THE LAND LAWS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 63, 11 September 1924, Page 9

THE LAND LAWS

cONSOLIDATION BILL

SECOND READING DEBATE

The bulky Land Bill introduced by ■ the Minister of Lands was debated 'in the House of Representatives last night. The -Minister of Lands, (the Hon. A. D. M'Leod) " explained that the Bill was practically entirely a consolidating measure. Most of .the amendments made by.' the- Lands' Committee were purely verbal, with the object, of making the meaning clearer. A good deal of now 'Blatter had been inserted,, but, it did not materially alter the' present law.-. Mr. M'Leod donated about an hour to explaining in detail the. alterations proposed in .'the Act! : ;::" .■•■. \ ;.,.:'.-.- .;'y...,.: .'.- Mr., G.j W. /Forbes : (Huruuui). said tliere had been a demand for consolidation for many years. It was a pity that' the consolidation did not comprise the j.auds for Settlement Act and,.,the Discharged Soldiers Act;■-■ If that could be done, it wouldconsiderably facilitate the land legislation. He asked the 'Minister whether anything was being done in regard to the powers of the Crown in calling upon private owners of land who were subdividing to tet aside areas as, reserves. >:, He-urged that residence conditions on Crown lands should be stiffened up instead" of being made lighter, in view of the steady drift to the towns. He did' not-sec the "necessity .for discrimination; against pastoral leases in the payment of rent. .There, should .'be one '/right " throughout the "land ' system. i: -'-He "also' advocated 'more rigid. legislation in regard to land aggregation and consideration in the extension of grazing run leases in cases where holders of . lands l/ave; financial indebtedness. . I ; FORFEITURE OF LAND -'--■ / The Hon. D., Buddo (Kaiapbi) said it "was not a very healthy sign that about 600 land forfeitures took place last year, ■but it might have been expected, that more consideration might have been shown to the tenants." He suggested that &; longer tenure mightibe. granted: in connection, with, pastoral lands, for-.'.he' felt that security of tenure was necessary/"to Keep them in. occupation; under present: conditions the Crown was in no way generous to the tenants on the highel pasture lands. He doubted whether the legislation ; in> regard to aggregation was serving the purpose it \v'as intended lor, and he thought:':it might' very: well lie revised. . •'.'- .' ; . ■/..:. . Mr. K. S. Williams' (Bay of Plenty) referred to the clause in the Bill which applied penalties;in respect to.the lighting of fires•;in forests,: whicb^ he: submitte_d would unduly: affect■'.':'.necessary'! clearing operations/ He asked the-Min-ister to consider the matter. .., .'V Mr. I\ J. Rolleston (Timaru)V agreed .that pastoral tenants "should have ,the -j'ght to an extension of their;leases;/ At the end of the lease, in fairness;' to -the State, the rental should be-reviewed, for he did not see why the tenant. should: receive large presents from the State in 'he continuance of an inadequate .-rental. ■ ■•-Mr.' J. A. Nash (Pahnerston .North) suggested . that flax lands shou]d7:!be leased by tender as 'well as hy: auction". Mr. F. F. Hockly \(Rotorua)".' urged that a better tenure should be. .provided for the settlers taking up national endowment lands in. his district. If this were done, the lands could be saved from deteriorating. 'He also suggested "that pumice lands .be ' offered for settlement rent free, say,-for a period often years. : ' Mr. A. IC. .Harris (Waiteniata) asked what the :result of the legislation in regard to the settlement of gum lands 1-ad been. '.'_-. ' i „•;.: : : . "; NOXIOUS ;,yVEEDS ! , : • Mr.! H.E! "(Leader of the Labour PartyJ^said rif appeared to him thati the major portion' of. the changes proposed in the Bill made for an improvement on the law as it stood! '.The Labour, Party: opposed the alienation of leasehold and Crown lands,"but no good purpose would be served-by recontesting those clauses in the law allowing for that. He was sorry provision had not been made to deal with aggregation! Regarding noxious weeds, Mr^ Holland said that Califofnian thistle was becoming a menace, and steps should be taken to deal with it. .'!."* .' : Mr. W. H. -Field..:(Otaki). congratulated the Minister on the Bill, but said that the former Minister, the Hon. D. H. Gutbrie, had been keenly interested in ."the. matter, for years. Regarding scenic reserves, Mr.. Field said that measure.? should; be taken: to preserve them ■ironi spoliation. There were : farmers who did not object to1 thistles. He did not think Californian thistle could be fiuccessfully kept down . - ; Mr. J. Edie (Clutha) regretted that it had not been possible for Mr. Guthrie to hold office long enough to see the Bill • through, as it would have been a- fittinf termination "of his'career. -He.approved ■■ha Bill. So far as runs were concerned 1.c.-would extend the time of the lease', and he agreed with'the remarks'of Mr.' Hockly regarding1 the national endowments. . MINISTER IN REPLY i Replying to the discussion, the Min•Jster said the criticism raised had in most cases been of a. helpful nature .Ihe consolidation of the laws relating to lands for settlement, he said,' was at present in hand, but no Bill: could be considered this session. The 'consolidation of the soldiers settlement laws would ioilow later. He was in genera! sym- : tathy with the .suggestion that new lands should be settled on. the rent-free principle, but there was to be'! discrim- ■ mation in giving such privileges. Until a thorough classification of: lands was tarried out, it would: be dangerous to insert a general ..clause relating to the matter in the Act. ■ Enactments were Ijemg made under special legislation in some ;cases. He hoped that-while he occupied the. position, of Minister 'of Lands to give the House an opportunity oi saying ho^v- far the freehold should be given to the Crown tenants. ;He realised the necessity for preventing aggregation, but unless compulsory residence could be insisted upon ■it was difficult to' deal with the question In regard to land -forfeitures," he admitted that a lage number had taken place but pointed out that a low percentage-^ actually 1.2 per cent.-of the total hold 3D gs were affected last year. Th e percentage of forfeitures had been; practically the same every year for the last twenty years Holders of: pastoral runs had practica Iy the permanent right " enewal of their leases: The clause re- . lating to forest destruction by fire an feared to be drastic, but it "had been in operation for about twenty years anr] lie;'did, not think any injustice was bemg_ done. He saw no objection to tenciering for flax-: land leases, except that I there_ might be collusion in the matter of prices. The suggestion in regard to

rent-free settlement "of pumice lands was a matter of finance, and he saw difficulties in it, butwould give it investigation; The right of the freehold might te given after a period of years if satisfactory improvements were carried, out. In conclusion, the Minister stated that a number of matters relating to the land Jaws would be attended to at a -later stage." : • ■ .-' ;'. :;:' .'.■■'■ ; The Bill was read a second time.