ESTABLISHED 1875. Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 167, 24 July 1907, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1875. Manawatu Daily Times. The Oldest Manawatu Journal. Published Every Morning.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1907. The Ministry set out, so they told the country, to reform anomalies in the tariff, but they appear to have substituted absurdities instead. The Ministry have realised that if a tax is taken off an article it will be cheaper, and they have therefore taken the duty off sugar, dried fruits, and other articles. The abolition of the tax on sugar besides being of advantage to the ordinary housekeeper is a great help to the makers of confectionery, jams, and biscuits. As these articles are already heavily protected, it is clear that there is a danger that the manufacturers will take advantage of the cheaper sugar but will not lower their prices. It might therefore have been expected that a slight reduction would have been made in the duties on these

articles so as to ensure the public reaping the benefit of the reduction on sugar. Our legislators, however, have not only reduced the tariff on the articles mentioned, but have actually increased that on confectionery from 2d to 3d a pound. In other words, revenue will be sacrificed and the public constrained to enrich the manufacturers of confectionery. In the case of the boot industry, which employs chiefly women and pays them badly, a nearly prohibitive tariff has been put on cheap women's slippers and gymnasium shoes, neither of which have ever been made in the colony. Motor cars are to be admitted free as they cannot be made in the colony, while bicycles, which are in the same position, are subject to a duty of 20 per cent., though they are the poor man's equivalent for motor cars. We trust that members of tho House will see that the tariff proposals are thoroughly revised before they are finally accepted.

The details of the Land Bill which have been published are hardly likelv to reasure the supporters of the freehold tenure. The Bill takes one more step towards realising the ideal of the land nationalists, and making all landholders, at any rate of country lands, tenants of the Crown. Lands for settlement will be leased for a term of 33 years and other Crown lands on a 66 years' lease. In order to facilitate the absorption of land from private owners, land for settlement will be taken over at the Government valuation with the addition of S 2\ per cent, on large estates and 10 per cent, on smaller properties for compulsory purchase. It is true that the owner may get a little more if he can prove that the value of the land has gone up since the last valuation, but no provision is made for revising the valuer's estimate. Ministers make much of the opportunity given tenants under the lease in perpetuity to acquire the freehold, but the right to purchase on the terras offered is not likely to prove tempting, as the tenant will have to pay the present value of the land, less improvements, which are habitually unvalued. An example may make the position clear. Land originally valued at £\ per acre has been improved to the extent of £&, and is, now valued at £9, out of which amount improvements are set down at £3. The tenant who could get £5 clear for goodwill if he transferred the property, will be expected to pay £6 in order to buy it, in other words to purchase his own goodwill. The case would bo much worse where the tenant occupying had not been the original owner, but had already paid for the goodwill. Thus if the property we have dealt with were transferred to-day the tenant would pay £8 for it, £3 for \ improvements and £5 for goodwill, and if he subsequently wished to acquire the freehold would be mulcted of another £6. The attempt to deal with the evils of the ballot can only be described as half-hearted. In the case of lands for settlement a reasonable course has been taken, and tenders will be called for from tenants, but from some reason this system has not been applied to other Crown lands, though the gamble has been restricted to persons who possess no land, and a preforence given to those with families. There are many other points in. connection with the Bill which are.worth discussion, but the outstanding feature is that Mr. McNab goes as far as he dares in the direction of the total abolition of freehold property. The final s,teps will not be taken yet, but we can see clearly enough that they will come, unless the socialises meet a check now.. The freehold tenure is essential to the prosperity of the country, freehold with limitations as to area if the people will, but freehold undoubtedly.