THE PREMIER AND LARGE ESTATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13094, 6 February 1906, Page 7

THE PREMIER AND LARGE ESTATES.

Sir,—Reports say the Premier stated at Ktnnara, that the man with large ©states was a traitor to New Zealand. Then have not the Government been the greatest of all traitors to the colony for the last 10 years or more through not making the millions of acres of land belonging to the Crown (over which they have control) available for' settlement to satisfy the many thousands of would-be settlers who have-, as shown by all the land sales during that time, been clamouring to settle on them? Not only have they prevented the Crown land;; from being settled through not having them mad© available, but, as shown by your map issued on November 17 last, they have also locked up the many millions of acres of Native lands. They have- been receiving huge salaries to help in promoting settlement and progress, but, have they not been its very worst enemies? Why have they raised the continual bogus cry against large landowners, who have helped so much in bringing the colony to prosperity by the frozen meat industry alone? And have the members of the Government ever done anything at all in any way to help? They can certainly claim that they have deluged the colony with a cloljt of three millions or more in unjustly buying estates that were occupied and improved with again.the bogus cry of closer settlement ; whereas if closer settlement had been the aim a tithe only of that amount judiciously spent in opening up the lands for settlement already owned by the Crown would have placed far more settlers on the Crown lands that are lying totally idle and a curse to the colony than has been placed on all the improved estates purchased. Therefore by the Premier's own showing have not the Government been the greatest of all traitors to the colony? Reform.