PASTORAL LEASES,

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13682, 26 August 1908, Page 6

PASTORAL LEASES,

STEWS OF SIB WILLIAM STEWARD.

(To tha Editor of the " Timaru Herald.") Sir,—Some gentleman (name unknown), to whom I tender my thanks, has very kindly sent me a copy of your paper of tie 15th instant directing my attention to the article headed "Mackenzie Buns" on page 7, and your editorial thereon in the- same issue. I am surprised to find that while very full particulars are given in regard to the. speeches and" efforts of nry friend and coadjutor, the lion. J. Anstey, M.L.C., no reference is made to the action -taken by myself saTe a remark attributed to Mr Anstey in reference to "'his'' amendment to the effect that "he believed that it. could have been carried If there had been a moderate amount of agitation for it" and that "Sir \V_. J. Steward would have worked for ft in. the Lower House." Of course I would eeeing - that I was in close consultation •with, Mr Anstey and drafted the very amendment which he "moved. The singular part of the whole business is that it. is made to appear that Mr Anstey .was the prime mover in the matter, and 1 myself meiely a probable auxiliary. The reveree position would be much nearer the actual fact. The history of the matter is as follows : —During the session of 1905 I present«l a numerouslysigned petition from pastoral tenants ■urging that in the interests of the Crown, as well as of the lessees, the terms and conditions of pastoral leases should be revised, with. a view to the liberalising of the provisions relating lo improvements, and to affording as far as possible security of tenure. This petition was referred, on my motion, to a Special Committee, whose report was subsequently referred to the consideration of the Government. The matter •was- one of those submitted to the Lands Commission, which, under the heading "'Pastoral Runs" reported as follows:

"About twelve million acres of land in the colony are held under this tenure, the great bulk of which is mountainous country and snowfields, of very little value except for grazing purposes. Its grazing capabilities are" steadily diminishing. . . ... As it is of the greatest importance to the colony that this deterioration of the public estate should not be allowed to continue, your commissioners would recommend that every encouragement be given to the holdeis of these pastoral runs to adopt a system of grazing which will tend to bring the land back to its original carrying capacity. In the opinion of your Commissioners such encouragement should take the form of an absolutely secure tenure —a lease for twenty-one years, with valuation at the end of the term for improvements, including grassing necessary for the economic working of the run —and right of renewal at arbitration rental."

On the 12th September, 19C6, before the Government Land Bill was brought down, I asked (Hansard YoL 156-137, page 510) the Minister of Lands "Whether hs intended to submit any proposals for revising the conditions of pastoral leases by providing for renewals at revaluation in cases where the land is not required for subdivision, and for the granting' to. lessees a full allowance for all improvements?" Iho this the Minister replied "The proposals of the Government with respect to allowing for improvements effected by pastoial licensees will be set forth in a Land Bill about to be submitted to the Hous:." They -were so set forth, but were not as liberal as desired, and there -was no provision for security of tenure. This Bill as you know was not pensisted with. The provisions of the Bill of last year (1907) as introduced, were as respects the pastoral leases, on the name lines as those of the Bill of 1906, and in speaking thereon on October 4, in the second reading debate, 1 said (Hansard Vol. 141, page 441} : "There is another clause which deals with another class of tenants, in whose interests 1 have made some efforts previously in this House. They are not always a popular class with bonie members, though why, I do not know. I refer to the pastoral tenants of the Crown lauds. The House will . remember that I presented, on behalf of a large number of South Canterbury and Xorth Otago runholders, a petition last seusion or the session before, in which they set out that they were not allowed valuation for surface and improvements of their rang at the end of their term, and that the Tesult of that was that very little surface sowing or improvement of the runs was carried out. They were allowtd so much for fencing, and that was all. It. was suggested that it was in the interests of the State that improvements of this tort should count at the vxpira-tion of the lease, and that" the result would be that the property of the Crown • would be largely ' increased in value. That is recognised in u. of the Bill, and provision is made to allow for grassing up to 3000 acres. Why there should be any limit at all I cannot see, and I propose to strike that limit out in Committee; for if it is a good thing to improve 3000 acres out of a 50.000 acre run, if the run ia capably of being improved in that •way over the whole aiea, why should

