COUNTRY NEWS.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13081, 15 April 1911, Page 4

COUNTRY NEWS.

TAPAWERA

On Monday evening last Mr. W. "J. Moffatt delivered a lecture in'the Druids' Hall on the New Zealand land question, taking for his subject: "That the retention b.y the State of the remaining Crown lands let on the renewable lease only would be in the best interests of the people." There was a good attendance, including some ladies. Mr. Moffatt, who is a strong opponent of the private ownership of land, argued the case for leasehold on the following lines :— Mr. Moffatt stated that in England in Saxon times land holding' was on a commercial system; under the Normans all land was vested in the King as representing the whole nation, distribution being made t-o various nobles, who distributed it again amongst their adherents, military and other services having to be rendered by all holding land. Some tenants paid money rents, and wore free from military service and were termed free holders. Private ownership was not recognised for some centuries after. In Scotland the communal system obtained, the clans holding land under the chief, who distributed it according to requirements t;f families, private ownership by tho chiefs not being acknowledged until James I. came to the English throne. In Ireland and Wales similar conditions existed. It was only in comparatively recent times that land was recognised as the property of individuals. About 4,127 persons owned 1.8,000,000 acres out of 33,000,000 in England. The population of Great Britain was 47,000,000; the owners of land in foe simple being one out of forty, so that 39 were landless. Mr. Moffatt dealt extensively with the evils of private landlordism in Great Britain, and contended that the nation was one of leaseholders and that the so-called British inherent right to the freehold had never existed, quoting numerous authorities in support of the statement. The same conditions obtained on the Continent of Europe; the great majority of producers and workers had always been and always would be leaseholders. Ho said the ancient civilisation of Peru compared favourably with European civilisation in recognition of man's natural right to the use of land. The speaker treated with the colonisation of over-sea dominions, and briefly traced the history of land legislation in New Zealand, mentioning Messrs Rollest-on, Balance, McKenzie, Sir Julius Vogol, and Sir Robert Stout as statesmen who had endeavoured to arrest the further sale of Crown land in order to prevent land monopoly and private landlordism. He commended the present Government for what they had achieved in this direction, and said the Crown leases were excellent, and though perhaps not perfect, yet in comparison with terms and conditions exacted by private landlords, were infinitely superior. That the renewable leases were valuable was indicated by tho avidity by which they were taken up, and the possession of a Ciown lease was considered an asset, as it carried a substantial goodwill value. Me gave numerous instances of tho success of the holders of leases. The right of the nation to the unearned increment created by the community, expenditure of public money, and additional factors, the refrigerator and separator, came in for extensive reviewing, the speakoi claiming lor the State a large proportion ; saying that the patentees of inventions, authors of books, etc., only got a few years protection before their works became public property, while the additional value given to laud as the result of these peoples work became tli.'.1 property of landowners for over. IvLr. Mofl'at then dealt with the incidence of taxation, stating that all political economists in dealing with the canons of taxation claimed from land values a considerable proportion. As yet we had not got it. The customs duties were six times greater than the amount obtained from the tax on land values, and the customstariff worked out at a tax of 3s Cd in the £ on the people's earnings, the working man and the small farmer thus paying tho most in proportion to their ability to pay. He asked then; to consider this, and said an increase in the land tax would materially reduce the price of land, and give then sons a chance to buy it cheaper than at prcseiit. The Minister of Finance in his last Budget said the Government could not buy land at present a,*tlic price was prohibitive. We had r.eon our mistakes of the past, and had endeavoured to remedy them by buying back land at enormous prices. The folly of continuing a selling policy was thus apparent He said the freehold cry came from interested part.i politicians looking for place. They would offer tho. option of purchase to Crown tenants, but did not suggest giving it to tho large number of tenants of the native trust, education, college, harbour board, and othei endowments. Neither did they suggest that tenants of private landlords should be legislated for in this direction. Mr Moffat gave the following figures relating to land held under various tenures in New Zealand:-—ln 1908 and 1909, 75,152 persons held in areas from one acre and upwards 38,204,349 acres; 42,067 of the above farmed blocks of 100 acres and under, so that in round numbers nearly GO per oent of our farmers have to be content with about 3 per cent, of our land amongst them. The speaker concluded by reiterating that as at present the larger area of land used and occupied was under the leasohold tenure held from private landlords, trusts, public bodios, etc., so sure as tho State continued a selling policy, and all the land apart from endowments became privately owned, it would not bo long before tho great majority of users of land would be holding leases under private landlords, and he claimed that with representative Government tho State system was just and fair, and incomparably better than anything they could get from landlords, the great'majority of whom were out for gain, After tho lecture an animated debate followed, at the conclusion of which a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Moffatt for his having afforded tho residents an interesting and instructive evening. The chairman (Dr. Hudson), in moving the motion, said that though all might not agree with Mr. "Moflatt, they would acknowledge that ho was master of his subject.