Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1907. REFORM OF THE BALLOT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11125, 26 July 1907, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1907. REFORM OF THE BALLOT.

A spoke is to be put m the wheel of the speculator by the proposals which have been brought down, m connection, with the Government land policy, for the reform of the ballot, For years there has been outcry against the gamble and traffic m lands wihich have been permitted under the existing land laws. Whenever a desirable property lias 'been* put up for selection the genuine earth-hungry settler has found himself shoved out by the speculator, who, with his cousins, his sisters, and his aunts, lias poured m applications and swamped the ballot. There are men wJio have ..tramped the colony from one end to'the other seeking land, at successive ballots, only t» be met time after . time with disappointment, until m the end they, perhaps, . m order to secure a property, liad to . plank down many golden sovereigns to give some undeserving speculator at the ballot a profit to which he was by no means equitably entitled. The ballot system. as it at present exists is altogether discouraging to the man who should be helped to. get upon the land, compelling him to pay premiums' quite out of proportion to his means for an increment which 6hould__ properly belong to the Crown. >NOYmore 1 glaring instance of the evil bf th© system could be afforded than m tlie recent rush, for the Waimata . section, where) there were over one thousand applicants, for a choice block of land,* m the disposal .of wliich, it was said, the Crown was giving away a prize of anything between £1000. and £2000. What chance had the suitable. and deserving settler m such a scramble? "The prospects were, hundreds 'to one tliat •fcne property would fall into tha hands of ■ some money-making individual, 2 whto -would wont a good round sum upon his bargain. In such ..a case as tins, we should think; it* would, be "the ..obvious duty of the' GctYOTiment— quite /apart from -any; question" of Native title such as did crop 1 up— to withdraw the property and submit it to reappraisement to something near its true current) value. Why should the people,. whose estate- is being parted with, make giftg of gold to such an' extent to either speculator or selector? We would suggest as an additional safeguard to: the proposals the Minister, of Lands has* : brought down, that m every case where there are more than,* say, one .hundred applications for a section, the land should be withdrawn, and the value set upon it .raised to sometliing nearer its : true value. What Mr McNao proposes is to thrbw a measure of- responsibility On the; .Land Boards to see that the most deserving ap. plicants are put upon the land.. .Under, section 48 and the subsequent sections of the Land Laws. Amendment Bill the Boards ;aie -empowered!; in tlie* case of Crown lands, to grant preference' to ap-. plicants who are landless over those who are not. Tive Boards, .whose: decision m each case is to '. be_ "final and oonclusive, are given very wide discretion as to the interpretation of the terra "landless," tlie Bill specifying that "an applicant js' landless within the meaning 'of thi& section if he does not hold under any/ tenure such area of land '(whether Crown land or not), as is m the opinion of the Board sufficient for the' maintenance of, hinaself and hi s family,'; In the case of a husband and wife (except ' yvhen they are judicially (separated), if either of them is not landless, neither of them shall be deemed to be landless." It is further laid down f of the, direction of the Boards that, subject to the preference to landless, the following, who "are t/> rank equally with'' -each other, _hall also .receive preference :" (a) Married men with children.; (b) widowers with children; (c) widows with children ;. (d) married women with children, judicially separated from their husbands/ A still further preference js then to be given to applicants who, within th© two pre-" vious years Jiave competed at any land ballot. Tne Boards are to oe given full powers prior to any ballot to make full enquiry into the suitability of the applicants and their claims for preference under the Act, and may summarily reject any application where the. information required is refused. Still further to shut out the speculator, any person who has been successful m a ballot and who disposes m whole! or m part of his selection, is to be disqualified for five years from taking part m any further land ballot. In order, further, to ensure that land monopoly shall not oreep m, the Bill provides that no. person sliall*. .be capable of acquiring land whicli together with all other land owned,'- held, or occupied by him, either severally or jointly, or m common with any other person, would exceed. 3ooo acres. Li regard to land for settlement lands the ballot Js almost entirely done away with, a Jiew system being substituted. For this class of lands m future' application will ; be made by tender, the land going to the* /..appli pant who makes UiOi highest offerVno account being taken. in this case of the circumstances which, determine preference m the leasing of ordinary Crown lands. Only m the case «f -the highest tender being made byltwb'or more applicants will a ballot be held to determine who sliall be successful, .and m that event the provisions as to preference previously . stated will apply. There is room for argument as to whether the tender system is the best that could be devised, it being held that small fanners may be tempted to go beyond tlie earning power of the land m their desire to secure a* section. This argument does not apply so strongly as to the other alternative, the disposal of the lands by auction, for men will look at values much more calmly wlien writing a tender than m heated competition m an auction mart. Tlie proposed method should ensure the Crown obtaining full market value for the land it has bought; and tliis jpy settler who is really desirous of. securing a fairan will be prepared to give. Tlie proposals we have outlined constitute a very important measure of land reform, and it is satisfactory to hot© from tlie favorable manner m which tlie Land Bill lias been received they are likely soon to have the fore© of law. .