IN TEN YEARS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1913, Page 3

IN TEN YEARS

NO LARGE HOLDINGS WILL REMAIN PRIME MINISTER OPTIMISTIC LAND LAWS OPERATING FOR SUBDIVISION. The large estates of the Dominion, according to an optimistic statement made by the Prime Minister in the House> yesterday afternoon, are being steadily subdivided, thanks to the operations of the various land laws on the Statute Book. These included the Land for Settlement- Act, Land for Settlement Advances Act, and Ihe graduated tax measure. Large'sheep runs were being broken up, thus providing dairy farms for those who wanted them. He could not think of a large holding that existed at present in the Auckland and Taranaki districts, and what had been taking place in these districts was taking place m a lesser degree elsewhere. The Prime Minister (who is also Minister of Lands) is reported in more detail below. TEDIOUS AND EXPENSIVE PROCESS. The text of the discussion was provided by a question put to the Prime Minister in these terms:— "Will he this session introduce an amendment to the Land Act, giving him power to compulsorily take large areas of privatelyowned land .for closer settlement, the price to be arranged by arbitration?" To this Mr. Massey replied aa follows:—"The Land for Settlements Act already gives power to take land compulsOrlly. Previous to 1907 it was provided that the price should be arranged by Compensation Court presided over by a Supreme Court Judge, but the process was found to be both tedious and expensive, and an alteration was made. At present a nnmber of blocks of land in {different parts of the Dominion are under offer to the Government for settlement purposes, and suitable areas for small settlement are being purchased as finance permits." AN UNPROFITABLE TRANSAOTION. The member for Port' Chalmers expressed the hope that an alteration would be made in connection with the system of purchasing large estates. Recently an area of land was purchased in the Oamaru district. The Government valuation was £7 16s per acre, and the Land Purchase Board gave £20 an acre for it. Mr. Russell: £13 more than the valuation ! Mr. Clark: Yes, and it was loaded with another £3 per acre. It seemed to be the ordinary system and the usual custom when the -Land Purchase Board was acting to call in the Government valuer, but in this case they deliberately left him out and called in an outside man, or men, who did not know the value of the land, especially to the tenants. The result was that these men were compelled to pay. about 200 per cent, more than the Government valuation of the land. Having regard to purchases under snch conditions by the board as he had mentioned, if he had anything to do in connection with the man who made this purchase, he would give him three minutes' notic« to get out of his position. HUGE LEGAL COSTS. The question of compulsory taking of land for closer settlement was referred to by Mr. Massey. The system as to the compulsory taking of land had been in operation for many years, but the law was altered- in 1907. Prior to that year the value of the land was arrived at by the Compensation Court. That law seemed to him to have been very satisfactory. He wa* opposed to the change introduced in 1907 by Mr. M'Nab, then Minister of Lands. Now, under the present system, a man fixed the value of his land, and if the Crown required to take the land % percentage had to be p«d, and the improvements valued. The value of improvements was arrived at in the same way that the capital value wae fixed prior to 1907. Since the alteration of the Act in 1907 an enquiry had. been hold, and it came out th*fc the legal expenses and costs in connection with compulsory taking of certain blocks amounted in several cases to thousands of pounds. That cost was out of all comparison to the value of the land, and the unfortunate settlers are still paying interest on that cost. SHEEP RUNS BROKEN UP. "If we can go back .to the original system,"- continued the Prime Minister, "then somethiAg will be dqne to prevent a repetition of the costly business in the past. I shall not ask Parliament, however, to go back to the old system, but some check will be made towards preventing waste of public money as in past year?." He went on to speak of the effects of the different Acts touching land settlement, and expressed a belief that there htd been a greater division of land than many members thought. He personally did not know of a single large estate in the Auckland province. ,Nor was there a single large estate in the Taranaki district. He believed that within ten years from now there would not be one large estate left in New Zealand. Such was his honest opinion. As far as further alteration of the law was concerned, he thought that something would have to be done in the direction of discriminating between the man who held unoccupied land and the man who was making the most of his land irrespective of area. (Hear, hear.) They would have to make the man who held unoccupied land pay for the luxury he enjoyed. Mr. M'Callum : We'll help you. The Prime Minister : I sincerely kop© you will.