SMALL FARMS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 37, 23 November 1940, Page 8

SMALL FARMS

Bit! TO BE PROCEEDED WITH.

QUESTION OF IRRIGATION AREAS.

fiL.. (Special to the “Guardian”) •k v WELLINGTON', November 22. ; A(:clear indication.was given by the - Minister for Lands, (the Hon. F. Lang- , 'Stone),, in reply to a question to-day that he did not have in mind the farming" properties on Canterbury Plains . tQ . bo irrigated by the end of next 1 year as lands'to which the Small Farms " Amendment Bill would be applicable. ! " ; 'Strepuoxis opposition to the bill, the reading debate on which will here.slimed when the House of Iteprehentatives"assembles again on Tuesday, yis developing in the North Island, but bitf ; ik H the GovCrnirient’s intention to : lVav"o r -tho measure passed. When Mr Langstone. was interviewed a .suggesv '?tton ■was- made in a question, that as pthe properties to be irrigated by the •Rangitata diversion race scheme in ■ Canterbury, were expected to have .greatly increased production, the Minister might propose to take large .blocks: of land, .now privately held, for ! soldier settlement. ' , .P.’to take one man off the land to put a man in liis place is not settlement,” :> Mr Langstone replied. “It is only replacement/'Only land suitable for carrying a greater population, and suit--4 able for subdivision, will be taken ' under-'the provisions of the bill.” The bill now before Parliament differed in one regard from the Small Farms Act originally passed, in 19321933, Langstone said'. Under the original bill the-Small Farms Board, had power to take land which was not being adequately farmed, arid the board itself fixed'the price. The owner could object on -two grounds; the first being that the land was being adequately farmed, and the second that not sufficient! land ' was left to provide adequately for. the needs of the farmer and his family.

: Power to Take Land. Parliament at that time made -no demur about giving the power to " the: Small Farms Board to fix the price to be - paid, and that is the law to-, day,/’ the Minister said. The law now vinder consideration provides for no arbitrary assessment by a- Government Department, but for assessment by a tp.i b 2 presided over by a Magistrate.,who is specially qualified to deal with the question. The owner appoints; Hisown .assessor and the Crown also lift?- a : representative. That is fair ,rep-, to arrive at a just value or pri<?eX Clause. 14 of the original Act, providing, for compulsory acquisition pmpther, dealing with land that is not heipg adequately farmed, was being repealed by the Bill, which did riot in any way interfere with the present acquisition of land under the Lands for Settlement Act or with provisions for taking land under the Public Works Act. .

V The Minister further explained that acquisitions under the public Works Act wore for . a totally different .purpose than the settlement' of persons on the land. What had happened was that certain of the applicable machinery clauses .in the Public Works Act had been. incorporated in the new amending Bill. ;< PT)iere is no question of the confiscation ;bf ,land,” Mr Langstone de<iiaVpd,/iri a brief comment on the agitation- agaipst the JBill. “A fair price is bpf. be ,paid for any land suitable for clq.Se,settlement, the Government’s intention to .take , such for thei rehabilitajfcionpf soldiers is notified to the own- ; holders,”i; - , .. j^verting,-to. the; viand to he irriga"thes,", Canterbury scheme, and feplymg to another question., Mr Langstone said ; ;the Lands Department had already .acquired an . area of about 6000 acres. The reason for that acquisition wps' that the farmers wfcfe unable to Vvprlc their properties economically at tf(e .time. question of assessing betterment value -when the State irrigation scheme enhanced the productive value of the land had not been considered yet by the Government.