THE LAND QUESTION.

Evening Post, Volume XLII, Issue 127, 25 November 1891, Page 3

THE LAND QUESTION.

TO THE EDITOR. Siß^-Your correspondent " Observanda," with all his careful preface, has committed tho fault he warns others to beware of. First, be states that the porpetual lease system is not a poor man's tenure. Facts demonstrate otherwise I am a perpetnal leaso holder, and claim to have years of experionce on land. His statement that payment is exaoted at once on the unimproved land is another error. The bulk of settlement now going on comprises land taken up under the special settlement soheme, and undor it no rent is payable for the first twoyears. "Observanda" falls into another grievous error in believing " that it is settlers that we immediately want." The truth is, " land is wanted for settlers," a very different thing. It is even a press error that at present we are in want of settlers. Official utterances and experience prove the opposite. There are hundreds of sterling settlors wanting land, and willing to take it up under Government conditions. And there would be a great many more if only some push and energy were displayed in offering land and making roads thereto. It seems to be unknown generally that it is the sons of settlers who are hiving off and cannot find a hive, who are producing this great demand. Because our immigration has become stagnant the above oolonists' sons demand is overlooked and unappreciated. When tho lato Government went oat of office the survey work was not keeping up to the demand for land, and this unfortunate condition, to the colony's loss, soems to have become aggravated. It needs push and energy on our Government's part ;o survey, road, and offer much more land for disposal than is now being done. This would do more to kill dummyism than almost anything. Tho demand for settlement is greater than the supply of laud, and causes, of course, a speculative valuo to ariao, which is tho profit of dummyism, and which wonld vanish if efforts to supply sufficient land to satisfy all were made As to the doplorablo condition of roads, I sco that at Makuri a churohman was nearly buried, horso and all, beforo his tirao. Suroly some alteration is necessary hero also, for given roads there is no limit to our settlement. If the Government see their way in their Land Bill to givo the spocial, villago, and porpetual lease settlers an oxtension of lease to 50 or even 99 years, at 4 per cont. as tho rental, with value at expiration for improvements (as they propose), no sane man will, I think, be other than satisfiod with such a tenure.-' Especially as the gain to tho sottlor between his 4 per cent, rental and the valno of monoy, would make him a saving of tho difference on what he pays as rental and what money is worth, and would practically give him his land at 2 por cent, to 3 per cent. This difference, worked out at compound interest, will, I boliev9, provo tho so-called perpetual loaso a better, i.e., a more profitablo tenure to the settlor than a freehold, and also givo him the full play of liis capital to improve his holding and keep him out of the moneylenders' hands. As to tho " absurd regulations," they are a necessary check to large holdings, and no bmiafido settler is afraid of them, as he has only to take up an aoreage equal to his means. He can take up to 640 aores of firstclass land and 2000 acres of second-class, and as much of run country as will carry 20,000 sheep. Surely this is enough for anyone His sons or daughters above the ago of 17 can do the same. These conditions apply to the rojeoted "Landßill" of tho present Minister. It is sometimes said it is only 20-aoro men — "poor oookatoos" — which are wanted. A littlo more truth from tho Tory press and half the hallucinations pcoplo are undor (often for political dodges) wonld vanish. When the Hon. R. Pharazyn, of " burglar farao," stated in his seat in tho Upper House that the present Minister's Land Bill was givinsr away millions of the colony's money, surely evon the most blind can see that tho Bill must bo most liberal to cnll forth such a remark from a " gentleman " who probably got his vast estates from tho colony at a price vory, very much below what the settlers of to-day have to pay for theirs. But of such is tho Legislative Council "unselfish" and of groat import to stop liberal and generous land laws. Apologising for my length of letter. I am, Ac, Settler.

