THE LAND POLICY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2757, 16 January 1907, Page 20

THE LAND POLICY.

Mr James Allen, having made an engagement to address a public meeting at Milton at an early date on the subject of the Land Bill, may be expected then to develop fully the points upon "which, in the interview reproduced by us elsewhere from the columns of the Press, he criticised the - provisions _ of the measure. The policy contained in the Bill bristles with controversial matter, concerning which the public should welcome, between now and the next session of Parliament, all the instruction it can glean, particularly since some of the proposals are not free from obscurity. Among these doubtful provisions ai'e those, to which Mr Allen refers, dealing with the position, of mortgagees as affected by the limitation of the area of land that may be held by any owner. The necessity for safeguarding the interests of mortgagees seems to have been entirely overlooked by the Minister of Lands when the Bill was originally framed, just as the necessity for preventing an evasion of the limitation proposals by the execution of bogus mortgage transactions was also overlooked. Provision with the one object in view is not less requisite than it is with the other, and the double defect in the Bill was remedied more or leas satisfactorily when the measure was -under consideration last year by the Lands Committee. It was, of course, an exaggeration on the part of Mr M'Nab to declare that, in the absence of any provision whereby mortgagees might be 7 brought within the scope of the limitation of area clauses, every sale of land would begin with a bogus mortgage and would end with a bogus transfer through the agency of a registrar of the Supreme Court. But it is equally extravagant to assert, as Mr Allen does, that the effect of the Bill is to destroy the "value of eveiy mortgage security in the colony. The fact is —though here again it was during the process of revision of the Bill by the Lands Committee that the provision was inserted in the measure—that the interests of the holders of existing mortgages are protected inasmuch as it is proposed that where, in the case of any mortgage dated prior to the enactment of the Bill, the mortgagee has become the purchaser of the mortgaged land at a sale conducted under the direction of the Supreme Court, the instrument of conveyance may be absolutely registered if a statutory declaration is attached to it setting out that the mortgage was executed before the passage of the Bill and was given in good faith, and that the transaction evidenced by the instrument of mortgage was a genuine one. The provision of the Bill that relates to future mortgage transactions allows to every mortgagee who becomes the purchaser under a forced sale of the land comprised iA his security a period of two years within which he may dispose of his security if the retention of it would bring him within the terms of the clauses that are designed to effect the limitation of areas. It is tlrfe proposal which Mr Allen presumably has in his mind when he says the Bill destroys the value of mortgage securities. The objection, though too sweeping, is by no means negligible. It may well be argued, indeed, that a period of two years may prove altogether insufficient to enable the mortgagee to dispose of a security in respect of which he will have bought in with no purpose other than that of saving himself. Mr M'Nab has said that it is only when the mortgagees decide to take the ownership of property out of the unfortunate borrowers' hands, and to vest it in themselves to hold for a higher price than the market will then afford, that the pinch will be felt by them under the legislation requiring them to realise within two years. But is it not possible that if the law will not allow them more than two years within which to dispose of their securities, the lending institutions may be more chary than they now are in lending money on mortgage on landed property, and that in that event the consequence may be that the farmer may be unable to obtain his advances on as advantageous terms as are at present open to him? Moreover, it is certainly a pijgffllrAi^ j*nt.inn t Jhj^t rejgregeflts

