NOTES.

Northern Advocate, 21 September 1906, Page 2

NOTES.

In the matter of keeping early hours, the House has been consistently respectable so far this session. When, however, the land tenure tussle conies on, it is likely to be a case •# ".we won't go home till morniag." Mr Stallworthy Wants the Government to send Dr. Bell, or a capable assistant, to investigate the evidences of mineral wealth in the Kaipara district. Gold, it is stated, has been discovered at Tangiterosia and Waimata, considerable deposits of copper have been found in various parts of the electorate, outcrops of lignite are common on the beaches, and in different places traces of coal are to be seen. In a subsequent reference to the proposed Government purchase of the Kaino Springs, Sir J. G. Ward stated that his first impression that the member for Marsden wanted the Colony to expend £20,000 on this object was incorrect. The Government was, he added, prepared to make the purchase, but not at an extravagant price. It was, he understood, a very good place indeed, and in due course he would secure a report upon it. That the Land Bill will be strenuously opposed goes without saying, and probably the three main lines of attack will be these :— (1) On what may be described as the theoretical issue— freehold versus leasehold. This should be productive of the most eloquent assaults. (2) From the utilitarian standpoint, it being contended that the money accruing from the lease of the remaining Crown lands will be but a drop in the bucket by way of endowments for education, old age pensions, and hospital and charitable aid purposes. (3) From the provincial aspect, as, in some districts, very little freehold will be released by the enforcement of the limitation clause. For example, it is calculated that the value of the land thrown on the market in Auckland Province will be £142,213 ; in HawKe's Bay, £873,903 ; and in Canterbury, £556,549. Then as to tin; chances of the whole Bill. There is no anxiety in Government circles about the safe and easy passage of the provisions applying to the limitatation of values, and, though a tight squeeze is expected over the abolition of the freehold, the followers of Sir Joseph are pretty confident of a majority of about nine on that point. Some freebold Liberals who first declared themselves against the Bill are, it is said, now hedging, and think they ought to support the measure because of its endowment provisions. In the North Island, the natives own 7,479,602 acres, of which area 2,870,718 acres are unproductive. Of this latter total, Auckland has 1,115,087 acres, but of this 225,300 acres are described as '''barren and useless." Of the total area held by Maoris in the Auckland Province (4,006,670 acres), an area of 1,242,580 acrea is returned as quite unfit for settlement, and the remainder is described as suitable only for grazing runs. Who iii to control (lie Defence Forces— a Commandant or a Military Council ? This is a question the Government is considering ; but, in any case, hißhlytrained military experts are to be secured for particular branches of the serI vice.