LAND SETTLEMENT.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9297, 26 July 1901, Page 5

LAND SETTLEMENT.

Captain Russell on the Fair Rent Bill. " Deliberate and Wanton jy-j- Fraud." iMr Seddon Replies, Bill .Passed Through Its Final Stages. [per press association.] Wellington-, Last night. Shortly after resuming at 7.30 to-night the House went into committee on the Laud for Settlements Act' Amendment Bill.

On the motion that the amendments made in committee be accepted, Mr Wilford moved the recommittal of the bill in order to reconsider clause 9, which gave the Governor power to make regulations in regard to claims for compensation in respect of the compulsory taking of land. He said he did not consider it proper that power should be given to alter any statute law of the colony by regulation. Mr Seddon said that Mr Barclay had a similar motion on the Order paper. He (Mr Seddon) had consulted the law officers on the point, and he offered no objection to the recommittal of the clause for alteration,, but he "would object to the clause being strut k. out. He admitted that to modify the statute law by regulation would create a dangerous precedent, and he would suurait an amendment in committee to meet the difficulty. Mr Barclay said the clause as it stood violated the fundamental principle of our Constitution. After come discussion Mr McGovyan moved an amendment that only the first paragraph of clause 9 be recommitted. Mr Seddon said the flaw was iv that paragraph. Mr McGowan's amendment was carried by 31 ito 29, and in committee the first paragraph of the clause was amended on Mr Seddon's motion to read as follows : —" The Governor may from time to time make regulations prescribing the procedure and forms to be used in making and disposing of claims for compensation, in respect of the compulsory taking of land under the principal Act; and the provisions of the Public Works Act, 1894, relating to claims for compensation are hereby modified, in so far as they are inconsistent wrh the principal Act." Tbe bill was then reported with amendments, which were agreed to on the voices. On the motion for tho third reading Mr Herries said that in moving an amendment in favor of granting Crown tenants the freehold right he had not aimed ac the future aggregation of large estates, but ot freeiog the voters of New Zealand from being under the thumb of any landlord. Mr Mills said that with regard to the charge that valuers under the Advances to Settlers Department had not made fair valuations on properties inspected the owner and the valuer looked at values from different standpoints, and the former took a much more rosy view than the latter. Mr Hogg opposed the freehold. Mr Horn-by said the prevention of the aggregation of lar/>e estates could best be seemed by the increase of the graduated land tax, and he considered legislation in this direction was necessary. • Mr Collins expressed satisfaction that the Premier had promised to bring down a measure dealing with Crown tenants' rates rebate, as the rebates had been irregularly enforced in various parts of the colony. It was very satisfactory that a measure regulating matters was to be brought down. Captain Russell spoke in condemnation of a Fair Rent Bill based on revaluation of leases in perpetuity. His view was that the lease in perpetuity had nothing to recommend it, but at the same time he held it was a deliberate and wanton fraud on the Crown tenants to sug&est a revaluation. Many of the additions made to the bill under disenssi' n were very queer. Claush Ba, which provided that applicants for land were to be : reduced by ballot to the cumber of sections available, was an utterly ot.surd provision, and savored of Gilberiian burlesque. With regard to the amendment he had proposed in the direction of increasing the amount of land an owner could reserve for his children, he claimed that had the vote on it been taken by ballot there were not ten members who would have voted against it- He declared that the provision for the compulsory acquisition of land had been used for political purposes and said that the practical politician in the country would have a say in the future, as opposed to the theoretical politician in the town. Mr Wilfo.d urged the cutting up of the estates now in the hands of the Assets Realisation Board, which would result in considerable benefit to the colony. Mr A. L. D. Fraser said that it was the sacred duty of the Ministry to have accepted Captain Russell's amendment, and have conserved the interests of children who had been born and brought up on their father's estate. Mr Haselden (who had been Givorn in and took his ses.t earlier in the evening) declared that generally the land the Government had acquired in the North Island had been paid for aboye its market value, in consequence of which the Government (who boasted of being the friends ot the workers) had to charge higher rent to make up for it. He strongly advocated that unproductive Crown lands be opened up before productive estates were seized. He expressed himself in favor of freehold. Messrs La wry, Field, Pirani, Barclay, and Laurenson also spoke. The debate was proceeding when the telegraph office closed. This day. After the telegraph office closed the debate on the third reading was continued by Messrs Massey, O'Meara, Meredith, and G. W. Russell. Mr Seddon rose to reply at 2.45. He said that Captain Russell's attempt to interfere with the land for settlement system showed that he was still leader of the Opposition party in the House. With regard to what had been said about the settlement of land in the back blocks he contended that no time had been lost in occupying these lands, but the settlers must have roads and communication. It was the curßed Bystem of giving the freehold of land for cash and of allotting land before it was properly opened up that had kept things back in the past. Since the tax had been placed on the land there had been an increase of two owners who held estates wocth oyer £100,000 and the time was not far distant when Parliament would have to increase the graduated land tax in order to stop the abuses that were going on in the colony. He condemned Captain Russell's amendment, and said that in its application to partnership estates ib was nothing less than a diabolical and deliberate attempt to provide that there should riot be any land al all un 'er the Land for Settlements Act. It had been suggested that Crown ten-

[ ants who held land on leasehold were dissatisfied with the conditions of tenure, and would vote against the Government. To say this wa3 to say there was no gratitude in man and he did not believe it. He defended tha Government valuers from tbe charge that had been made against them and replied to the attacks that had been levelled at the native land policy of the Government. He declared that this bill was urgently required to assist the land for settlement policy. i The third reading was carried by 32 to 6, *ud the bill passed its final stages. At 3.25 the House adjourned till 2.30.