THE LAND BILL

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9305, 22 March 1907, Page 5

THE LAND BILL

i SPEECH BY THE ATTORNEYGENERAL. Dr Fir.dlay, Attorney-GenecaS, delivered , a political speech at New Plymouth oq ' Thursday evening. Most of his time he j devot<id to the Land Bill, bub he did not ! say anything very new on the matter. He reiterated that the Bill, perhaps in some ! modified shape., is going on to th© Statute j book this, year, and spoke .strongly against j parting with the freehold of Crown lands, and against giving present tenants either of resumed estates or lordinary Crown Jands (but especially the former) any (right j of an tption to the freehold. He declared J that the present .system of repurchasing private estates for settlement was rapidly reaching a position in which it would be ofonfrorjted with difficulties so great as to be almost insurmoui>table<. But he added i that within the next two or three yearsthere would be for the. small settlers of • the ooicny more freehold than for the past twenty years. There would b© a sub- ! division (of large estates, and there would be available two and a half million acres (of land now lying idle and waste in the hands of the natives Touching on financial matters he announced that tWere would be a Tecoid surplus at the end of the year. On the motion (of Mr J. B. Roy a vote of thanks and confidence was carried, coupled with the expression of a hope that the Ministry will materially modify the provisions of the Bill. In acknowledging the vote Dr Findlay said he coul'.t not feel annoyed, for <he resolution was just about what he had asked for. In answer to a request for information about Bushy Park it was announced that in ac^ordano© with custom the AttorneyGeneral declined to answer questions. [Bushy Park, apparently, is the estate acquired as freehold by the family of the late Sir John McEenzie.]

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