment.

Air. Holland said be saw numbers of men trudging the roads willing to work, but who were unemployed. He. said there was no excuse for this-111 such a richly-endowed country as New Zealand. The ' farmers’ interests lay with the wage earners’, as without their efforts their produce would be valueless. it the workers got better wages they would be larger consumers of the farmers proRegarding exports. Mr. Holland said the middleman handling New Zealand produce in Britain must be eliminated. At the conclusion of his speech Mi. Holland was accorded a vote of thanks.

MR. HOLLAND MEETS MAORI GATHERING THE SAMOAN QUESTION (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Hastings, .lune 211. \ lar'-c’and representative gathering <’f Maoris met Mr Holland Ift Omtlhu_ tins Government Statistician, the divorce rate per 100 marriages places the United States first witli 141. Switzerland second with 7 J and New Zealand and France next with tijeach, after which come. Australia. Sweden, and the Netherlands, with 4 eacii per 100 marriages. During the year 1027, 722-petitions for dissolution of marriage (including 5 for nullity I were, filed in the Dominion. This number was J < less than in 1026, and has been exceeded on five occasions—viz., in IAJI (748), 1021 (706). 1024 (<6Bl. 102-> (72.3), and 1026 (730). The number ot decrees nisi (620) has been exceeded on only two occasions, the greatest number recorded in a single year being 060 in 1021. followed by 651 in .1024. I be number of ’decrees absolute D»40). yhilc 74 less than the record total for 1026, is als., the third highest; on record. Here again caution is necesstiry in making international comparisons, due to the varying divorce laws in different countries. Suicide* The following comparative table covers the suicide rale per 10.000 of population in 26 countries, among which New Zealand ranks sixteenth in the ascending

afternoon at the first meeting in the district called too meet the Leader of the Opposition. A welcome was extended by twoi chiefs.

After outlining the outcome of the Lab. our Conference of 1923, and the Maori repesentutions, aud declaring that he thought the Government was not paying enough attention to the compilation of Maori records, Mr. Holland devoted his address to Samoan questions. He briefly outlined tile charges of Administration prior to Samoa being handed over t<> New Zealand, and then criticised Sir Georga Richardson’s administration. Mr Holland stated that the people were angry, because the Government allowed influenza, stricken ships in 191 S to leave New Zealand shores to visit Western Samoa, where, ho said, 25 per cenU of the native population died. Tills was followed by Sit George Richardson’s administration banishing chiefs, taking away tribal customs, and generally breaking promises, until the natives were incensed. He compared the iustiee meted out to the Samoans and to the Maoris, and gave Instances of where he contended that miscarriage of justice find taken place in Samoa. “The Coates Government's administrators have violated till Un* principles of the Magna Charts hold so dearlv by the British people.” ha said, and added Hint it was unfortunate that with the exception of one speech oy Sir Maui Poma re. no Maori in Parliament had stood with the Labour Party iu support of the Samoans. If Labour were In power it; would moot Iho Samoans on the basis of conciliation and justice, and let them know that they were given the right to take part in the government of their own country.* Every promise made by any previous Government would be honoured to the full, and European and Samoan would 1,0 given the same fair treatment as Maori and pakelia were given in New Zealand. Procedure along these liner, would mats Hie Mandate Administration a credit '<s New Zealand, and satisfactory to the Samoans. If Hie Administration could non be carried out without violence, then if. was better t-> hand Samoa back to the League of Nations. A vote of thanks was accorded to MS Holland.

scale:— Period. Kato per 10.000. Jamaica 1921-25 O.15 Irish Free State 1922-26 O.2S Chile 1919-23 11.33 Spain 1922-26 ( >. 42 Northern Ireland 1922-26 0.45 Ceylon 1922-26 (1.50 Norway 1920-21 0.56 Netherlands ... 1921-25 0.62 Scotland 1921-25 0.66 (‘anada 1922-26 0.78 Italy 1920-24 (I.S2 England & ales 1922-26 1.04 South Africa . 1921-25 1.06 Australia ..... 1923-27 1.1 1 United Slates . 1921-25 1.21 New Zealand . .1923-27 1.23 Finland 1921-25 1.24 Uruguay 1919-23 .1.29 Belgium 1921-25 1.33 Sweden 1921-25 1.39 Denmark 1920-24 .1.40 Japan Austria 1921-25 191S-22 1.97 2.12 Germany ...... 1919-23 2.1 1 Switzerland .— 1919-23 2.26 Hungary ...... •. 1918-22 2.28