THE LAND ACT AMENDMENT BILL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 10 August 1888, Page 11

THE LAND ACT A M END MENT BILL.

On the occasion of the sccoud reading in thY House of Representatives we j^nve n flight sketch of the principal provisions of •' The Land Ac " Amendment Bill," the principal object.* ol which is to give security of tenure to the pnstoral tenant of the Crown lands which are suittable exclusively for pasturage. Under the Act. of 18S5 every licuiso for the uccupition of pastoral lands may be of such term not exceeJinf: 21 jcvrs as the Land Board of the district ma} fix, but Mibjuct to bo determined at any time oi. 12 months' notice that the whole or any part ol the land is " required for bale at. agricultural or "pastoral land." It appears fiom tho lepon upon the Crown Lands department for tho year ended March 31 ult , that the attention of the Government has been directed to the question of pastoral tenure owing to tho fact of the Canterbury run licenses, as well as several in Obago, running out in May 1890. About 4,250,000 acres will have to be dealt with next year, since arrangements require to be made at least 12 months prior to the expiry of the license?, so as t'; allow time for transfers of stock, &0., in the event of chauges of tenancy. The Secretary of drown * amis (MrM'Kerrow) does not consider the cK'S^ing .state of th< law s\MsfActory, and ho expresses the opinion that the possibility of the determination of h license on the 12 months' notice " goes far to " discourage any effort towards the itnprove- " ment of the natural pastures, by fencing off " aud resting them, sowing grass seed, or con- " tending with the rabbit pest in a resolute "manner." In the lirgo area of 11,000,000 acres held on pastoral tenancy, nearly the whole of which, "so far as settlement is concerned, " can never be devoted to anything but pastoral " purposes," there is nothing gained, he says, by keeping the tenants under insecurity of tenure ; "on the contrary, there is on account " of it a loss both in rents and in tho productive- " ness of the country." The comparatively small areas, he declares, that are " suitable for " agriculture, or rather tbat could be detached " for that purpose without detriment to the pro- " fitable occupation of the usuil larger pastoral " areas, could easily be classified and set apart. " Were this done it would be of great advantage " to the Colony to give a secure tenure — say of " 21 ye«rs— over the re.-.t." The Bill as transmitted to the Legislative Council, where it is now under consideration, differs in some essential particulars from the original draft, amendments having been made by the Waste Lands Committee which were accepted by the House. The classification, for instance, is vxrendrd, mid insVad of two classes of rural lands wholly or partly suited for pastoral purposes ib is provided th-ib there shall be three— namely, (1) pastoral lands, being lands suitable exclusively for pasturage " and not capable of being used with profit as areas of ' less than 5000 acres " ; (2) pastoral lands suitable for subdivision as small runs ; and (3) " pasI toral-agricultural lands," being " lands adapted Jin part for pasturage and in part for agriculturd purposes." Lands of the first class may be let " for any terra certain," but not exceeding 21 years ; and lands of the second and third classes are to be disposed of under the Land Acts "in such manner as the Governor shall from time to time appoint by notification in the Gazette." The classification, it is evident, will be an important and responsible matter. The Bill pro-

vides that the Governor may appoint three commissioners in any land district, of whom the chief surveyor is to be one, to report as may be required ; and the commissioners are to furnish a description of the boundaries of the lands classified by them, which is to be submitted to the Land Board and published in the Gazette for general information. Previously to the runs the licenses of <which fall in in 1890 being offered for competition, it is intended, Mr M'Kerrow states in the report referred to above, to adjust the boundaries " so as to render each run a payable property in itself." There have been mistakes, he says, in cutting up the fand in such a way as virtually to compel the purchase of several runs in order to get a workable piece of country. In connection with this subject of the Crown lands held on pastoral lease or license, certain statistics may be interesting. The total area of pastoral country let was on the 31st March ult., 10,755,483 acres, in 1253 runs, at an average of 3.jd an acre. The revenue derived from run rents last year was £157,059, being £13,500 less than the previous year. "The deficit," says the Secretary, "is entirely in "Otago, and is due to 52 runs relet during the "year fetching lower rents than before, and also *• to the loss of revenue iv placing two tuds " yielding high rentals under the small grazing " run system." The Waste Lands Committee of the House f urbher amended the Bill by extending the maximum area which may be purchased by a selector under tin) deferred payment system from 320 to 640 acres, which may be held in one or more contiguous selections. Its seems reasonable that settlers who have the means, and who desire to do so, should have the opportunity of farming on a larger scale than the present limitation of area allows, and as a matter of principle we conceive that the fewer statutory restrictions there are upon settlement of every kind the better for the country. The Waste Lauds Boards are not yet disposed of, although more bound under existing legislation. The Committee introduced a clause which gives them new life, l;ub every Lnnd Boards? hereafter tc consist of, " besides the Commissioner, nob loss " than two nor more thaa four members," instead of five as at present. For whab reason is nob apparent, the provision is struck out of the Bill which authorises the special grant and the special occupation, liceuse "of a certain area "on Sunday Island and the Kermadec group," authorised to be issued to Thomas Bell, "to " be issued to any person or company to whom I " the said Thomas Bell has assigned his interests " therein." | The Bill is, we presume, just now before the Waste Lands Committee of the Legislative I Council, but we do not anticipate that it will be reported with any essential alterations, since on important measures there is generally believed to be an understanding between the respective Waste Linds Committees of the Council and the House.