LABOUR'S LAND POLICY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19879, 24 February 1928, Page 14

LABOUR'S LAND POLICY.

Sir,— According to the report of Mr. H. Holland's address at Whangarei, he laments " that out of a population of 1,500,000, there were Qnly 85,734 rural land holders, and of these tens of thousands had not even £IOOO worth of land." He says " the Labour Party proposed to acquire and cut up the large estates, and to graduate the land tax far more stiffly than at present." This may seem a very wise policy, but Mr. Holland goes on to lament the fact that mortgages registered against these highlyfavoured land owners had increased during the last 16 years by nearly 200 per cent., as against a capital increase' of 80 per cent. Surely, there is no need of a land policy designed to increase the land tax, or in any way further to increase the burdens of these people. Neither does there appear any necessity for lamentation over there being such a small proportion of the people being encumbered with the holding of land that is, according to his own showing, such an unprofitable occupation. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of fair quality unimproved land on the market at extremely low prices, and even at no price at all, besides many farms of all sizes that can be bought at prices far less than it would cost to-day to put the improvements on them. When it can be shown that through the land being held in too large areas, would-be smallhelders are being prevented from acquiring land, it will be time enough to cry out against aggregation. The land must be owned by someone, and if the people will not take it up in small holdings, and larger holdings are denied, what must be done with it ? It cannot destroyed. Apparently we have too much land for our population. If so, then why object to an immigration policy ? t Obviously, we are in "need of a policy that will in any way encourage production by both large and small holdings, to increase our exports, which is so vital in bringing new and real wealth into the Dominion. Apparently unimproved lands will never be taken up and broken in by small holders. It never has been so_ in the past, and unless encouragement is giy® n to those who may be inclined to work m large areas of waste lands, who is going to do it! T. H. Txdd.