Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954), Wednesday 27 April 1927, page 7


: THE WATER ACT. !

PROTESTS FROM PRODUCERS. ]

Thc lollowiiiu letters indicate slightly ¡¡he fooling thal i- being aroused over

: lu- 1 UtM t iiiiii-nl'- neu' Muter policy.

! -A erl» Sap" mite- Hom Alton Downs: I Ihr pnhlishi .1 Hoi ire timi lill iicoii|.iri f or <-»IHT-> ut land »Hill apply lo thc ; I oini«is"ioiii,r ol Irrigation lo license ¡their «ells mei |niv n rogislnilinn ire I v. hi- li. I uiiilri -liilnl. i- £1 ]ier well

li- heilig received heve nilli cnnstcriiii? jt'ion mnl dispon. Ulis ms. like the

I Iwspiwil I«--., hus hern pushed on to I the lunn on the lum! heimo he luis I lunl tile lens! ii|iiinrtiini(y lu recover ¡niler passing ilnoiigh due ot the I MO crest droughts timi hus ncr lieinllen :ihe Siiitc. mill shows Hint thc tiovcrn purni, i- absolutely ileini.l of any sense of justice or lair play. Kvhlentiv they arc' i.iilc awake lo tile lint that thc

j Ilil li ocelipier is liol Mll)i"i,-Illly olga

ni-e<l lo comital (hese taxe- nuil, mulellike. have alway- paid them without jilcniur. Wniihl any Iiovcriinient hove 'the audacity tu foist those, taxes on lo 'ike organised unionist V Not on

i unir lile! 'Jhrv halo loo much re

Upect for their hosie.-. When will the |niau on the land wake up to the fact I that lie miih.1 organise; mid that lie

iiinist u-o the organisation which he has. lille I,.P.A.. lo eflW-livcly oppose any I must usc tho tirga ii isitt ion which ho has. j Thc mon on lite lund have the power ito do so if they were not so lethargic lund indifferent. Perhaps it is that

; Uley JJ« ic fi-ol pas! caring,

j Und ns thc well lav is on thc land

'owner «¡th n freehold title, it is ranch

jv.nrsc on tho niau that lia« a perpetual |lca«c«. ns il never becomes his own. and lie is ia.vcd for improving thc f rown's land. The Immigration Com-mission now visiting Queensland will no doubt depart with n report that il is a lund of milk mid honey (the bees arc hived iii Brisbane) and'it iii quite on thc cards that, following on that report, a batch of new settlers will arrive to go on thc land «nd create greater overproduction of dairy and agricultural products. Poor 'devils; fur the sake of hiimnuiiarinnisrri the folj lowing fuels should be placed before i them:-That if they take up a bit of

scrub land as a perpetual lease, ¡it never becomes their own; ( tlicy must pay rent-and very , often a heavy rent-for that

land from thc word "go," though it j has lain there for donkeys' years as I» wallaby warren and breeding ground

for dingoes, and notwithstanding that. ¡it will take; him years to make that ; land reproductivo; that he has to pay jthe survey fee thc first five veare; and

¡'at if is valued foy Act of Parliament ?for shire council rating at the same I value ns thc nearest freehold-the man j that gol a freehold year« ago didn't ,takc the worst of the land; lie took |the best-that he bas to pay shire ¡council rates from the date of selection i irrespective of that whether lie has a road ornol. so that quite possibly he will have, to carry his pumpkins "on iii« huck for a few years to- tile nearest ? own or railway: that if he is in a hospital district lie will have to pay a hospital tax. well tax, dingo board tax, Ac: and thal if he producen a little ¡more butter or other produce than he can consume that bc must look for a foreign market for the balance and dis-

pose of it at s price below production

costs.

I ho[ic thc I-.P.AV. will ^discuss the question of more immigrants on the land and object to same until wc «re given « Commonwealth orderly marketing system of nil agricultural and dairy produce. If (he Immigrai iou Commis-sion is desirous of bringing more im-migrants, why do they not give more considérai ion to secondary industries! In this district quite SO per cent ol thc land is on the market. Farmers are leaving their farms; thev cannot sell them; there is- no demand "for land. The Ridgelands soldiers' settlement wai a dismal failure; where a fe» vean ago there was about SO soldier settlers, to-day you eau munt them on the fingers of one hand. Prom thc Uppci Burnett and Callide comes reports that Hie »etiler* in these «rea« are seeking a reduction in rente. The cotton liooni, which boomed land, was not justified. If these men cannot meet their rents, how are they going tn meet increased liabilities through extra taxation, and what applies to these settlers also ap-

plies to others?

Hr. C.. \V. F. Hanger, secretan- nf thf Wycarbah L.1P.A., writes!-""May I crave space in your columns to br¡nj¡ before the notice of primary producers^ the need for immediate action in pro-testing against thc provisions of thc [Water Act of 1926 ! This Act set! 'out that-'AH natural waters vest in

thc Crown'; and the regulations elate [that all wells, ic, shall be licensed; and, further, that for any pump hav-ing a capacity of 300 gallons an hour or over, a fee of il per annum shall bc charged. Thc Act further provides that, if the Commissioner is satisfied that the supply of waler from nny

well is in excess of tho reasonable re-quirements of thc owner of the land on which thc well is situated, he may require the said owner to enter into an agreement for the supply of waler to oilier land owner». There are othet drastic clauses, which deprive owners of thc enjoyment of that which they have themselves, provided. L.P.A.'s ore urged to make strong protests ito tin Minister, through their Parliamentary representatives, und (as tho Council ol Agriculture is about to be disbanded), through that commodity lioard, in which a majority of their members arc

interested.