the mortgagee as a covetous person , who has lent his money with, the ulterior motive of acquiring the security for himself. Nor can Mr M'Nab have forgotten — what he eagerly, if not very ingenuously proclaimed when his Bill was before the House — that the mort- • gagee has no absolute right of foreclosure and that the law does offer the mortgagor some chance of preventing the security from falling into the hands of the money-lender. These are, however, only some of the side issues of the Bill. Apart from its pi'oposals, to which, wo 4hink, public support will largely be given, to s effect under reasonable conditions the limitation of estates, the crux of the measure consists, as Mr Allen remarks, in its attack on the freehold principle. It is this feature of the Bill that has gained for it the support of all the sections of the community that entertain strange and fantastic ideas about the wickedness of private ownership of land. From some of the politicians who will be found within the next few months ascending the public platform in advocacy of the provisions of the Bill, even the existing freeholds cannot be said to be entirely safe. This need cause no apprehensiveness to any intelligent settler about the sacredness of his title to land within the limit of value which, according to a growing popular sentiment, represents the extreme area that may be so occupied by any individual or any company as to admit of the most profitable use. For there is only an insignificant body of public men who are so thoroxighly imbued with the belief in the virtues of land nationalisation that they would wipe out all existing titles: they might be dangerous if they N were numerous, but they are such a scanty band that they are simply amusing. The proposal that no additional lands shall be disposed of by tho Crown on terms that will allow of the acquisition of the fee-simple by the settler is, however, not one that can be supported by any person who wishes to see the colony permanently and advantageously settled. Mr Allen rightly ridicules the claim that the endowment proposals constitute the important feature of the measure. The endowments will be valueless unless they are settled, and it will be impossible to obtain the settlement of the endowment land, much of ft land of inferior quality, by the right class of individual except upon terms that will sooner or later afford fixity of tenure to the occupier. LOCAL 1. AND p. HEWS. To find out which, was the driest year ever experienced^ in Oamaru one has to glean information from the very early settlers. One of these, who has been settled in Oamaru for about 45 years, tolls the North Otago Times that in the early sixties— he thinks about 1863 — no rain fell for about six months in the daytime, and only two or three trifling showers at night. The country was only partially settled at the time, and there was a wide field for roaming stock, as fences were few and far between. The small number of sheep and cattle would therefore not experience any great hardship in getting sufficient grass to tide them over the Australian-like drought that prevailed. Most of the creeks had dried up, and the informant says that the most likely places to get water were springs on the hillsides. The present drought, he says, was nothing like bad as that experienced in the early sixties, because practically no rain fell during the period he has mentioned. A Balclutha dealer was offered a line of full-mouthed ewes from Oair<»ra at 7s a head on Monday. The low price i*? owing to the drought and scarcity of feed ; for this tune last year the same class of sheep were fetching 15s to" 17s. Another example of a similar kind came under notice at the yards on Friday, when dairy cows which cost £7 in the spring sold for £2 10s.— Free Press. For the past month or so (says the Free Press, Balclutha) the Stirling Dairy Factory has been producing a ton of cheese daily — a. record output. Six hands are now employed at the factory. Rabbits are rapidly increasing in number* in some portions of the Tapanui district, and they are damaging the young turnip' plants considerably. The wheat crops about Otautau are looking splendid, and promise a big yield. Quite a mild heat wave has been experienced here during the last fortnight (says Mi© Cromwell Arprus) Saturday and Sunday being exceptionally warm. The willows a-nd other trees are beginning to wither on account of the extreme heat, and rain i« anxiously looked for. Fortunately the crops are now well forward, and as there were several good rains during the last two month?, the yield will be over the average, but it will not benefit the farmeis in the Upper Clutha much. a>? the distance they have to cart to the railway closes the outside market to them. The harvesting of grain has begun in the Duntroon district, oats being the crop opera-ted upon. A start will be made on the wheat next week, and thereafter the harvest ie expected to be general, if such i. Jalo^ csn. be u^#d in connection with the