A meeting of shareholders of tho N< Zealand Press Association was held at t Association's office this morning for the pi pose of electing two directors. There we preaont— Messrs. J. L. Wilson (in tho chai: H. Brett, E. W. Knowles, J. C. Wilkin, A F. Eoydhouse, J. L. Kirkbride, J. G. Guthri P. Dinwiddio, Captain Baldwin, and ] Woston. Messrs. J. G. Guthrie (Chri; church Press) and E. W. Knowlos (Napi Daily Telegraph) wore tho succcps i 'ul cane dates. Tho late Mr. T. W. Lewis effected an i snranco on his life for i! 1000 with tho A.M.! Society only a few hours before his depa hire for Au~tralia. He was also insured fi .£IOOO in tho Government office The case of Wilson v. Macdonald wi decided this nfternoon. Judgment wi given for plaintiff for .£B2 5s Bd. Tho qne tion of costs was being argued when wo wei to press. The cases of Unmsay v. Carr and Ba tholoraow v. M'Tavish, which wore to ha\ been heard in the Supreme Court this af to noon, have been adjourned sine die. Mr. P. A. Death has been appointc Chairman of tho Hutt County Council fc the Onsuing year. The Penguin, from Nolaon and Pictoi w«js coming in as wo went to press. Tho Auckland Star, in an article on tcacl ing religion in tho State schools, says : — 1 in cm ions to observe how tho diff eront riynbd vary in their demands. In Wellington th Synod could resolve upon nothing, althou<j it indulged in a good deal of by-play of Ui "1 would if I could" style. In Aucklpm tho ropotition of the Lord's Prayer by th Wcllesley btreet - youngsters would cans a joyful flutter in tho Anglican clcricn bronst, from the Bishop to the young deacoi who brought forward the borrowed proposi tious. In Otago the sonsjof the Covenanter would be hotter satisfied if tho school bairn wi' dod through a chapter of thephophecic of Ezekiol, dr tried their young idoas on tin Great Ked Dragon of tho Apocalypse '■ without noto or comment." This week's New Zealand Graphic con tains views of old and now Dunodin, por tvait of the Mayor and Town Clerk respec tivoly of tho samo city; also portraits o Madame MoJba and of tho Duke of Orleans with other illustrations. The readinf matter is, ps usual, of a varied and interest ing character. Fiji newspapers to hand publish an officin return which gives in a comparative form th< population of tho colony of Fij i , as ascortninec at the census of ISSI and at the recent consul of sth April, 1891. It is compiled fron returns prepared by tho Acting Registrar General, Assistant Native Commissioner, anc Acting Resident Commissioner of Botumah Tho roturns show that the total populatioi of Fiji is 121,180, including 2036 Europeans 7468 Indians, and 185,800 Fijians. The in crease and decreaso sinoo 1881 have been :— Increase : Half-castes, 305 ; Indians, GSBO others, 1580 ; total, 73-13. Decreaso— Euro poansj 635 ; Polynesians, 3833 j Fijians, 8948 ltotumans, 233 j total, 3619. Net decreaso G306. In the decade a decrease ha? occurred among the Europeans, Polynesians, Fijians, and Eotnman olements of the population amounting in tho aggregate to 13,649. The decreaso of Polynesians is accounted for bj the faot that on sugar-cane plantations Polynesian labour has been displaced by that of the Indian immigrants, who have beon found moro suitable for tho work. Tho first practical results of a now process of sloelmaking havo just been reached by the running of tho first heat from a now experimental open-hearth furnace at the Sheffield Technical School. The process ie the outcome of the researches of Professor Arnold, and consists in removing all the impuritios from Swedish pig iron with tho exception of the exact proportion of carbon required for a given purpose, thus obtaining tho ideal carbon and iron stoel, homogoneona in structure and frco from blow holes. Theso results are said to be obtained without the prosenco of more than mero traces of manganese and silicon, and also without tho nso of iron ore. Tho avorago time occupied by this process in the conversion of a ton of pig iron into tho highest class of steel yfet m^de will bo about three hours, tho fuel used consisting of about half a ton of rough slack. Tho rnn is stated to havo beon perfectly successful, the ingots showing a very liigh quality steel. It is anticipated that the range of the metal produced will vary from what will be practically wrought iron tool steel. Tho new furnaco, togother with the general plant, was designed to Prof. Arnold's specifications by Mr. B. H, Tliwaito, C.E., ahd is intended to produce throe tons of stool in 24 hours. During a storm in Melbourne recently Mr. Eobert Law, of tho Mint, who is an amateur photographer, managed to secure a negative of a flash of forked lightning. Owing to the duration of a flash of forked lightning being only Ihe millionth part of a second, it is a rare thing to obtain a picture of one. Mr. Law was on tho esplanade with tho shutter of tho camera open, and when the flash occurred ho closed it as quickly as possible. The photograph shows a streak of light, much resombling the branch of a tree in a very twisted condition. Tho direction of tho flash was seaward, and in catching the flash a picture of the Nelson was also obtained. On examination it appeared that tho flash was tho same breadth as tho Nelson, but as the lightning was tomo distance away, 14 miles at least, according to Wheatsqnc, for it was not accompanied by thunder, it must havo beon, at the smallest computation, greater than the width of the Nelson in tho proportion of 11 to 4. The lens used was one of Dallmeyer's finest, with an F8 stop. Ono of Ilford's ordinary slow plates was used, but tho negative was so strong that Mr. Law found it develop with wonderfnl .rapidity. Townßend ft Paul will sell to-morrow, fruit, &c. Xmas is approaching, and to save disappointment gentlemen should placo their orders for tailor-made clothing at once. Already a largo number of orders havo been taken, and first cqmo first served. My cutter is one of tho best in New Zealand, and orders entrusted will be turned out in first-class style. All tweeds well shrunk before being made up, at C. Smith's, tho Cash Draper and Clothier, Cuba-street. — Advt.