LAND JOBBING

Grey River Argus, 29 April 1910, Page 5

LAND JOBBING

A SHARP, REBUKE

(Per Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 28. The Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr Jas ' .McKenzlte) adimCnisitered a sharp rebuke to "speculators in Crown leases to-day, and in doing so said that he voiced the" feeling of the Land Board. Applications are made from time- to time, he said, for transfers of leases J/ at prices greatly hi ■etfee-se of the original price. When a man had put_ in— say ten or twelve years' work on his - leasehold the board was inclined to favorably regard a~ transfer so that the^' outgoing leaseholder could reap the benefit of his years of work, and improvement, but 4t was a very different matter when a man paid — say £450. as Jiad been done for the lease of a block 'of Jand. and after holding rt for, say three, six orj twelve months sought to dispose of it for £1000 or £1500, that kind of " thing would' always meet with the disapproval ~of the board. They V ou^ always set their faces against trafficking in land of this sort. It loaded up the incoming man, who naturally needed every shilling to develop the property with some hundreds' of pounds for whiten the outgoing man gave no consideration. The attitude '"of" the' "board today towards the practice was responsible for some' 'transfers^'being disapproved, and "cons-ItleSration of J a number of applications being postponed for fuLI enquiries to be*' macle and furnished to tho Board' between this and next meeting. -