little that has t*> be reaped!.— North Otago Times. The settlers up at Rongahere, on the eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains, complain bitterly (says the Clutha Leader) of the depredations of the fallow deer. The deer have no trouble in negotiating the highest fences in the place, and large patches of grain crops, grass, turnips, and 1 potatoes are ruined by them. They are j not easily frightened, and come right down | to the houses. One of the settlers (Mr Sharp) says they have rendered his farm I practically worthless, and he strongly contends that the society should erect a 9ft or 10ft deer-proof fence across the foot of ' the hills between the Clutha River and ! the Pomahaka. 1 j Farmers and others report that the present season has been an ideal one for the Tabbits, and in most districts they are much thicker at this time of the year than has been the case ior many years in Southland.— Winton Record. The following items of news appear in the Olutha Free Press of the Bth inst. : — While loud lamentations as to scarcity of feed for stock came from the hilly districts, the complaint of farmers on the fertile alluvial soil of Inchclutha is that they cannot keep the grass down. It is too luxuriant, and ordinary stocking is insufficient to keep it within bounds. The result is that &heep are being bought from, outside in large numbers to eat off the grass. On one farm are to be seen 500 sheep on. 30 acres of grass, and getting fat rapidly.— Sheep have fattened remarkably well, notwithstanding the drought. The long spell of warm weather has, it is considered by experts, contributed more thereto than anything else, and has compensated for the shortage in grass. Last season there was ample feed, yet owing to the wet and cold, sheep did not fatten well. This 6eason Messrs Begg Bros., of Hillend Station, have already disposed of 4000 fats, some of whioh it was last season found impossible to fatten. Climate has evidently a lot to do with the production of prime mutton. — The fat sheep market is in none too good a state in this district just now. In conversation with a well-known sheep man yesterday he attributed the stagnation, to the tact that the Burnsido freezing works are closed down, and their buyers doing nothing. There are thousands of "fats" available here, yet the demand is practically, nil. The Burnside works are now owned by the Christ church Meat Co., who, together with the Canterbury Meat Freezing Company, control the market in these parts. karly in November the Burnside works w«re closed down, owing, so the company averred, to the farmers' prices get- j ting too high for them. It was not possible to profitably export at the rates then asked, so it was alleged. "It looks now, however," said our informant, "as if the company were going to beat the farmers at their own game, and keep the works closed until prices get. away down. They want to be able to buy in 'the cheapest market in order to sell in the dearest. But if the f » r mers are wise they oan. find an outlet at the Mataura works, where they will kill and freeze at, I think, l-8d per lb, and pufc the carcases on board at the Bluff for that. In that way the farmer can depend on getting full value for his mutton." In Canterbury both works are in, full swing justnow freezing lambs, for which they are giving up to 15s. A farmer who has driven throughout the district (says the Oamaru Mail of the Btlr inst.) tells vs s that one-third of the crops in JSorth Otago will never feel the knife of the reaper or the embrace of the binder, while another third will not thresh to the acre half the average yield of last year, mat a irery considerable shortage in wheat •* anticipated is evident from the -"act that already large orders for flour are being placed from Auckland with South Island mi^rs; such orders as could not well be fulfilled at the present price of wheat. Unlike our colony, Australia appears likely to Lrt t ' 16 neavje st crop yet harvested in, the Commonwealth, and it is nothing but this fact which prevents quotations in the New Zealand market from assuming an. almost prohibitive price. - The Wyndham Valley settlers, as a whole (says the Farmer), have reason to be well satisfied ■ with the outlook for their crops turnips especially so. A gentleman who is in a position to speak on the matter says he hag seen no better turnip fields in any part of this district than those of Messrs ftl Laren Bro>«., N. M'Ewan, Charles M'Kelvie, and others that have caught his eye in the Wyndham Valley. The potato crop also promises really well, without any suspicion so far. according to our informant' 6 view, of the blight attacking them. It is rather early yot to say how the oats will fare, as thoy are not yet in ear, but if the present spell of dry weather continues much longer the straw will be on the short side. The Mokoreta Dairy Factory is proving a valuable asset to the settlers, and as the cows aie milking well, proprietor ond| patrons alike should he well satiafied with the season's operations. In common with the rest of the country the grain crops in the Waimumu district are short in the straw owing to the drought. The turnip ciops are, however, looking very w»MI. The Clutha Leader states that the grass seed harvest ii attended with some difficulty owing to the shortness of the crop. It takes some ingenuity to adjust the binder so that «he will tie the %heaves. But a well-known farmer informs us