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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 24

Chapter III. Land Fund Misappropriated

page 12

Chapter III. Land Fund Misappropriated.

"What is the New Zealand Land Fund?—It is the money put down by a settler to form a fund for making roads and bridges in the country.

Is the land purchaser liable for Railways?—Clearly not until he has a bridge and a road to the market.

Is he then liable?—Yes; pro rata with all other property.

How ought the Land Fund to be spent?—One-third to the Road Board in which his land is placed; one-third to a General Fund for subsidies to the Boroughs; one-third to Immigration, to bring in labourers.

Cost of Surveys to be paid by this fund.

Has the Central power any right to meddle with it?—No; only to collect cost of surveys from each Board; to collect and distribute subsidies and Immigration.

What is the present position of the Laud Fund?—It is a Jack-in-the-box, to pop up continually among the crowd of ignorant talkers, as a nice method of securing votes, bribing whole districts, and upsetting all sound Government.

How is this done?—Auckland got three millions to buy a Land Fund. Mr. Reader Wood said, in his place in the House, he could not find out where the money had gone to, but Auckland has no Laud Fund, Canterbury has,—and so it is a continual quarrel, in which the other districts get mixed up, and a general mess is the result.

What is the real cause of the Deficit?—The Land Fund! For if the Parliament could be made to put it away properly, and forget it, by being forced to consider other questions on their merits, they would long ago have settled the whole of the Deficit on a proper basis.

There are eight million acres held by 112 people, while the remaining five million acres are held by small holders.

Ought there to be a limit fixed for holdings?—Yes; no one ought to hold more than 500 acres.

Why?—The holders of large estates do not cultivate them to the full extent, the country loses the produce of its soil; the holders are also encouraged to lead useless lives of luxury and indulgence, and to become a gentlemanlike curse, or a ladylike misery to the nation.

Is this the time to fix a limit?—Yes; every day that this great matter is neglected it becomes a greater hardship; indeed, it savours of rank injustice, to first encourage a man to buy, and then to force him to sell.

Can it be conveniently done without compensation Yes; fix a limit now, and put on a sliding scale land tax, such as would burst up the large properties.

page 13

Who should control the Land Fund?—Each Road Board should sell its own land, pay to the New Zealand Ordnance Survey Department the cost of survey of such sales, and appropriate the proceeds in thirds, as explained.

Should Education fall on the land?—It was suggested years ago that Reserves should be made in small blocks throughout the nation, and be let, and, on the rents, moneys be raised to build schools, that posterity might partly bear the burden of their buildings.

Are Counties, as formed, likely to be of use?—Certainly not; they are only fit to be broken up into little Road Boards.