The Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1907. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 2776, 26 July 1907, Page 4

The Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1907. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Although we have condemned the confiscatory character of the graduated land tax proposals, there is one matter .'affecting pastoral interests which we are in entire accord with tlie Government, and that is the proposal to. abolish the sheep tax, for which there is now no necessity, as scab has long since been eradicated and therefore there is no need for extraordinary vigilance on the part of inspectors with regard to the inspection of flocks.

It. is now stated that the abolition of the sheep tax, if sanctioned by Parliament, will add to the statistical number of sheep in this colony. We trust this statement will not be regarded as reflecting on the lionesty of sheepowners in the past, in so far as inferring that they have not been sending correct returns as to the number of sheep owned by them to the departmental authorities. •JClie this as it may, we observe that a speaker in Parliament recently declared, apparently with knowledge, if with some exaggeration of the facts, that- the flocks of New Zealand are returned at millions less than ihey ought to be. tine cause is that the returnso are not made until the end of April, by which time thousands of lambs which have never been returned have found their way to the freezing works: and another is that thousands about to be sent to the works are not returned, because farmers’ consciences are very easy as to giving returns of sheep of which they are in doubt.

"I know." he said, “tha't at the end of April there are thousands of lambs ready lor the works. If a tanner has a number of tat lambs which he knows will be going to the works in the next fortnight it does ! not cause him any pang ol conscience j to omit them from the returns. He is , probably not going to pay 2s a hun- j died on sheep that will disappear in a week.’’ * The speaker gave instances of large mobs ol travelling sheep not being included. and added that anothei reason lor "leakage” was that a man had to return "sheep owned by him and I grazing on his property." whereas in ! fact there are thousands of sheep j bel nging to an owner grazing on • land not bis own. while on the other I hand men have sheep grazing on pro- . perty not owned by them. * t The debaN- m tin House on the Financial Statement, which conculded oil Wednesday night, sufficed to show what a most pronounced political time st iver the Hon. Mr McXah has proved to he. Prior to last general election lie was strongly in favour of giving Crown tenants the option of the freehold. but when ho ascended to Mininterial office and introduced his ob- J noxious hand Bill, he was directly op- : Itesid to doing anything at all to improve tin' condition of Crown tenants. At a later stage in his political life lie was willing to concede Crown tenants the option of the freehold, but ret tv' apply the same principle u. land acquired under the I.and for Settlement Act. We have re- ! pcatedly urged him to reconc.ie hitv.seli on the land question, by giv- . ing an explanatory speech in Pahi- 1 ntnn. but be has not so far had the courage to lace an audience in this town ivh ' have had personal expori. j . cnees of the disabilities of the lease- * bold tenure, under " hicli rack-renting ! n.av he resirted to. to the injustice ol the lessees. i •Jr During the debate referred to the J Hon. Mi M Nab made strenuous efforts 1 ' prove hi? consistency on the . 1 land question, but lie tailed miserably, li be sacrifices political principle to ■ party t xpediency on one occasion, be I "ill on another, ani be lias done s;. I 1 «e regret to say. and there is nothing . we so greatly admire in an einbryotic ) 'tat.'iv.an as consistency. He should i not say that bo will -Tand or fail 1 by his ja'litical principles, and then ‘ back down" on the first convenient i opportunity. i t * i i The Her. Mr McNVt, is evidently ' # "'ich annoy<hl in h\> heart of hearts :st be bad the temerity to concede • be free opt lespite the •... t < it nlj mited i be 1 Idcrs nsv be able to avail thems,Ores of the But i his reply t Mr Mas <> . "I had twitted tin Ministry ’ll their declaration that they would n tight ing f the Land Bill " Mi V Nal tried - mil ini bis offer. ] y * He said tbat . .. 1 clans ad i'o. -. carried the . fleet w. dd have 1 een that no one would have-competed i J ith tie occupier at auction, and the : esult wetlW bare been that the leas .... | V. older would have obtained the* free- i n an what was known as the original 1 due \ ■ ■■ ■ Id hare , full present value, which w. o’d s iyj f , a' advantageous to hint. ■V* Tii- : e is n. thing to "arrant A'. Nal adopting this boast! ait

tude. He felt bound to concede the freehold, but he has endeavoured to make the concession valueless, and he now tells the holders that really he has done nothing for them. This is a remarkable confession for a Minister to make, and affords striking evidence of his political puerility. The enforced concession of the freehold to the Crown tenants rankles in his bosom.

Tn answer to the question why he has not given the freehold option to the land for settlement holders, Mr McNab says the land for settlements’ scheme is a standing declaration of the failure of the freehold tenure. This is utterly ridiculous. If such were the case, why is he prepared to concede to Croivn tenants the option of the freehold? Mr McNab is nothing if not inconsistent.

If the principle of the freehold is good in one case it must be so in another, and no amount of special pleading can alter that fact, if he were to indulge in special pleading from now till Doom’s Day.

The statement makes it clear that the ballot is to be retained for ordinary Crown land, and justifies its retention. “Those people who have little capital.” says Mr McNab. “can get satisfied with the Crown lands on which they can carve out their own fortune. Those who have money and want to get improved land at once will pay for it under the land for settlements scheme.” This is very condescending on the part of Mr McNab. but people with limited capital may not view the situation in the same light as the Minister, who. after about a year’s tinkering with the land laws

of the colony, has landed himself in a hopeless muddle, and finality in the methods of settling the country is as far off as ever. “And these by tby gods. O Tsrael !”