SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1905

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2697, 7 October 1905, Page 2

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1905

The Premier has "predicted that over the land tenure question such a struggle is impending as has never yet been seen m this colony. He at ihe same time denounced; the proposal to surrender the freehold at the original value as an immoral suggestion, and urged "the people to stand firm and not to be misled into returning to Parliament those who had been so. miserably- misguided. The Premier has •apparently, withdrawn from opposition to granting ou any terms the freehold to the lease inperpetuity tenants, but those who know him will recognise m this declaration an. attempt to confuse the' issues. That there will be a large returned tp Parliament m of granting the freehold goes without saying, as to profess any ( • other opinion would inevitably result m the defeat at. the polls of a considerable number of the supporters of the Government. The Premier! has not yet, neither have any of his I supporters, Justified the application' of the term immoral to the freehold j proposals. To the Premier the adjective " immoral ' appears to be as comforting as was the blessed word Mesopotamia to a certain lady, whom we have all read about. The evidence taken by the Royal Commission clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of the people who the land of the colony are* m favour of the freehold as a princ- j iple, and the Premier has said that he is where he is m order to give effect to that will. He, however, is only prepared to .act upon the princ- ; iple provided he can have the lands re-valued, and thus secure to the b^-.t. :.: the expense of the lease-, holders that which the State has alienated fo them for 999 years.' Presuming that the freehold is the most satisfactory form of tenure, the term immoral can be much more appropriately applied to the Premier's proposal than to that of the freeholders, who ask no momentary concession whatever. They propose to put theState into precisely the same position as it occupies today. Neither do they, propose to abolish any of the existing forms of tenure.