Crown Holdings

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 30, 29 October 1932, Page 13

Crown Holdings

Sir,—The annual report recently tabled in the House of Representatives disclosed the economic condition of some 37,423 Crown land tenants on the department’s books as at March 31. The report states that the total receipts declined from £1,290,856 in 1929 to £776,489 in 1932. a deficit of £514,367. The report also points out that the arrears of rent at March 31 amounted to £507,311, and that under existing conditions these Crown tenants could not be expected to pay their arrears. While sympathising with the tenants, one wonders what will be the result of so many defaults and deficits. The cure must be a general writing down of values. Indirectly the Lands Department through its own volition, viz., it is taking no action to recover £807,311 arrears, admits that there is an urgent necessity for the writing down of all capital values. Let us take the deficit of £514,367. This represents an inflated land value of 39.8 per cent., and had tile land been reduced by 39.8 per cent, the deficit would not have occurred. A charge above the productive value of the land was made, and therefore the farmer must fail.

However, the action taken by the Lands Department was necessary to stabilise values, for Sir William Hunt prophesied that unless something was done along these lines some 50,000 farmers would be forced into the unemployed ranks. Sir William Hunt also claimed that 75 per cent, of our internal trouble was created side by side with the 75.000 unemployed, therefore it must automatically follow that if the Lands Department had not assisted in keeping these 37.423 Crown tenants on their farms, then the unemployed would have immediately increased by that number, our internal troubles further aggravated and prices considerably reduced. Tn a letter published in “The Dominion,” October 14. an employer proposed n 20 per cent, reduction, but apparently his estimate is far too low, for the action of the Lands Department, clearly shows that at least a -10 per cent, reduction will have to be made to allow the farmers to carry on, and if the first mortgagee extended a similar reduction to all employers and clients, we would then be better able to commence rehabilitation by turning our unemployed liability into a national asset. The Government could furnish an index rate of interest from their own yearly returns; it would then be able to make some headway, leaving our Minister of Finance to convert our external and internal debts as necessity and opportunity provides.—l am. etc., C. GRAYXDLEK. WfUingtau.. October. 26.