THE LAND QUESTION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14055, 12 November 1909, Page 7

THE LAND QUESTION.

THE NEW PROGRAMME. In introducing the subject of land administration reforms on Wednesday night, the Minister of Lauds said: As f intimated earlier in the session, legislation will be introduced with a y'h-w to ■• more satisfactory settlement of the land question. In New Zealand the land question differs essentially from the same question in the Motherland. There, where the soil is almost, entirely in private hands, and the State holds practically no lands available for disposition, the question is mainly one of taxation, as illustrated by the Budget, now Iwfore the Imperial Parliament. Here, where the Crown is the owner of immense areas, and still holds great tracts of country, yet- Unalienated, the question is not one of taxation, but of settlement tenure and limitation of area, and affects Crown lands only. It is desirable to keep this distinction in view, in considering the land prcposals I am about to outline. These will impose no tax or other obligation upon existing rights of private landed property; they will take from no man any interests he now |vissossos or burden any land now leased or acquired upon the Crown. Every man who now owns a freehold is ontitled to it. and under no conditions would the SUite be justified in taking any step to weaken his freehold tenure. In dealing with the disposal of its lauds, the State should observe two great principles. First, suitably close settlement must l>o promoted and encouraged by every reasonable means; second, the State must in justice to its present and future jwople as a whole reserve to them some part of that value which public exi>oiiditure will create in the lands it is now parting with to private hands. There is room for wide difference of opinion as to the extent to which State operations and private effort rosjiectively create values in land, but while there may lie this difference as to thcdegree, there surely can- lie no difference as to the fact that in a young and ■ sparsely-peopled country like this. where such enormous national development work is being done, mainly at the expense of the people as a whole, some increased value will be steadily added by State, operations to the lands it is parting with, and of kthat increased value the people are entitled to at least a share. The State's rights are to the increasing unimproved \-aluo. and roughly vary witfi the degree to which that, increase if due to the activities and agencies I have indicated, and this principle I have endeavoured to maintain throughput my land proposals. I desire- f 0 say that no part of the nine million acres constituting the national endowment will be disposed of on any tenure except that of leasehold. The proceeds 'from these lands will be devoted as at present, save that one-fifth of the annual income will be set apart for higher education, and this sum wilj he used for the purposes of the University Colleges of Auckland. Wellington. Christchurch- and Dunedin, and proposals will be submitted to Parliament showing the method by which this is te be done.

It is wisely asserted that these lessees earnestly desire to convert thif tenure into a freehold, and I deerr it the duty of the State to permit thif if it can be done without any material sacrifice of its permanent interest The chief advantages to the State of the present tenure are that it secures the existing condition as to limitation of area and occupation. The value of a reversion postponed for 999 years is not very appreciable, even where the State is the reversioner. In my opinion the conditions as to limitation of area and occupation can he effectively safeguarded, even under a grant of the freehold, as I shall later show, and this being so. the only question left is what should the holder of onf of these leases for 999 years pay for a title in fee simple. (The terms proposed were published yesterday.)