that the crop will be a faiily good one, and tho sample better than it has been for years. I Referring to tho dairying industry the Oamaru Mail writes: — About the middle of December there was a decided drop m the quantity of the local milk supply, and it was fully anticipated that the fall would] continue. We are informed, however, that the supply, in spite of (or probably cvuiig to) the continued dryness, instead of continuing to fall, remained stationary, and that the return still compares favourably with the corresponding month of last year, when food was. much more plentiful, and with no great difference in the number of suppliers. When the abnormally dry sea son is taken into consideration, with its concurrent disadvantages on the profityielding propensities of dairy cattle, it is difficult to explain why the in ilk supply is not less than it is at the present moment. ] There is, however, this to be laken into consideration. What there now is i>f girss is at its best, and cattle get from :t a ff ir measure of nourishment. Then. a, r am, the warm nights and early morning dews are factors to which dairy farmers owe a me^d of thankfulness. Still, rain is sadly needed to enable farmers to grow sufficient feed to carry their cattle over the winter months. At the present moment it looks as far off as ever. A correspondent writes in the Southland Times of the Bth inst.: — I was yesterday, with another 'ettler. m the Fortrose dis- , trict, W.fi found the crops and gra?^ in

excellent condition, notwithstanding thfil. billy nature of the land there. Turnips Mg coming on first rate. We me* Mr XWf Raymond, who had been nearer the coasts and he gave the came verdict. The ForM rose district, however, has alwmjß beeni noted for the fattening quality of itf grasses. . „ . The subjoined harvest notes are mjltt tM North Otago Times:— A considerable are^f has been set aside in this district to* tag nips and rape, which would! be sown Jrf large quantities if the longed-for x*m would only come. Several farmers m various parts of the district h*ve large P»9? docks ploughed and in readiness for rain In fact, if the conditions even now wew to be favourable the area under turnips antj rape would show an increase 9* oompareol with last year. Early sowings of theK* crops are said to be looking pretty well.-J The dry season has not affeoted the Steward Settlement to anything like the- degree thafl might have, been expected. A number, o^ crops on tho upper end are doing fairly, well, *nd stock also are in good condition, though they will suffer severely -unless there is a tall of rain. One settler has driven his* whole herd of 42 cattle from the W*iarekqi Valley to hk section on the Steward oe«ie? ment, where he is feeding off crops with! them. These cattle are in •ptenkdwn": tion. and are said to be yielding 11001b oS milk daily. The Papakaio Plain generally, look* better than might be expected, bu« along the hillside things have been parchedf up by the north-westers. The prospects for an abundant harvest ara now past (report* the Clinton correspon-t dent of the Olutha Leader). Crop is shoot* ing everywhere, and! some of it is exceedingly short. Early sown crops are fairly good considering the dry season, but anything late sown is very short, and without an abundance of rain will hardly be St. to cut. The drought seems to *uit the potato, and some excellent crops are to -tea Seen around the district. Turnips also hara brairded well, and sufficient mowture i« only wanted to assure an abundance ofi winter feed. Gras*. in the paddocka i# getting very bare and burnt up. IB£ fills, Tiowever, except on recently burnt faces, are carrying a great length of rougH tee t showing' the advantages of im£J»<»[ and the success derived from wrigatin» barren land in Central Otago, an instanoe !f toSStffm where Mrs MjGinms Imi about 70 acres under crop, has Been orou^under the notice of the >*£*** Herald. The splendid and ne»"*j *P" petrance of this crop U »~*»ftsJf JJ$ nart of Otago; and in the Taien ana M^ddleLaroh "districts where .«g* five of this journal has lately » i » l £d.«® crops in theee latter places cannot be comcared with that on Earnscleugh Flat. The water for irrigating this land is taken from, Blackman'^ &l/ •$ no ema ll « pm and the enterprise and energy of the owner U of a commendable nature, and worthy, of the success that has attended l her efforts. The committee of the North Otago A. and P Association met on Wednesday. S, Mr W. W. Wylie <P~«A»g « tjj chair. A motion was carried that a vote] Centered in the minutes of the recording the services of the late Messrs Mathew g Morton and John^ f***** «g that letters of condolence be sent *>*»»« relatives, also that a letter be sent to M* T. Reid sympathising with him m the^ toe* of his wife.