A CANADIAN FARMER'S ADVICE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7828, 22 June 1909, Page 1

A CANADIAN FARMER'S ADVICE.

I HTli6 ." best'JJoiicy, and; the only laiid " policy- for fyour .Dominion Government^ is to open up the-areas now [lying idle, throughout' the iNorth Island," .said ;; Mr : W. , Cafew, 1 a Canadian t :farniei\ who Vhas cqmp to New ZoalaM to Ulfe u^.lanfl^'speakiiig to an Auckland.", Heral- representative. " I was' farming; on this Saskatchewan, north pf the Canadian Pafcific ra,ih?a;y, and did very well too, but relatives have induced me, to come h?re, and I have spent several months looking I round for a place to suit me. No', I'm 'not going back to Canada,!' he con* tinued; "I like this country,: and I see possibilities in it for up-to-date farming." ... ■ ' .! ' • " I i There eoultl be not the; slightest | doubt that the proper ecohomig policy 'tor, the. Government to urklijrtake'Was! ; Oho Which made . for . the most rapid settlement of the land. .. " jWhy," he said, ''look, at the, ijjillioiis? of acres you ,haV6 here; locked tip ;iiiid6i;. .an absurd system of ndtiye ' Ownership! What; ; a screaming farce any policy is which fedeksto do 1 fatlidi* tlkii tip§n up land when farmers are willing to go on, it. It's just, the same as if I put all I my seed oat* tine] wheat in a granary and kent them there year aicor year, refusinn; to'sow them because I might want them, at some future time. That any Government in the world ' could seriously. do what the New Zealand Government is doing positively staggers me, and that the people of a country should allow a Government to do it staggers me some moi-fl. Then ■ your Labour Department solemnly announces .that, building i 6 slack, that engineeriligtrades. are sla.ck, thht j clothing trade are slack* and that there I [is no deniand for farm laliour! tu , course they're slack; what ,<lse oou'd they be but slack if you don't open tip your ; laiic|s? The slackness- oi those trades points, to cmi ob'vio i$ corii;ln.>ioh.; iiieyer mihd .abo.ut your iomp- rsiry degression Vfihd all that,.the c.iiirhiM I: i!> that your cities arid your artisan rlasses have been steadily growing am growing, and land settler/- fit li;im! t I<■ on .keeping pace, and an you roach th.j stage -when the chock jauiomatif.i. y pulls.you iip. The 1 armot '«•••»I%s I'.r oi.; and he is ready to Hy t'k't.r :il! and you won't let..him Vet liioy Oil! this a country of advanced lcy.ltl.irl. i. 1!" . ..,- ' When the question of formiof tennr«' was raised,. Mr Carew replied that nothing else than the freehold woukl suit him, and he had the cash to purchase with, and had two;or three places in view. The optional sys. em to enable a mail without dapitat <o ultiniatf^ly own hifc-'jafrm , tijas ( the' best systeiii lri-tlie world, and .lie' wouldn't take a native lease unless he got it for nothing., He hoped .the- good rense of the, pebble would cpitie: to tHe icscno. arid forbid. diiylystßin,oF udilve landlordry. v • -■" ! "Much as I admire the Maoris," r.e said, "I Jd sooner leave a country than be a-,tenant of a.native. Those millions of acr^s,of Maori -land should be openfid to I::E&TQ^^pJ'Set'tre''ih'enl;l^!ft tKe optional systeihj Va-ftefc,,; sufficient J has been Ret aside for the lise 6f. f thfe natives themselves. The Maoris can*fc>us.%.ailthat land, nor one-half of it^ so whywait any longer? Here you have a magnificent opportunity of making the North Island: a; thickly populated j..3iv ritory, with a great, busy farming cojn-_ muiuty pouring wealth into' y6ur cities and '"your Government coffers,! increasing'your North Island exports tenfold, employing all artisan classes and many more, crowding a busy; traffic ori to your .. railways, attracting a greater flee-tiipjt jinercantile. shipping ito your wonderfui 'harbour, exporting twenty times the present output of butter and frozen meat, and yet the Government lets the golden opoprtunity pass it by. I have been down at Kawhiai. What a wonderful trade gateway that harbour might be I ..It couldbe one of the centres of the dominion, and yet it is given'over to! silence by reason of the areas of native land around it. We call Vancouver the 'Sunset Doorway,' so well storied in Service's poems, and Kawhia would be'your Sunset Doorway if you would only let it. This country has glorious possibilities. The climatic conditions of Auckland should produce for it a rich harvest of wine and oil. I met a-man in North Auckland who called it poor country. I should say to liim, Poor .man ! The gum lands are only poor because they are not used. Dense cultivation under'orchard would make the gum areas return some of the richest harvests ever known in your country. How such a monstrous, such a preposterous, idea could be held as was voiced by one of the responsible Ministers of the Crown on Saturday is beyond comprehension. Well might the Herald remark that over the best lands is posted the stupefying notice,- ' No admission,' and ask what is the Government land; policy. .From present appearances I- should call it a policy of absolute stagnation. I would use stronger words, but I doubt if you would print them." The Ministerial description of a freeholder as a criminal, was. pointed out to Mr Carew, who replied that' a more blazing piece-'of .impudence he had never heard in his life. -The demand was for small holdings, and the .Govornment could put : the native and Crown lands into small holdings, and it was the farmer who bore the'burden of the State. The question affected the whole social and industrial life of the country,-, and if the Government. of New Zealand".would not open up the idle lands, then it was to the interest of every town worker of whatever calling, to the interest of every country worker of -whatever calling, to rise up. and throw. ;that Government but for one that was able to see beyond its ownnose." , „.;.-- "Yes," said Mr Carew, in reply to another question, "I'm content to stay here. . I don't think much of a Government whioh allows farmers with capital to go to Queensland, but I am able, to secure the land I want, and I intend to settle down here. I would like to tell you that, the possibilities, of this province of Auckland in fruit-growing, in the production of honey, in the growing of onions, in the hundred and one varieties'of products of dense cultivation, have scarcely been touched. Why, in-grapes alone there should be tremendous possibilities. A man could, for instance, make a living by growing nothing else than a few acres of sunflowers for the oil in the seeds, and putting one or two acres in good roses f°r the,local market.,, The small things which return rich profit are neglected here. .The solution that New Zealand is looking for is so painfully apparent Open up your idle lands—open them up right away, and your country will bo a great one, and a wealthy one | nnding employment for all your people and thousands and thousands more