Evening Post. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 62, 11 September 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1911. SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY.

" The keynote of the Bttdgci," eaye i one member of Padimaent, "is pro. j gress." "A dwpsrate bid for votes" j is the denunciation htirfcd at it from the opposite side. If & maft is struck be- 1 tweeft these two extreme*, the result h j Aon*efching like our own getssral verdict on the Budget a* recorded -on Saturday. One Liberal enthusiast is eaid to havegone so far ac to speak of "an epochmaking Budget," but this is assuredly overstepping the mack. The Budget in* eludes fto such. «tate&n&nlik© «nd outstanding proposals as would justify this description. It contains some propenal* which a*e excellent from evety point of view, but its *upretne merit is that it contains something for everybody, and is > therefor*, exactly what the dominant party waata on the eve of a- General | Election. It is mainly on this account that the party politicians on the one side i wax ©nthteiastic over a Budget which shows that the Liberalism of the Government is still alert, up-to-date, and progressive, while to the opposite side one move convincing proof is afforded that the corruption of the Goternfli'ent has sounded a lower depth thaw ever, and has abandoned the last semblance of «, shred of uelf-rapect. So far, ho%» ever, as the leading members of the Op* position arc concerned, they are acting very wisely in not committing them* selves with undue haste to a judgment on a tertes of proposals which cover an immense, amount of ground, and are in \ some cases of a, complicated and farreaching character. Mr. Massey is notj by nature an impulsive man, but he has on sevetul oecafcions construed the obli« ! gat-ions of leadership Aft imposing the necessity of delivering an opinion upon Some important question, long before he has taken enough time for the reflection : without which even the most rapid mind cannot expect to arrive at aeate conclusion. On this occasion he has decided that he would like A fortnight to think the matter over, snd he i* certainly well- ■ advised to take* just as much tims as the exigencies of debate wilt allow. When Mr. Massey h ready to speak we may be sure that, a principal point of attack will be Ott§ which he really required no time to consider. The Bud' get leaves the prihcipal issue of the land question just where it was, and the Opposition vis fully entitled to make <ill the capital that it can out of the omission. We are thankful that Sit Joseph Ward does not promise every Crown tenant the freehold oft such terms as th& farmers' tJnioti and the Opposition can approve, or, indeed, on &ny terms. But we regret" that his defence of the public interests is enfeebled by the absence of any positive faith or any constructive policy. The matter must some day be faced, but having atfceeasfttlly fenced with it for three years, the Government naturally thinks that a few fltot& weeks will not make much difference. It must, how-> ever, be & matter of week* #nd not months, for something decisive must surely be done before the electors are called upon to pronounce judgment, tn the meabtiott th« Government is aoing its best to show that it has not forgot* ten the farmers., Improvements are pro - mised in th 9 Land Settlement Finance Act. We have ffom the first had high hopes of this measure, the principle of which we had, indeed, adtocated long before its' introduction by th© Government. It is good sews that an attea- of 14.956 acres, valued at £209^577, has 'already been taken. u*p under the Land Settlement Finance Act. As there aro 107 members in the eighteen associations which have taken up this land, the averrfge holding ie about 140 acres. There has thus been an appreciable and highly*dcsirable increase in the number of freeholders whose "land hunger" has been satiated without tr&ftching oh. the | public estate by the subdivision of large private pioperties. The Budget does not teiL us the size, of tho estates that have beert thus wholly or in part subdivided , but the process of multiplying the small freehold* at the expense of tho large ones is in every respect a desirable one. The freeholder is glad to see his speoifio widely applied, and the. leaseholder is equally pleased to see it done when that process is one of sub' dividing existing freeholds instead of robbing the State. One of the difficulties encountered in the administration of the Land Settlement Finance Act is stated by the Premier to be that associations are formed by men who have not fully considered the obligations of membership. "The responsibilities which each member is supposed to undertake are/ he says, "not well understood, neither are the conditions of purchase in pomfe instances | being complied with." A grsftt development i» prophesied for the system, and we ibelievp correctly, when it is better underwood. A scheme whifh is likely to encounter greater difficulties in it« execution is that of family land settlements. The idea is for the Crown to select "lands now inaccessible but well suited for settlement,"- whether in its possession <already or to be acquired for the purpose from native or European owners, to prepare a scheme for open»ing up these areas by road or rail, and to tfiGeivfi- fcpj>lk*iiai|t from . individual .

or associated settlers tleftifous ot taking up section*. As the eoastmction ol the public wotke will procewl cc-ntemfjot' ■fttieously with the settlement, applic&fitft without the necessary capital to d&velop their holdings can be given by the Goterument tho chance of sufficient •work to provide them with the wherewithal. Th* fithemri i& desirable. &ad not impracticable, but the tarrying of it out will certainly supply a avptemo test for administrative skill. What We par - ticulariy like' about thfe pi-opowl is its tacit condemnation of the hateful system under which ftifen have been tripped into taking tip Crown land that for large parts of the year is inaccaesibl© through lack of roading. By thw system men, are led to wa&te their strength wi<J their capital in a vain "struggle with infiurraoontftblfe difficulties, but ths very basis of the family lfcntl !»feU<l6m«lt scheme is a more humane and a. more Tfttioual method, An elimination of the ballot system is another excellent feature, but wo mtnst rawm for future treatment ths consideration of this and other points in the scheme-, and afco of the farmers' ctwjpmtiva banks, witii which it is to be closely associated.