-A letter was received l from, Messrs Quibell and Company through MU aW. Reid, as follow* ,: T "Referrmg to our conversation on 22nd inst., I We? ' «* to be allotted for competition in sucH class in the cheep section as your committee may decide. Tho trophy must b^ won twice y in euccesfiion or three time, aj intervals before i>.^^B»S property of the winner." Messrs Quibell were thanked for their generous donation, which it was decided *<> accept.-The Finance Committee presented a igemmfl showins the present position of the iassociation, und recommended that steps be taken to raise a sum of money by means o£ debentures for the purpose of consohdatin'jr the present loans and of providing money for the development of the ne^ ground. It was resolved that a •?<*«! meeting of the association be called foe the first Wednesday in February, at 11.30 a.m., for the purpose of securing the necessary authority for this scheme.-Some discussion ensued with regard to the old ground, and it was eventually decided to fnetruct Mr Shirley Baker to survey the eround into building sites, which Messrs fhdgeiy and Co. will submit to auction when surveyed.-It was agreed that the necessary works on the new arK"jndbe pursued vigorously, and the Ground Committee- was instructed to submit the final plan of the arrangement of ring, yards, etc., at the next meeting. T A meeting of the Waitahuna Club took place on the 7th mst., Mr. W. t Cameron (president) in the chair. A letter was received from" the secretary of tho v Wellington Meat Exporting Company o« the present method of trucking sheep, andt suggesting certain alterations in the construction of the «heep trucks, and fcking the assistance of the club, through the member for the district, in securing the changes sought to be effected.-The President referred to the show held on December /SH, 1906, and in the course of hia remarks said that although the entries in some or the clas«e3 could hardly be considered satisfactory, yet on the whole- the number ofi entries compared favourably with that or former years, while the attendance on snow day was the largest for several years past. He thanked the attending members for their services, and predicted still greater, success for the show in the future. The treasurer was instructed to pay «Upn«« in connection with the late show. Owing

to the accounts in connection with the chow not having been rendereH to the treasurer, it was impossible to say definitely what the result would be financially, bat all tbingfi point to the balance being on the right side. The following district notes are from last f rkhty's Clutha Leader : — The local creamery is>»t present getting an average of something like 520 gallons per day, which is leas than last -year (1905), when it wae over 600 gallons a day. The decrease is owing chiefly to two or three of the suppliers shifting from the district. The average test for December -was 3.7. — Oats are remarkably scarce in this district at present, and the agents are scouring the country to fulfil clients' requirements. There is practically none to be had in this district ; there is none ix> be had in Dunedin. Gore seems to be the only place, and market supplies are limited there. The only lucky people we have heard of -are two brothers near Riversdale. who have their last three years' supplies on hand, totalling 10,000 sacks. How is that for a nice little cheque? — Mr Harrison, managing director of the Otago Farmers' Co-operative, was in Balclutha yesterday. The company have purchased the section adjoining their present premises where Mr Burley had his woodware factory, that was burned down. It is the intentior to erect stables on this section, and) thereby save insurance on the present buildings. Mr Harrison looks forward to the time when the increased area, will be required in connection with the inauguration of periodical horse sales. A meeting was hekJ in Lumsden on the sth inst. to consider the advisability of constructing saleyards. Over £50 was guaranteed at the meeting from intending* shareholders, and there is every likelihood that this, growing centre will soon be in possession of a long-felt want. The Wyndham Farmer ef the 11th inst. writer — "How are the farms looking down your way?" we asked a Fortiose gentleman, this week, who has a good knowledge of the prospects of the fruits of the soil in his district. H« replied that, despite the very dry season that is being experienced all over the country, the Fortrose crops ere, on the whole, looking really well. Grass has given satisfactory results to the dairymen, who have no reason to complain of the milk yields. The Toi Toi dairyfactory, by toe way, unfortunately is not being so well supported by the settlers this season as such a valuable local institution deserves to be. The potato crops all over the district are promising high yields, if nothing untoward affects them before digging time; but there is practically no evidence of blight, so far, to be found. Turnips also are giving the best