SIR GEORGE GREY'S POLICY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 47, 19 March 1886, Page 15

SIR GEORGE GREY'S POLICY.

§N general terms, Bir George's policy may be defined as the settlement of the land. He desires that people should be settled on the land. It does not appear that so far he differs from anybody else. All are anxious for this, even the large landholders have no objection to the settlement of the people's land, or indeed of their own, provided always they obtained their terms. In principle, then, all are agreed, but when details are reached, there is the widest possible divergence of opinion. The leading feature of Sir George's scheme is the purchase by Government of large estates, and the leselling of these in small farms of 160 acres each to farmers possessed of sufficient capital to work them profitably. But for the success of this scheme so many things, not easily obtained, are required that we fear it is not practicable. For example, a large number of men of means must be forthcoming, and it is to be feared that this large number is not to be found. Certainly the Colony does not contain them. Ihe tendency here is to run away from the eointry into the towns, and it is rot quite certain that immigration from England, or the other colonies, on a scale sufficiently large to secure success can be calculated upon. Nothing can be said against Sir George's policy in the abstract ; but when it is considered in the concrete, the case i*3 altogether different. It appears to us that politicians would act more wisely in devising means to help our agriculturists and to encourage our own people to go on the land and remain there, than waste valuable time in discussing Utopian plans of regenerating society. Scholars and students of politics may legitimately do this and ought to do it, but gentlemen actually engaged in politics ought, we think, to leave the abstract to others, and busy themselves in the best means of relieving pressing necessities. One great object Sir George has in view is to prevent the accumulation of large areas of land in the hands of individuals. The experience of this hon. gentleman in the Cape of Good Hope ought to show him the most efficacious way of doing this. Let him pass a bill through our Parliament enacting the provisions of the Roman-Dutch law as to wills, and the thing is done at once and without violence of any kind. Where these provisions prevail there is no complaint as to lnrge estates. We have often wondered that in all his speeches on land and large estates there has never '"bntfu any mention of that system which prevails generally throughout the Continent of Europe with such good results. Nothing can be more desirable than what Hir George advocates, but we do not think the mode of proceeding advised by him will be or can be adopted in our day. It seems hardly consonant with right reason to call on the Government of the country to compel the sale of large estates, while there are millions of acres of unoccupied land in the country. Would it not be wiser to make the settlement of this unoccupied land easy and to hold out tempting inducements to people to settle upon it ? Were this done, and tlie Roman-Dutch law introduced, the land question would be at an t-nd and we slould hear of no more agitation on the subject. With this law and thrift and industry, the Colony would soon rise from its present state of depression and attract multitudes of desirable people to our shores, but so long as it is possible to establish the land system of England here, so long must this question of tho settlement of the land remain unsolved. People will go anywhere and everywhere rather than cast in their lot with a country where the landlordism of the Old Country is a possibility.