THE LAND QUESTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13456, 5 June 1907, Page 5

THE LAND QUESTION.

Sir,—l regret exceedingly that I should have been, tho innocent means of causing Mr. Allan so much pain. My intention was to refer in complimentary terms to tho effective manner m which he cxDosed iu evil of tho freehold ing system. " Desoifce his modest disclaimer, I still think that he did splendidly. Any system of Land tenure which drives men into exile in the honourable pursuit of hearths and homes, and inflicts on them the cruelties- endured by Mr. Allan's friend, while there is abundant unused fertile laud in ro iveniont well-settled' neighbourhoods, stands condemned, in my opinion, as a satisfactory plan of land settlement. I find my conclusions in this respect confirmed by the experience of Mr. Edwin Harding, who, writing in a recent it?up of the Herald, asserts that " ninny hundreds," indeed " the great majori'.V* (of so-called freeholders) in spite of "thrift, industry, and deprivation, end in financial ruin or crippled old age." Consider also as" I previously stated, in addi'.i m to these painful facts, that no less than £60.000,000 worth of so-called freehold hind in N«.w Zealand is held by money-leaders. "Set, strangely enough, Mr. Harding resumes on the credulity of his readers so far as to tell his tale and point the moral in favour of the very system he indicts so seriously. Time and space, sir, will not permit of my dealing with the mass of shallow and inaccurate terms by means of which Mr. Harding labours to substantiate his, claim. I cannot say that I admire his literary style. He misnames me "Liberal." for instance, and, assuming (without premises) that I am a Government supporter, jibes at, their native land administration as though ho wore replying to me.' In this connection permit me to say that I have. no more resoect for the Government . as land • monooofist and speculator than I have; for private individuals, r but I.recognise the" fact that the Ward Ministry is making' an honest attempt to face the difficulty,' in spite of the violent antagonism of those who profit by the present system. Mr. Harding attributes to me statements and inferences that I never made. He says lam " annoved " because 'certain people occupy front "seats." I am not. "The front seats" referred to by me aro not occupied. Not onlv do certain people not occupy (use): them, "but, like dogs in the manger, they debar others whose happiness depends- upon the opportunity from doing so. The natrons of the earlv door (to pursue Mr. Harding's theatrical similitude) are entitled to all the benefits their "foresight, determination, and selfsacrifice "can secure, but they have absolutely no right to the privilege of levying i a toll on the necessities of those who come in later with equal claims on the manage- j ment of" the show. Captain Cook did not! j dream of appropriating New Zealand to i.hiraself and his heirs for ever because he I

Li,.ji. , ■■ i,<; 4 t ' ' :. - [happened to arrive hero first. Ho would have been considered a lunatic had ho done " so. Yet Mr.- Harding, with ' hi*, extensive ; '* knowledge of she history of the British race," wyj agree, perhaps, thai. Captain Ccok '"displayed in bis pioneering enter- ' j prise?. great ** foresight, determination,' .and self-sacrifice." I can only express ray {Htotisj»haicrit that ■■ such an old resident of the.Northern Wairoa. .-.;'< as .Mr. Harding, and one who knows the local condition so well, should < imply that ■'■' ( there are no |>rivatcls-«.>wfst»(! idle land* in the district. The' &-t»i«i»eaS ■' is incorrect. Without mentioning township--secixw*, or the £33,009 e*t»to to which .1. previously referred. I attach herewith two advertise*' meats clipped at random from local new** papers, offering fur 'sale tots txiifip rising about 20,000 acres of what is "described' *-•*'.' the finest dairying country, freehold, with frontage* to the' great Northern VVairoa. River and main roads, and except sufficiently lor speculative purposes, unimproved. There is plenty more, but I think 1 have said enough to substantiate* my assertion*, and justify the curiosity" of anyone sufficiently interested to investigate further. * In conclusion, for the information of Mr. W. Daisdricige and other inquiring friends. ''.■■'■■'" alio?* in© to s.iy that my name ami address are available at the llkK.u_.vi Office. " LITE&AL."