A STRONG LEASEHOLDER

Evening Star, Issue 12603, 7 September 1905, Page 3

A STRONG LEASEHOLDER

MR MILIAR ON THE LAND QUESTION. [Knox Otm PABUAMSRttBX EaPOETKB.] WELLINGTON, September 7. Bv far the most vigorous speech in the debate from tbe leasehold sice was that contributed by Mr Millar, who spoke last night. He mad© his pontwn jmm from the cutset, saying if the amendment hod been, in the direction, of prohibiting the freehold he "would have -waited into the lobby with the tender of the Opposition m against the Premier. He was Arp need that a South Islander should advocate the freehold, as settlers’ sons hod been compelled to come to the North Island to look for land, simply because of the freehold system. If it were right to give Crown tenants their kind at the original value, it was equally right to take the land from the individual at the original value; yet in tuid resumption the State had paid, in some instances, from ten td fifteen times the original value. It. was not Parliament’s duty to study tbe interests of the individual and sacrifice those of the community, vet this was what some members advocated. Parliament was trustee of the estate of tbe colony, yet some members wished to say that Grown tenants only should liave the freehold of the land. There were, according to the Minister of Railways, 21.000 Crown tenants, leasing 16.000,000 acres. They got these lease.' hi competition with others when the lands were put up m a certain form of tenure. Now Mr Massey and hj« supporters wished to add to the initial good-fortune of these leaseholders by saying that they alone should have the right to the freehold There was a ;>opulation of 940,000, and while 21.000 alone had the right to acquire 16.000.000 acres, the remaining 920.000 were to be denied the right to obtain an inch of that land. A Member: You would confiscate tbe goodwill? Mr Millar • No, the leaseholder can have tbe goodwill for all time for whatever it is worth The speaker went on to deal with the Town v. Country issue, as involved in the land question. He started by compli meeting Mr IV. Fraser on an admission made earlier in the evening to the effect that the towns had taxed themselves to open up the country. He failed to see how this could be reconciled with Mr Fraser’' statement that increased population gave in) increase to tbe value of rural laud. The local populaton. contended Mr Millar, were I he farmers’ best customers, and from them the producer got better prices than lie got in the Home market. The farmer made more oat of the people in his own colony than he did out of those outside.—(Dissent.) A butter factory turning out 1.700 bona of batter a year got 2d a pound more Bt Hie factory than it did for export. Mr Millar quoted figures sltowing how large ■estates iren? in tbe Im/mis of individual holders and companies, and said the Grade ated Land Tax should be increased and thr hind put to better use. He objected to the Premier balking about the Graduated land Tax. Why did be not- increase it to such an extent that it would not pay a man to hold a largo area ? “As far as I urn concerned,"said Mr Miliar, "and so long as I have the honor to hold a sent in this House, no vote of mine shall ever he given for the freehold at all. If you are going to break the contracts entered into under the lease in perpetuity, due notice should he given to every person in this country The man who holds that land under a lease for 999 years may continue to hold under that tenure, but- if he wants the freehold he should cancel tbe lease and let us call for public tenders for it." Mr Millar said he could claim Mr Massey’s vote on that, because that gentleman had said the natives should be allowed, to sell their land to the highest bidder. If so, it was equally rignt for the Stale to sell to the highest bidder. Tbe colony would be defrauded out of £600,000 or £700,000 if the freehold were given to Crown tenants at the original value. When tbe resolutions were in committee. continued Mr Milkir. he would not, from his position as Chairman of Committees, be able to take part in the debate, but were he able to do so he would never allow the freehold to go through until the people of the colony bod had a fair opportunity to consider it. He was prepared to give every man the fullest, advantage when once he had gone into the back country and settled. He would support the Government if they would give such a settler five years free on hack-block land, the next five years at 2 per cent, on the value, and the next five rears at 5 j»er cent., and the rest of Ids life at 4 per cent. It was different with land for settlement. The eyes of the colony had been picked out and given away for 1.000 y«trs —one of the biggest mistakes file colony ever made. He hoped tbe Government would not purchase another estate until they altered tbe 999 years' lease to. say. fifty years, or ninety-nine years to a man who goes Kick into the bush, in return for bis Tiardships. He challenged anyone to prove that the Trades and Labor Conference bad ever carried a reaohitior threatening to break the present contract 1.0 tween State and tenants, as had been asserted. The Trades and Labor Councils advocated wiping out the 999 years’ lease in tbe future, and making provision for revaluation every twenty-one years; but there had been no proposal from them to touch any lease already granted. Supposing the Single TKx came along, he would lib© to know whether the freeholder would ho better off under it than as a leaseholder. A? far as he could see, little or no money was taken from Oown tenants in taxation. He himself believed the Crown, tenants should pay taxes just the same as anyone else. Mr Millar concluded : “ I have always been against the freehold; I have always spoken against it when speaking on any platform; and I intend to do it in the future. If a 831 does come down this session, I hope that those who are of tbe same opinions as myself, although I cannot help them, will take care that no such Bill goes through granting the freehold to Crown tenants until the people of the country have had a fair opportunity of discussing the whole question.*