CLEARING LAND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 39, 25 November 1938, Page 3

CLEARING LAND

I THE USE OF MACHINERY.

THE GOVERNMENT’S PLANS.

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, November 24. Modern road-making machinery in use. on the construction of a new highway through the Ngahaurnnga, Gorge was inspected to-day by the Prime Minister (the lit. Hon. M. J. Savage) and several Ministerial colleagues. This work, which involves the realignment and widening of the existing road, is expected to be completed in about nine months. Excavation and the removal of spoil will take from another six to seven months, and the sealing of the surface ready' for use approximately another two months.

“It was a revelation to me,” said -Air Savage, discussing the machinery he had seen at work in the gorge. “It was the first time 1 had seen this modern machinery at work, and the methods I knew would not approach any where near those 1 saw in use on the Ngahauranga Gorge road. There were machines operated by one man which did more in a few minutes than a man could do on his own in the greater-part of his lifetime. I have heard criticism of expenditure on public works, but anyone can see values being created all round them by the use of this modern equipment.” Mr Savage said he wanted to see the use of similar machinery for the development of land for settlement. Modern machinery could be utilised to stump, drain, plough and till land ready for cultivation in one-tenth of the time taken under the old, obsolete methods. He understood that there were agents arranging for exhibitions of up-to-date machinery capable of preparing the country for agricultural purposes.

“There are great possibilities for the development of land for settlement by the use of modern mechanical equipment,” said Mr Savage. “The Government hopes to make use of these methods. To-day a man goes to the State Advances Corporation and gets an advance to enable him to develop a farm for himself, but by the use of obsolete methods it takes him the remainder of his days to get a return. I think we can do better than that, and give that settler a chance of some immediate return.

“By the use of machinery we can clear land at one-fifth the cost, both for those who already occupy the land as well as for the farmers of the future.”

In addition to Mr Savage, the Ministerial party included .the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. K. Semple), the Minister for Mines (the Hon. P. C. Webb), the Attorney-General (the Hon. H. G. K. Mason) and the Leader of the Legislative Council (the Hon. Mark Fagan).