The Wycarbah Association based il« protest on IIIOEC grounds:

(1) Unjustifiable interference with rights of landowners.

(2) Restriction of land settlement mid retardment of development of land already settled.

(3) Injustice of taxing improve-

ment;.

(4) Absurdity of basing assesemeul on capacity of' pump, without regard to ainount'of wuter available, or quan-tity consumed.

'(."il Absolute inability of landown-ers to carry any further burden ol

taxation.

The iniquitous nature of this Aol must bc obvious to nil landowners, nnri I tr-jst UP.A.'s and kindred associa tiona will take action on the lines sug gestcd."

Mr. K. M. .lolinsuii, " Windmill holme," writes:-H is nilli very keel interest 1 rend thc reports of thc dide rent comments of thc 1-PA. sncictio, re waler taxation. 1 «Iso think thal all rightly thinking farmers shoult rise, iii n tiodv and protest nganist sue. undue taxes'being imposed upon th, poor wretches of farmers «ho dare ti scltlo on the land. The Government arc always prilling about settling peo pie on thc lund. I I bink they cnn glvi thal over ns thev lime already scttlci those who arc now on thc land for dm mg lo bc nt nil progressive. I supposi the last lox (ns you have already snii in vont- leader) will lie on Ibo air wi breathe, ns thev nlrendy fine us ,o dviii" and leaving anything behind Ihn liv íhrifl and good management w, hine saved in our lifetime for thc bene

lit of our families.

Our Thangool correspondent «'rite«: - "The water tax is causing great in-dignation in the district, lt is point-

ed out tliat 75 per cent of Hie water facilities in the district have been sunk l'y the Irrigation Commission, and thc properties arc heavily mortgaged with thc cost, and in most cases about £ I ,"> in paid annually in interest, yet the tax adds another burden to the farmer.

However, 1 suppose the worst has yet

to come and we will be taxed for the| privilege of speaking."

" An informal discussion took place flt the postponed monthly meeting ol' the Gracemere Progress Association, with regard to tho latest imposition-the Water Tax-hy thc Government on the man on the land," says our Gracemere correspondent. '-This tax affects prac-tically every member of the Association and some will be very bard hit, especi

iilly those who irrigate their farms,' thereby constituting themselves I he chief producers in thc district. One member stated thal this tax knocked thc hospitals tax into a cocked hat, and that thc next to be expected would bc n. tax on every inch of rain. H was resolved to obtain a copy of the Act and to place the matter on the agenda for next meeting."

A Frenchville correspondent writes:"The local fruitgrowers and farmers ure very indignant nt thc imposition of a water tax, and sonic of their remarks on the mutter almost wither up the gross. Most of Um wells have engines, piping, and a storage tank, all ut which nave cost a great ninny pounds, and to be taxed for their labour and expendi-ture of money stings thc fanner great-ly. Thc sinking of a well, say, ,ri0 ft. deep, costs at least £100 and the oilier appliances another £101), which is u modest sum, making a total of £200. lt. would lake ll resident of thc city 20 years, al thc rate of £10 per year water rate, to pay thal amount. After the bad seasons we have been having, further taxation will tend to drive men ott' the land."

Our liaglan correspondent write: -..Thc di-lii't, after being so lund bit by the recent drought, is now pcrfeet.

The oldest resident cannot recall a

drought so severe; so quick a recovery,!

or such abundance of feed for stock,!

But there is always a something toi

cause the otherwise contented farmer or grazier to grouse. This time it is the well tax. To ask for a drink of water brings the trouble out. Opinions are freely aired, but all and sundry agree I but Ibis is one of thc most un-just measurer! ever foisted upon on al-ready overburdened people. Not a few regret that.the days of Runneymcdc arc a thing of the past. It appears as though it Were an csfablisbed fact known to those high up that the farmer ls not organised, thal he cannot show a, solid front, and must of necessity take anything hurled at him. Anything at alt, no matter how unjust, sô long as thc collers in Brisbane are kept full."

Our Byfield correspondent writes: -"The Byfield L.P.A., Rt its monthly tfcecting, piistcj a mot iou, protesting most emphatically against Hie tax on water and upholding the Hand of the Upper Ulam 1,.P.A. in refusing to re-gister wells, similar notion to lie taken hy thc members of this association.*'

Electric steaming irons, iritb a water

reservoir and tin; boles in the ironing , surface for tbe emergence of steam, are now being produced in America, lt it

said that this device obviates tbe need' of damping clothes for ironing.

Tbe amount of life found to exist in:

a quarter of a square mile of tropicaljungle in British Guiana is almost in-credible. In a square yard of soll 100U different forms of insect life were found.

"Don't worry; don't acquire over-weight; drink three quarts of water daily; exercise regularly; and sleep with plenty of fresh air." These are thc rules of health followed by John D. Rockefeller, thc American millionaire, who is 87 years old.

Out of the London business women who went bankrupt in 11)25, milliners and dressmakers were uro« ntuue.-oua. followed by drapers, grocers, clothiers., and outfitters, und lodgmg-boua.: kfit

crs.