Page 8 Advertisements Column 2

Otago Daily Times, Issue 377, 6 March 1863, Page 8

ton Crown grant. The remaining one-third, I would offer upon" farming leases for three years, at an annual rent of 4s per acre, payable yearly in advance, and give the tenant a right of purchase at 40s per aero, at any time during the currency of the lease.. No tenant under this arrangement should be permitted to occupy more than 100 acres, or to assign his lease without the consent of the Government or Waste Land Board. In the event of the tenant failing from any cause to purchase the land leased to him within the three years, or otherwise failing to fulfil the conditions of the lease, the Government should reserve the power of ejectment, procure a valuation of the buildings and fences, and ofier the land by auction at an r.psct price of 40s per acre with the amount of such valuation added. AH expenses connected with the valuation and sale of the property to be deducted irony the amount received, or valuation of buildings and fences ; and the balance, if any, to be paid to the tenant. • I now come to the question of taxation. The tax I would propose in addition to that provided for the formation of bridges and roads by the Roads Ordinance, 1856, would be a sum of Is per acre upon all lands leased and purchased under new regulations, until the purchaser or lessee produce sufficient proof that a sum equal to 40s per acre has been expended in improvements upon the land leased or purchased by him. The sums so levied from time to time to be expended within the district from which they are produced, towards the formation and maintenance of roads and bridges. The adoption of such a plan as I have above sketched, would, I believe, operate powerfully to promote profitable occupation and permanent settlement, while it would provide a salutary check to pernicious monopoly or undue specula lation. Another advantage to be derived would, I think, be found in the mixture in each distric of lessee occupiers and freeholders. Many of both these classes would probably be employers of labor ; while to many of the poorer of the lessee class the obtainment of occasional labor at remunerative wages, procurable within an easy distance from their own homesteads, would in many cases be of the greatest importance.

The foregoing views apply only to those portions of the Province which may be termed strictly Agricultural land. With reference to those lands which at present are adapted for no other than pastoral purposes, except such portions as may be required for pasturage in connexion with settled Agricultural districts, and for new townships, I would recommend that they should remain unsold until the termination of existing licenses, unless some more urgent necessity for their disposal arises than at present appears to exist. Probably before the time arrives when the earliest of the present pasturage licenses will expire, the expediency of selling portions of these lands, and of re-leasing others will have become apparent. In those cases where a sale of such lands might be decided upon, it would probably be found necessary in order to ensure profitable occupation, that the terms of such sales, both as regards the price per acre and the size of allotments, should vary somewhat from the rules laid down for the disposal of purely Agricultural lan Is. On the other hand, in tuose cases where new pastoral licenses were granted, the term of occupation would require to be more limited than it originally was ; the areas of the runs, in many cases, would require to be much reduced, and the rentals would have to be fixed at rates more in accordance with the actual value of the country leased.

On the subject of Town lands little perhaps need be said, as it might be found difficult ' improve to any great extent upon the mode sale now adopted—but in laying off land con tiguous to future townships, it wouid be verj desirable that the size of tiie allotments should be' much smaller than has hitherto been the case,

Such, Gentlemen, are some of the leading points of the land policy I should feel inclined to advocate and adopt. • I- do not suppose that it is perfect as a scheme, or that there are not some difficulties to be met with in arranging all the details necessary to ensure its successful working. I believe notwithstanding that, with slight modifications, it may be found to work well, and with beneficial results to the colony. I feel confident that by the adoption of this or of some analogous system, the'best interests of the colony, so fur as the profitable occupation of its lands is concerned, would be fostered and secured, and any unnecessary collisions between important existing interests prevented.

Much exception appears to have been taken in certain quarters to an expression of mine which appeared in a former letter, to the effect that what my views on the Land Question in all their main features had been, they still were,and would continue to be. This statement is substantially correct. In alluding to what my views have been, I necessarily referred to the time when my views upon the subject had been matured by a close investigation of it, in its various bearings, as connected with the science of colonisation and production, not to a. time which must have occurred to every one, who for the first time in his life comes into contact with such a subject; when his ideas were confused, and his views, such as they were, had not arrived at consistency. Every member of our early Provincial Council, who took a part in framing our existing Land Regulations, must be conscious that in his first essays at constructive legislation on this subject, he brought to bear on io many crude and confused ideas, and that nothing but a patient investigation of the Question, and its various surroundings, could reduce those ideas to a sectled belief. Such was my own case, but from time to time when the regulations were once fairly settled, I have seen no reason to change my opiuion—that the same principles which guided their framers then, ought to guide our legislators now. in any changes that may be made. Those princip'es I liavej., before laid down. , ,

One of the safeguards against monopoly, and undue speculation, to which I on a former occasion referred, as havinn; been introduced by me, is the 6th section of the Land Regulations, the efficacy of which has on more than one occasion been proved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the Waste Land Board. I also alluded to section 2 of the Waste Lands Act, 1858, of the General Assembly, which was prepared and introduced by me. This section practically gave the Superintendent and Provincial Council the power to raise the price of the Waste Lands, a course which had' become necessary to check speculation, it having become generally known that the Government were powerless to enforce the Improvement Clauses. It is scarcely necessary to add that the Provincial Council soon found it desirable to act upon the power thus given to them.

I regret to have had again to refer to these matters, but my previous statements having been questioned,! felt it incumbent on me to do so.

Gentlemen, I now leave myself in the hands of the electors. It is for them to judge between me and other candidates. I have no personal object to serve in connexion with the election, beyond that of doing my duty if elected, irrespective of class or party. That you may be led to select the man whose administration will be productive of the most extensive and lasting good to the colony, is my sincere wish. . , Believe me,-Gentlemen, " , To remain, Yonr most obedient servant, JOHN HYDE HARRIS.

MINERS, why will you cany Swags when you : * can procure Tools and every description of Ironmongery as cheap on Dunstan and Wakatip as in Dunedin, carnage only added/? Our ability to purchase large Stocks direct from Melbourne for Cash, convinces our hundreds of customers weekly that their interests are bettor attended to on the. gold field-than in'the city. Our largo stock of Picks, Shovels, Tinware, Ironmongery, as well as our saddlery department, quite astonish ntw chu>ns, and made an old packer say lately—" What do ye no sell (" We have always on hand Braudy, Wines and Spirits, of the best brands, in bulk. BLACK md GORDON, j Ironmongers, fcfadcilere, Blacksmiths and Farriers, anil Win* and Spirit Merchants.