This Estimate was ready for introduction in December last. The necessity for this Supplementary Estimate arises entirely out of the operation of the Land Act, 1931. In introducing the annual Estimate for the services of the Land Commission in May last it was anticipated that a considerable increase under sub-head H (Payments under Section 11 (7) of the Land Act, 1923) would be required following on the greatly increased issue of Land Bonds provided for in that measure, but the Land Commission could not budget in advance for this. Accordingly the amount then estimated for under sub-head H was only £34,000, which would have been normal under the former procedure.
The powers given to the Land Commission under the Land Act, 1931, have resulted in the advance of Land Bonds amounting to £12,016,538 as of the 1st May, 1931, and £649,448 as of the 1st November, 1931, making a total of £12,665,986 Land Bonds issued pursuant to the Land Act, 1931, in respect of the standard price of tenanted land coming under the Land Act, 1923, vested in the Land Commission. (This includes Land Bonds issued in respect of compounded arrears of rent added to the purchase money.) The additional Land Bonds issued in respect of the State contribution of ten per cent. under Section 25 (1) of the Act of 1923 on the Bonds issued on the 1st May amounted to £1,161,570 and on those issued on the 1st November amounted to £62,950, making a total State contribution of £1,224,520. It is necessary in this Supplementary Estimate to make provision only for the interest and sinking fund on the Bonds issued as of the 1st May last in respect of State contribution and the amount required is £36,705. Some provision will also need to be made for the interest and sinking fund on the State contribution in respect of lands held under fee farm grants and leases coming under the provisions of Section 44 of the Land Act, 1931, but as this will involve only a comparatively inconsiderable sum in all, and little, if anything, for the financial year 1931-32, it is not considered necessary to include it in this Supplementary Estimate.
Merely as a formal matter, I must also ask for a token Vote of £10 under sub-head I (Improvement of Estates, etc.). Under the Land Act, 1931, additional powers are given to the Land Commission to expend money on improvements, by Section 39— turbary and rights of way—and by Section 48—expenses of transferring migrants. It is not necessary to make any additional provision in respect of these, but in order to cover the reference to these sections, a nominal sum is included in the Estimate.
The largest item in the Supplementary Estimate is that in respect of the advance in respect of additional sums payable by purchasers under Section 28 (3) of the Land Act, 1923, and Sections 9 (3), 50 (i) and 51 of the Land Act, 1931, involving a sum of £79,493. Under Section 9 (3) of the Land Act, 1931, the terms of Section 28 (3) of the Land Act, 1923, are applied to holdings included in "Lists of Vested Holdings," and there becomes payable by the tenant with his first payment on account of annuity (or annuity equivalent) an "additional sum," representing the proportion of the annuity for two months intervening between the first Gale Day and the first Dividend Day next after the "Appointed Day." The rules made by the Land Commission pursuant to Section 51 of the Land Act, 1931, give the tenant purchasers the advantage of paying this "additional sum" in six equal instalments, the first on the first Gale Day on which an instalment of the purchase annuity (or annuity equivalent) is payable, and the remainder on the ensuing Gale Days.
It has been stated already that the amount of Land Bonds issued under the Act of 1931 as of the 1st May last in respect of the standard price of tenanted land, with compounded arrears of rent added, amounts to £12,016,538, apart from issues for State contribution. Accordingly it is necessary to provide £95,392 for payment of the two months' interest in advance for the period 1st May to 1st July in respect of this sum, this amount being recoupable in six instalments payable by the tenant purchasers, the first being payable on 1st November last. But from this sum of £95,392 has to be deducted one-sixth thereof (that is, £15,899) which was refunded to the Land Bond Fund on 1st November, 1931, and consequently the net amount to be provided under this head is £79,493. It has to be understood that this will not be a permanently recurring feature of the Vote for the Land Commission.
Some provision must also be made in this Supplementary Estimate to cover possible redemptions of Land Bonds issued in respect of holdings in which the purchase proceedings are subsequently dismissed (referred to in Section 13 of the 1931 Act), or in respect of holdings in which the annuity is reduced (referred to in Sections 15, 18 and 19 of the 1931 Act). It was not possible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the sums that would be thus necessary during the financial year 1931-32, and a round sum of £2,000 is put down as probably sufficient to cover the necessities. It is not anticipated that there will be appreciable loss to the State, as any sums paid by the Land Commission under Sections 13, 15 and 19 of the 1931 Act in redemption of Bonds will, under Section 20, be recoverable from the owner, and in the case of an increase in the purchase money under Section 18, the amount payable to the landlord will be recoverable from the tenant.
One other small item is included in the Supplementary Estimate, in the form of a nominal sum of £500, to make provision for the maintenance of embankments or other works out of capital sums for the improvement sub-head of the Vote for the Land Commission, pursuant to the provisions of Section 44 (5) of the Land Act, 1923, as amended by Section 45 of the Land Act, 1931. This sum should be sufficient to cover any expenditure in this respect during the financial year 1931-32.
