THE LAND FOR SETTLEMENTS BILL.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 11

THE LAND FOR SETTLEMENTS BILL.

The Legislative Council are bo frequently accused of opposing in a facfcioiu spirit measures brought in by the Government, tbat it is only right the public sbould be able to read tbe full explanation made by the Hon. E. C. J. Stevens on the Land for Settlements J3UI when the measure was considered in Committee. Mr Stevens was Chairman of the . Waste Lands Committee, upon whom was oast the duty of revising this important policy bill, and the important service rendered by the Committee will be manifest to anyone who "reads Mr Stevens's speech, which was as follows :—

The Hen. Mr Stevens : Sir, — I propose to make a fen remarks on this motion. Having spoken on the principle of this bill on the second reading, it is not ray intention to repeat any of the arguments then used, or to say anything at all as to the general effect of tbe prothe Waste Lands Committee, which has had charge of tbe bill, I think it right, for the information of the Council, that I should detail flome of the principal changes that have been -made in it. The position is not an ordinary one, as will be seen bj honourable members on reference to tbe bill. It has undergone enormous change*, and it will be for me to show that these are necessary, before going into the main changes that have been made. I might say that most of the earlier ones are incidental to the greater change : many of them are merely verbal, and are put in for the purpose of making the bill work more smoothly. There is one point which I should mention : it is with reference to the proviso in clause 21. This proviso has been put in by tbe committee to put an end to all doubt as to the power of any Government to increase the amount mentioned in the clause limiting the expenditure to £250,000 within the year. I ask the attention of honourable members to the large change that has been made in the bill, and the reason for it. The existing law enables the Government to take land within certain limits by voluntary agreement. This bill was introduced by the Government this session for tbe purpose of adding the compulsory power in the taking of land to tbe power whian already exists ; and when the committee came to examine the bill, and especially clauses 6 and 7, they found that the state in which the bill then was made the propoeed compulsory power of taking land absolutely inoperative. The committee then addressed itself to putting the bill into such a shape that it would carry out the views of the Government on that point ; and I will explain the manner in which it so happened that the | bill was inoperative for tbe purpose for which [ the Government brought it down. There is I power given in the bill to an owner to make a selection from the block as to which the notification of taking may be given to him, and for thje fiuowse thft land notified io tie taken ie

( uhject to selection by the owner, for retention of 1000 nores of first-clss* Innd, or 2000 >crra ■ f 8< com! -class land, or 5000 acres c( \ »-ci- r-.= land. There is n, further provision in ',):<• i'ul, which hon. members will sco on pa^r 3 1 1 wise 7, subsection (3), for the purpose of this compulsory taking, aud selection by the owner of the portion be mshts to retain. The clause rays what laud shall be deemed to be firstclass, second-class, and pastoral that he is enabled to select from, but the bill wt» bo admirably constructed, and was passed iv such a complete and perfect shape, tbat there was absolutely no authority in it — no court, no power, nor aDy other machinery —to say how tbe land sbould be deemed to be of any of the classes. It comes to this : that if an owner received a notice all he would have to do would be to get bis t-oliciUr to serve the G>>ve,rnmen*i wish a notice to stop proceedings fjr the taking of the land. I believe that is, underatrod to have been absolutely the position' of the biil «.« it came to tho Council. It has been an exceedingly arduous task, and one of extreme difficulty, both for the committee and the legal advisers cf the Government, to get machinery puL into the bill that shall carry out tho intentions of the Government with regard to it. The committee, with the assistance of the Government law advisers, have reconstructed the bill so far as the classifying of land is ci ncersed, and, starring with the notification, they have made provision for the Compensation Court acting as the classifying authority. Tho court having then clss-ified the land, the claim of the owner to be allowed to retain so much of ili will be considered by the Compensation Court— tbat is, within the limit pretoribed— and the court will decide the quantity to which the owner is entitled, having regard to the class of land which is established by the classification made by the court. The court then will proceed to consider the compensation to which the owner is entitled, and subsequently the proclamation will issue, and the land will be taken, and the whole proceedings will be completed. I think the Council, on examining these clauses, will see that a great deal ot care has been taken with them. I take no spfcial credit to myself, though the oommittee is entitled to nemo credit, and I think that the professional assistance that has been given is also entitled to credit for tbe present shape of j tha new clauses. I should say, however, that | the production of the whole bill as originally j introduced is not at all credit*ble, for in the course of a long experiencs I h&ve never before ] known a measure of policy that has come to this Council, or left the House of Representstives, in the condition in which we received \ this measure. Let ma point out to honourable i gentle mtn in conneotiou with this matter tbat this Council is repeatedly tssailed for opposing measures which are supposed to Iw of a Liberal character, and it has been assailed in regard to this particular question repeatedly. The Council, ii it desired to defeat this bill, bad nothing what* ver to do but to pats it in the form in vhich it came to it. If it desired to justify the attacks which have been made upen it, it could bavo pasted the bill exaotly as it came to the Council. But tbe committee felt that the Council would not take up such a position—that it owed a duty to the public, and that it was not their business to take advantage of any accidental circumstances to defeat a measure of policy, aB on the second reading, when we said tbat, however much ~we disliked this measure for the compulsory seizing of land, nevertheless, it having been before the country, waA tesva& *«««. tdGV*^ hj tha wmatitufta- i cie ', we did not feel inclined to reject that principle. What I have said I now repeat : that the rejection of the principle would be complete bad tbe Council taken advantage of the bill as it came to this Council, but through the medium of these clauses th« committee have made it a workable measure.