FARMERS' PARLIAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 164, 13 July 1910, Page 6

FARMERS' PARLIAMENT.

. —, . i i CONFERENCE OF THE UNION. ; (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ; . WELLINGTON, Tuesday. ! The conference of the .New Zealand . Farmers' Union was continued this afternoon. | Mr. J. W. Jones (Taranaki) moved that , in disposing of Crown lands where there \ is more than one applicant for a section . it ought to be submitted to competition, , so that those most in want of land . would have an opportunity of securing , it and owners get market value for the , same This was referred to a commit- , tee to report, and a suggestion that sue- . cessful applicants at land 'ballots Should I be disqualified from future ballots was , referred to the same, committee. AFFORESTATION OF LANDS. A Temit was brought before the Con- * ference from Ota-go asking that the Gov- ' eminent be requested to continue with- ' out cessation tbe afforestation of lands I throughout the Dominion, and that the ' reserves set aside for this purpose be planted. : In the course of the discussion on this c subject, Major Lusk (Auckland) said . that at the present rate he considered the kauri forests would be useless for mercantile purposes in about four years, and that New Zealand, timber supply * would only.last for 25 years at the pre- : sent rate of consumption and destruc- ! tion. • ; Mr. E. Maxwell (Taranaki) mentioned r that he had planted a nunrber of trees as . an experiment, with the result that the I Government 'valuation of his land had 1 been greatly increased. He presumed . that every tree he had planted had been , reckoned in the improved value. He was i valued £45 an acre, while there was not j another piece of land within 20 miles 1 of him with anything like that value. _ Land planted with trees should be ex-! t erupted from prohibitive taxation. The President said timber -country! should not be specially taxed. He' thought the Government should lend" the i i settlers money to plant trees. He sug- : r gested an addition to the motion tha,t: ' the Conference was of opinion that a ; sum of not less than £100,000 be spent 1 -annually . either by the Lands Depart-i 1 ment for reafforestation or to encourage ; private individuals to plant their lands * with. suitable timber. -. 3 The suggestion was* added to the mo- ) tion, which was carried. ' •■■-*: - NATIVE LANDS. Mr. W-. J. Birch (Marton) moved in ? effect that the time had arrived when 1 Maori lands should be placed in tha same >'position as the lands of, Europeans, sub- - 1! jeeted to the same rates and taxes, and 3 with equal freedom to dispose of their lands by sale or lease, with.certain re- ' stiictions, also that where* blocks of na- " tire land held in common benefit by the " expenditure of rates such land bear a fair 3 proportion of the charge against it. t Other speakers advocated doing away '.- with restrictions on the Maori, and the s motion was carried. . 3 It was also decided that the union '_ approves of the purchase of*-native lauds 1 that are "not individualised,, to be dis- - posed of on the optional system.'