The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1908. THE MACKENZIE RUNS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13673, 15 August 1908, Page 4

The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1908. THE MACKENZIE RUNS.

We shall have 1 '; to refer : the points raised by a Mackenzie runbolder 'this morning in regard to.the provisions for compensation in pastoral leases,, to the Minister for Lands,, who may possibly be able. to give the' pastoralists as satisfactory, tin explanation' on that "aspect of the question as'ap'pai^eiitiy-he has dlone with reference; ...to/ the denial ■,of r the right of renewal: i-On faceof it,there seems nothing at 'all ; l unreasbn:kble about the request that I tie "valuation" of the improvements ef- : fexted'pii a ruil v should be made" before ; &6-lease;of tlie'run is put up to ;«upfon, i tile/(tenant and his competi- ;'■ w^icn^tli^^i&sf pvpmeiits will sfand' :lshcin. lease' is sold! /sefeiSr*ii6n^ni/ v b'efo're; ithe valuation; of I veinenis ;!ias to - be • made, •yW| l * cl \ \ speriie M" be Un > inversion-"'of ' tih'e mfeural ■ order pi ; is difficult .■ jo imagine .aeration's! explanation, 'imless ; indeed -it "is;'that. pastoral- leases ■ kbe so* i frequently; renewed in aPtual practice; that ■ §k> necessity:/ for valuing the improve- ; nieiits/dbes/upt of ten; arise, and it wbuld. tirerefore -be . a needless expense to . such.';"valuation;" eorttpuLsory whenever a ] lease was about to fall. in. However, we hpple\ tp'.lfave "the point; cleared >ip by

Mr McNab himself, so that we need not speculate much aboufc ifc at present. We shall also bo interested to learn his views on* the suggestion that whsre no subdivision of a. run' is intended, the tenant should be given -the option of renewing his leaee at revaluation without submrtting to com- ' petition a|> an auction. To 'ilh.it we should add tlie proposal made by Mr Austey in Legislative Council last year that where a run is subdivided, the tenant should be entitled 'to take up one of the subdivisions 'at its valuation rental. Mr Anstey'sjidlea seems to us, quite as fair as the piovisiou made last) session to give employees on resumed estates, the right to allotments without competing for them at tho ballot. The theory of Mr McNab's preference clause was that where men lose their employment thiough the acquisition of an estate by the Government, the Government should give them the chance to make their living on the land with which they are familiar. Precisely the same argument may be applied' to runholders whose properties may J be subdivided by . the State, and if they choose to accept one of the subdivisions, we imagine it would be a, good thing not only for themselves, but also for the country to retain themi with their experience of pastoral conditions upon part of the subdivided \run. Where no subdivision is to tyke_ place, we can see no objection to the existing tenant being granted the" option of renewing his lease at revaluation. Tho extracts we have made _ from Mr Anstey's ispeeches in the Legislative Council pub tho case for the . tenants as strongly as it can be put, and we have no doubt that if there had been a few more practical pastoralists in the Chamber, he would have carried his amendment instead of being defeated by a single vote. The fact that the course he advocated had been previously recommended by the Land Commission should not have been without weight either with the Government or the Council. The Commission had! seen for itself the conditions under which the stations are worked, and had taken the evidence of a\ large number of pastoralists, while from- its composition, it was not likely to make a unanimous recommendation in the favour of 'the runholders unless the urgent necessity for an amelioration of their conditions had impressed itself npon 'the minds of the members