THE LAND BILL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 14386, 31 May 1907, Page 6

THE LAND BILL.

Is his presidential address at the opening of the conference of the North Canterbury branches of the Fanners' Union yesterday morning, Jrr D. Jones very naturally objected to the members of the Union being in discriminatory described as " raid ens." There is, of ooua-se, a very wide difference between these people who are demanding that Crown tenants should have the option of acquiring the freehold at. the original value and those who are contending that they should have the light of acquiring it at the present value. Mr Jones himself belongs to the latter class, and though we entirely dissent from his views on the tenure question, we cheerfully admit the absolute honesty of his motives. There are plenty of other good Liberals who think it would be to the advantage of the State to .allow the tenants to turn their leaseholds 1 into freeholds at a fair valuation, and no one" can deny them their right to their opinion-. But the politicians who propose to bribe the tenants with a gift of a couple of millions or so into voting for the alienation of the remnant of the public estate are nothing more nor less than '''raiders." The term may not be a very elegant one, but it seems to- us to fit their case exactly. The only semblance of an argument they have ever advanced in support of their prc-pceal is that the sale of tho leaseholds would provide the Government with funds for the purchase of more land for close settlement. It cannot go on borrowing money for this purpose they say, but it -must continue- finding homes for the people. Out of tho necessities of the State they would make capital for the monopolist and the money-lender. We do not believe for a moment that this policy is approved by a majority of the farmers of the colony or even by a majority of the members of the Farmers' Union. The "raiders:" themselves are careful to keep their platform in the background. Mr Masecy, who would have nothing but the freehold at the original value a few years ago, is -now prepared to accept the concession of the principle and leave the price to future adjustment. Th© local branches of the Farmers' Union have just re-elected as their president a gentleman who has emphatically repudiated the "raiding" part of the Union's- programme, and we may fairly take this as another indication of tho determination of the farmers to dissociate themselves, from the party schemes of their political "bosses." At the afternoon sitting of tho conference Mr G. W. Leadley entertained the delegates with a story of " a certain firm that came down from Nelson thirty years ago" and "mopped up the whole country-side," ruining honest farmers and consigning them in tho end to the cold comfort of the old age pension. Another point to the story may have been obvious- to these who were fortunate enough to hear it first hand, but as it appears in our report this morning it affords only a striking condemnation of the freehold form of tenure. If thus firm, for whoso existence we must take Mr Lecdlcy's word, had been restrained by tho limitation clauses which Mr M'Nab proposes to add to tho Land Bill, it would have found no field in the colony for the exorcise of its predatory inisfcin.cto. If the (rtcry was intended to throw any other light upon tho Minister's proposals or upon our own attitude towards his Bill wo shall bo very gkd indeed to hear from Mr Leadley.

It would bo a pity to allow tlii/s pamable to fail in its application for want of proper umdenstanding.