not the improvements be carried out over the whole area? That, I think, is a matter that deserves consideration. Then the clause does not go far enough in another respect. There should be, under ceitain circumstances, a priority given to the existing tenant with regard to the renewal of the lease. What I would do is this: at a reasonable time before the expiry of the leases, not more than thr e e years before and not later than eighteen months before, notices should be sent to the holders of pastoral leases notifying

them of the intention of the Minister either to lease the run as a whole again, or to cut it up into two or .more runs,

or not to again lease the run at all. In the event of the determination being to lease the run as a whole, then tlie existing tenant should, I submit, have the prior right to take the renewal at the valuation then made. If the Minister decides to divide the run into two or more, portions, then the existing leaseholders should have the right to take up one of those subdivisions, in priority to anybody else, at the valuation put upon it. That would be fair to the tenant and would in no way injure the public, and it would be a great concession to the pastoral interest, and would lead to an extension of .improvements, and to a large increase of the carrying-capacity of the runs, and therefore to increased rental from those runs in the future." Before the Bill went into Committee, I organised a deputation of members of both Houses, at which Sir Anstey was present, and the views above expressed were, urged upon the Minister's acceptance, but, I am sorry to say, with very little success. When the Bill was in Committee Mr Flat-man succeeded in getting the provisions of Clause 39 relating to surface-sowing somewhat liberalised and I followed with an endeavour to provide for some security of tenure as indicated in the foregoing quotation from my speech on the second reading by moving (vide Hansard Vol. 141, page 540) to add the following new sub-clauses: " (4.) Xbt earlier than three years and not later than eighteen months before the expiry of a ' pastoral lease or license the Board shall cause valuations to be made in the same manner as is provided in the case of renewable leases by section seven hereof, and not later than twelve months before the expiry of the lease or license the Commissioner shall deliver to the leasee or license-holder a. notice in writing setting forth—- " (a) That it is intended to offer the land comprised in the lease or license for lease for a further term; or " (b) That it is intended to subdivide such land into smaller holdings; or "(c) That it is not intended to lease the land or any part thereof. (5) If the lessee shall have been notified that the laud is to he offered as a whole for lease for a further leim,' ail the provisions of sections nine, ten, eievcu, tweive, tliuteeu, and fouitecn of this Act shall apply. (6) if the lessee shall have been neiilied that it is intended to subdivide the land into smaller holdings, then such lessee shall be supplied by the Commissioner with particulars of the revaluation iu respect of each of the areas into which the land comprised in the lease or license it, to be subdivided, and the lessee shidl be entilled' to elect to accept a renewal lease, subject' to the rental fixed undjr the new valuation, in respect of any one of the tubdivisions, and shall be entitled to receive from tlu Crown the value of the improvements effected upon the remaining subdivision or subdivisions."

These new sub-claus«s were opposed by the Minister, and, in consequence, rejected on the voices. I did not take a division, because 1 saw that the only result would be to record a number 01 members as voting against the clause who might otherwise be willing to agiee to them if inserted later on in " another place." This, be it observed, vas on the 14th October. Before the Bill was dealt with by the Council, 1 arranged a second deputation to the Minister on the subject, and also consulted with Ml' Anstey as to the best form of amendment to bu moved in the Council, and after discussing the matter with him I drafted the amendment which he moved in the Council on November 7 and which was only lost by one vote, the division showing Ayes 8. Noes 9. That amendment was "as follows (Hansard Vol. 142, p. 578): " Notwithstanding anything contained in section one hundred and eighty-seven of the principal Act, the provisions of sections seven to fourteen hereof, shall, bo far as applicable, extend to pavtiu-age leases or licenses, and the holder of any such lease or license shall, in cases where jt is intended to again lease the run as a whole, be entitled to a renewal of Lis, lease or license at the valuation rental of such run, and, in cases where the run is subdivided into smaller runs, to a lease of any one of the sub-divisions.at the valuation rental of smch subdivision."

It is only fair to myself that I should ask you to publish the above, as showing thai I actively endeavoured to effect a satisfactory adjustment of the conditions

of tho pastoral leases, mid that instead of my bi-iug a supposed possible coadjti* lop of Mr Anstcy, it was lie who was the valued coadjutor in, and 'my self the originator of, the endeavour to secure what I still believe to be a very desirable reform. Permit me to add that Mr Anstev himself the other day also called hit"attention to the articles itt tliß "Herald"" und expressed, his regret that justice had not been done to the part I took in the matter.—l am etc., W. J. SXEWAr.D. Wellington, August 24.