of promise, fully up to the reputation of the Toi Toi district in this respect. Some of the oat fields will give heavy grain returns, but the straw will be on the light side; most of the oate, however, will give fair to medium yields. The condition of the live 6tock throughout the district could not be improved JjpouThe Waitahuna West correspondent of the Clutha Free Press writes: — Farmers are jubilant over the record prices obtained for wool this sea-son. Most of the clip was of excellent quality^ — l'£ nt an( * dean and very even throughout. The present prospects for wool are very hopeful. Looking on the other side of the picture the farmers' prospects have now assumed a rather serious aspect. Feed is getting scarce, grass is becoming fairly burnt up, and many creeks arc dry, which is a serious drawback to stockowner6 on dry, ridgy land, who for the most part depend chiefly upon the creeks for the watering of stock. Up to a week or two ago stock has been in good condition, despite the scarcity of grass. Being a dry season the feed contained more nourishment. Grass crops are in a very backward state. A few of the early-sown paddocks of oats and wheat promise well for the season, but many of those late sown are barely covering the ground, and unless rain comes very soon they will ttand a poor chance of being cut at " all. The turnip crop also is critical. Early-sown turnips ee«rn to bo coming away nicely, but the Christmas sowing has in many cases not shown much result, and doubtless will not until rain falls. Writing on the 7th inst. the Sprinjrlulls correspondent of the Winton Record reports: — The oat crops are. on the average, both short and thin, and on one farm ire particular, where the oats were sown on the 16th November, I do not think they will be long enough for the binder to cut. Although there has been a scarcity of feed all the season, still there are a few paddocks of , grass which ere being kept for seed — probably about 150 acres in all — and I believe a start has> been made with the cutting. It is rather -too early yet to form a definite opinion of the success or otherwise of the turnip crops, which at the present arc suffering severely from lack of moist lire. The Bald Hil! Flat correspondent of the Alexandra Herald writes: — There is a scarcity of feed' in tlii» district for stock. I notice that Mr John Butler has turned hi-, sheen into tho majority of his crop.' which is a complete failure owing to want of rain. Mr Butler had 300 a ores under crop, and has only saved 30 acres altogether, and this a* the result of irrigation. Mr «T. Smith's property is looking very well jwt now, and the advantages of irrigation are plainly visible on this farm, where a large area is under gra^s, and the owner will cut several stacks of hay this season. The Oamarn Mail of the 11th inst. 6ay» • We have written so much concerning the ftuhire of the crops in our district that it

is comforting to chronicle a few instances in which the threshing returns are likely to pan out well. In the Hakataramea Valley all the fields wear a comparatively flouriishing appearance, and Messrs M'Lennan, T. Milne, IFCaw, Corrigal, and W. Milne are fortunat-e possessors of wheat crops which will thresh up to the best yields of former years. Here, too, feed is better than it is nearer the coast line,, for grass ie fairly good, and rape promises well, though the turnip fields are backward, and fears are entertained for their, success. Coming further down, we find that matters wear a much more serious aspect, and good crops are but few and far between. Mr j Donald Borrie has a paddock of oats at Papakaio which look well, and Mr W. Gray's wheat is certainly above the average, but there is little else of outstanding ] excellence among the cereals. At Tapui N Mr F. W. Hille's crop of wheat is likely to thresh, from indications, 35 to 40 bushels to the acre, and he has a fairlj good field of oats. Bait it is in the Waiareka Valley i that matters are blackest. Feed is scarce, as is evident from the fact that the number of cattle feeding along the road-lines increases with every day ; winter feed gives evidence of being a failure, and good cereal crops are extremely scarce. Of these one of the best is the wheat on the land recently purchased by Mr J. Scott from Mr Shand, at Enfield. There are about ICO acres in the paddock, which is expected to yield 40 bushels to the acre. Despite the enormous deficit in the colony's yield this season, variously estimated at between one and two million bushels, there is little likelihood of wheat bringing more than it realised last year. Already the Australian market is feeling the effect of the Commonwealth's enormous surplus, and flour is being landed at Auckland at £8 103, free of duty, and this price, when the market on the other side fairly appieciates the extent of its surplus, is likely to be >even further reduced. j