THE LAND QUESTION.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14162, 30 September 1911, Page 10

THE LAND QUESTION.

ipSPEECH BY SIR JOHN FINDLAY.

W (STXCUI. TO "TH» WJBU ") ■ .WELLINGTON, September 29. ""-Tn the Legislative Council to-day, Sir John Findlay made a speech on the land settlement question. Ho remarked on the soundness of tho opinions expressed by Mr Ormond. That, ' gentleman's knowledge of the mm question and the impartiality JF" a which he hadtreated the qucatioliand the thomo of the tw most useful, and would hyC permanent results. This system vf associated - ecttlement was to work/Side by mdo with all the other aaffnte of closer eottiement which thrfjr had had for years, and the obifß was to see men who had no mean#at all—nothing but btout hearts awf* strong arms—placed on the These men would be found emptyiTOerit to help them until they coulapftnprove their future homes, public wOTks and settlement going on togethjr. If they could give the men the of working on public wodu for three or four days a week ana putting in the balance of too time on their holdings, AasA results must follow. The / areas should not be large, but tbero / was an immense amount of good land north of Gisborne which could be utilised and made accessible to tho seaboard until tho railway service was available. The north of Auckland also contained an immense area, which could bo made accessible. Ho believed that the native must be treated in thesamn iray as the European, after it haxl been seen that the native's own need* bad been reasonably provided for (Hear, hear.) If necessary native land should be taken compulsorily after the provision ho had indicated had been made. With such provisions made the natives should not bo allowed to block European progress. First, they must settle the land; secondly, they must give employment on public works nntii the holders could make their farms productive, and thirdly, they must assist the settlers by the co-operative banks. However, they most see that the people really wanted to go on the land, and tfiat it was not the cry of the people who had already got land. They, wanted to check the flow from the country to the centres, and see if they could not tafce men from the towns and place them in comfort, on the land. He did not think the tenure ehould loom as large as it did % the main consideration was to get people on the land and make . the waste lands productive. He personally would do his best to this end. In the course of his reply, the Hon. J. D. Ormond urged that in any scheme the Government might bring down they ehould provide an ample fund for the purchase of land in advance of the railways.