The Hastings Standard. TUESDAY, NOV. 16, 1909

Hastings Standard, Volume XIII, Issue 4312, 16 November 1909, Page 4

The Hastings Standard. TUESDAY, NOV. 16, 1909

The "Evening Star" (Dunedin), which has long been comment ON recognised as one of SIR JOSEPH'S the most loyal supland porters of the Liberal PROPOSALS. Government, is in bitter opposition to Sir Joseph Ward's land proposals. It says : * The Government have annexed the reactionary ' Freehold ' policy of the Conservative party — neither more nor less; and when Mr Massey 'chortles in his glee,' and twits them upon an inconsistency almost unparalleled in the annals of New Zealand politics, they must not expect to be defended by anyone whose devotion to Liberal principles j I and good faith is more than nominal. Not only are the 999 years' lease and the renewable lease to be sacrificed when the land is held under the ordinary land laws ; in addition to this —and, having regard to past Ministerial utterances, the announcement is almost staggering—the Leasehold restrictions of the Land for Settlements Act are to be quietly

set aside. In other words, the State is to buy land in order to sell it again, and the old wretched policy of alienation, which has been the curse of the country since the first hour of European settlement, is to be renewed and fostered and developed. MrSeddon and Sir John M'Kenzie are in their graves : they cannot protest against this wanton tergiversation. But what about Mr Millar and Mr Fowlds and Dr Find ay? The resignation of these Ministers has not been announced."