REVIEWING RENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11200, 24 August 1898, Page 2

REVIEWING RENTS.

The astonishing information was placed before Parliament' to-day in connection with the petition of the ."Wellington Fruitgrowers' Association for a reduction in rents, that tJie total original valuation on which a body of settlers were required,to pay- for all time was £2^7, whereas the Government officer how valued the lands referred to at £856. fet there.waa no power, for reviewing the rents, unless the settlers .threw up their leases. Never, in the opinion of Mr Taylor, has there been a more complete proof of the necessity for revaluations.

| THE ETERNAL LEASE. ! A very strong condemnation of the land administration, especially as regards the lease in perpetuity, came from Mr Rolleston, who spoke with considerable feeling on the report of the committee on a; petition from the Weliington l'Yiutgrowers' Association for a reduction of their, rents: The perpetual lease ,J and pot the lease in perpetuity, was the right" | . system. At this there were cries of "Hear, ! hear " from both sides of the House. Mr Rollaston. can speak wifcli.. authority on this question, as he is the author of the perpetual lease system,' and his views on this question have always been recognised as being most liberal. In the course of;his remarks, Mr Rolleston said the substitution of the lease in perpetuity by the p'erpetua! lease was a grievous blunder, and he was sorry to see the objects which ho (Mr Rolleston) had ih view when he passed his land legislation being lost sight of. "Who broke it down?"' asked the Minister for Lands. " Who broke it down? " repeated Mr Rolleston angrily. " I have no patience with this habit of for ever going back to the past. This is no party question, but should be considered in!the,interests of the whole colony." He had no."sym'paf hy with those who kept asking "WKirdid this?,'? and "Who did that?" llt reminded him of those animals that delighted in hovering round the graves of the dead. He condemned the stolid obstinaoy with which the lease in perpetuity was insisted^ upon, even: though thle whole land settlement of the colony was injured thereby. Mr Wason explained 'that; the committee recommended that the Government should take power to revise Tents should, they at any time become oppressive.•' Men had been shot for less nrovo- . cation than the treatment meted out by the department t.h settlers' in some cases. In angry tones the Minister for Lands stated that the whole thing;'had been done by the committee secretly, arid behind his back- He had- not been given a chance to bring re- ! butting evidence. " Why did you not at- j I tend?" asked a member, to which the Mmisi. ter said he had. to be present at other comj mittees. The discussion occupied the whole S afternoon. i

. THE" LICENSING LAWS. In the Housff*«Mr Oarson directed attention to a caso in which a hotelkeeper had been fined for supplying .drink to a Maori woman, and in which it had been pleaded that th<s presence of. thei Colonial Secretary had been | regarded as justifying the sale. Mr Carroll, iin reply, said that in the month'of Apn! a large number of nativeß visited Wangamii, and some of them were ptit up at the hotel in question. He had called upon the natives in i the course of the evening, and while at Cody's Hotel had partaken of refreshments : with the chiefs who were present. But he '■ had no knowledge that the lady spoken of hati been a contributor to the cost. No doubt the magistrate had spoken and decided in accor.i----1 ance with the evidence before him, but so far aa he (the Colonial Secretary) wna concerned, the facts were also as he stated them, aud ho was sorry if he had been, even though only unwittingly and indirectly, associated with a violation of the law. The Premier asked toe the indulgence of the House to suggest that if the lady was a boarder there c6uld have been

no breach of the law, but Captain Russell oo< served that they could not permit the Premier to "indulge" to that extent. The matter then dropped. IMPORTED GRAIN. The imported grain return, laid on the tabl* of the House to-day, shows that the quantity of wheat carried by the San Francisco mail steamers from America to New Zealand during the last two years ended June 30, 1898, was 4816 bushels, of the value of £1000. The consignees were the Northern Roller Mills Company. The barley imported to the colony during the sa"me period by the same means was 39,909 bushels, of the value of £6680. Of flour two centals, of the value of £2, were carried. No wheat was imported into New South Wales in the same way during the same period, but 90,970 centals of flour, at £42,605, were so imported into that colony. The quantities .and values of wheat and flour imported into New South Wales from Canada by the Vancouver mail steamers from January 1, 1894, to June 30, 1898, were:—Wheat, 235,488 bushels, value £46;459; flour, 405>727 centals, value £218,372. The wheat imported from Australia to New Zjßaland during the two years ended June 30, 1898, amounted to 55,233 bushels, valued at £10,680. The principal consignee was the Northern Roller-Mills Company—44,29s bushels, of the value of £9007. The oats imported from Australia during the same period consisted of 339£ bushels, value £85; barley 3 bushels, value £l.j flour 815 centals, value £455.. • " JOTTINGS.. The Local Bills Committee of the Council have recommended that the University of Qtago Leases and Securities Bill be allowed to proceed without amendment. The second reading will be taken to-morrow. Mr J. W. Thomson presented a petition from settlers in Ratanui and contiguous districts praying that the Government might metal the Owaka-Waikawa road. The petitioners point out that in the present state of the road they are unable _to cart their fencing material or to send their milk to the dairy factory. They point out further that the employment which the work would give is 1 much needed by the settlers, who are willing to give facilities for getting Btone from their properties if necessary. '■..'■ \ "The Laird of Bushy Park must not expect that his1 * eternal or infernal lease of 999 years will be accepted as a panacea for the future.'—(Laughter.) He is like a doctor wh? tries homoeopathic remedies on his patients, but reserves the allopathic treatment for himself."—(More laughter.}— Thus Mr George Hutchison to-night during the course of a trenchant criticism of the policy of the Minister for Lands. "While the hon. gentleman was digging sheep, a sanitary but not otherwise extraordinary occupation, Mr Rolleston was exposing the evils of gridironing."—Mr Hutcison on the Minister for Lands. The warship Tauranga is to. convey Major Gudgeon to Rarotonga. The now British Resident will leave about the end of the week. ■