Evening Post. SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1910. THE GAMBLE IN CROWN LEASES

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 77, 2 April 1910, Page 4

Evening Post. SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1910. THE GAMBLE IN CROWN LEASES

Tho "Wellington Land Board was well employed on Thursday afternoon, when tho subject of speculation in Crown leases cam© up for discussion. The hcensing of bookmakers, which was authorised by the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1907, has been subjected t^ a constant fire of hostile" criticism, the force of which has been frankly recognised by the Premier, and can hardly bo resisted much longer. But the wholesale gambling in Grown lands which has been in operation for many years excites but little indignation, and in deference to tho interested pressure of thoso who hope to proiit by it, Parliament has allowod it to proceed unchecked. The reform of the land law B , which was undertaken by Mr. M'Nab as Minister of Lands in 1907, presented an excellent opportunity for applying J the reformer's knife to the roots of the immoral process, but only a half-heart-ed use was made of the chance, and it came to nothing. If the strong moral sentiment which is always in the field against the normal forms of the gambling evil were to recognise that the lotteries which aro conducted by the State with its own hands, for prizes, are really as deserving of the attention of the moralist as a raffle at a bazaar, the Government and the Legislature would not show themselves so impotent in the matter. The only radical cur© is to be found in legislation, but while the slackness of public opinion tolerates the indefinite postponement of this remedy, we may be thankful to see any palliatives applied that promise some alleviation of the mischief. Such a scrutiny of tho applications for transfers by Crown tenants as was conducted by the Wellington Land Board on Thursday is bound to do some good. The Commissioner of Crown Lands had grave reason to suspect that some of these applications were of an entirely speculative character, and if official proof could be -found of what everybody knows to be a fact, the board might do a good deal to check the gambling process to-which the Legislature has opened wide the door. The mere fact that the Wellington Land Board has caHed attention to the evil, instead of quietly ignoring it, as Parliament prefers to do, is bound to do good. That a large number of applicants merely take their chances at the ballot, wkhithe intention of selling out at a profit' if they draw a prize is notorious, but' it is a distinct gain to have the fact proclaimed by-one of the bodies entrusted wilh the administration of the< law. In come cases, as was stated by a member of the -board, not an axe has. been put tea tree, not a slab or shingle, put up, before a. purchaser comes along who is perhaps willing to pay the successful gambler as much as £500 for his prize. "What," asked the CommisMoner, "is the board to do? Here is a really good man wanting the land ; he has been unsuccessful in drawing a section ; and thit> is his chance of getting one." In sui;h circumstances a board -mutt either Inep-a good. man off the iandt or beoopao. afl- iflflfemiSßLvJlk * f*SS«Mr

which it perceive* to be unprincipled and mischievous. The Wellington Land Board has resolved that a transfer shall only be granted upon the condition that the purchase money shall'not exceed the value of the improvements on the section. This policy, if it is- rigidly carried out, may do much to discourage the mere speculator from taking his -chance at the ballot; but even if the courts dt> not hold th&t it is beyond the jurisdiction of the board to enforce such a stipula- . .tiojii, gome means of evading it will surer '"'Jy be found by the ingenuity of the lawyers. The best that the boards can y do nrust necessarily bo very imperfect, ,but the Commissidner's remark, which vrejiavs quoted above, indicates quite /clearly the doty. of the Legislature. We want -to have tho Crown lands in the hands of tlw> men who can make the ) best use of ttoem, and theso are the verymen who can afford to. pay tr» best, prices lor them. If tho goodwill of a.. lease which the State grants for nothing •■ is really worth £500, why should not the State get tho money instead of the , speculator who takes it in order to swli, or even of the bona-fide farmer who proposes to cultivate the land? The way r to get fair prices and good tenants for 'the Crown lands, and to eliminate the /speculator altogether, is to dispose of . them by tender.