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ZAND MEETING AT BALLARAT.
By Electric Telegraph.
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.
Ballarat, 4th July.
A meeting was held in the district police
court on Saturday last to consider the land
question. It was well attended. The Mayor
of the City was in the chair ; and speeches
were delivered by Messrs. W. C. Smith,
J. James, and J. Jones, M.L.A.'s, Lupton,
Fincham and others. All the resolutions
were carried unanimously, and an amend
ment moved did not meet with a seconder.
Mr., J. Russell, Mayor of Ballarat East,
moved the first resolution, as follows : —
" That this meeting views with dismay the
present, and future condition of Vic
toria, resulting from a most iniquitous
system of land legislation, whiob has
enabled capitalists toappropriatc to their own
private use enormous areas of tho best lands
of the colony, at prices far below their real
value, and solemnly protests against any
continuance of such systom, believing that
no chnngo can bo for tho worse." It further
declares that tho land being given by God
for the use of tbo pcoplo while they live, no
governing body has any right to alicnato for
ovorfrom tho people any fraction of that land
for the private uso of any person or body of
persons, and trusts that the proposal that tbo
State should in future hold all the unsold
lands in trust for the people, as their land
lord, and lease tho same only, will be warmly
supported hy all friends of our adopted land,
and be made law by Parliament. Mr. Fin-
cham moved, "That tbis meeting declares
the necessity for such aprogrcssive land tax as
shall compel the owners of vast accumulated
estates in Victoria, tho most of which have
been secured under a system of fraud, to
which their owners have been knowingly
accessory, either to apply them to a tnoro
legitimate use than locking them up from
the peoplo for stock-breeding purposes only,
or to snb-divide them and sell portions to
those who will."
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