GUM LAND SETTLEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 225, 20 September 1913, Page 5

GUM LAND SETTLEMENT.

- PREMIER PROPOSES CLASSIFICATION.

FOR OPENING-UP PURPOSES. ] (By Telegraph.- • Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Friday. 1 While speaking on the Land- Estimates to-night, Air. Coa.es asked the Prime ' Minister his intention regarding the , . • kauri gum reserves. "It appears to . , mc," said the member for Kaipara, "that : -there is room for a policy here. Hundreds .I of thousands of acres are at present ! lying idle which should be brought into use. Some of this land iss good swamp counts-}', partly gum and partly not, but if these lands were classified, large areas could be brought down fer •settlement purposes. Has the Government any way of settling a question which is of great .importance to the North?" asked the member. c The Hon. Mr. Massey, in reply, agreed ] t that there were huge areas in the North c 'i of Auckland district lying idle except for j ! gum-digging purposes. The gum was 'be- j ) ing gradually extracted, and he thought r 1 the time had come when the whole of ( those lands should be classified. As a .; ' matter of fact, he had conferred with s several Auckland members on the subject. He did not think the question i could be settled this session, but he pro- s ' i posed later on to appoint two, three or . • four competent men with experience of . ' I the country to classify the lands and j say what should be reserved for gum J purposes, and what should be opened for I settlement purposes, besideis advising j ' what was necessary towards draining - - some of the big swamps in the North I I Auckland district. This, declared Mr. Massey, should be done not only in the j * ] interests of t-hs districts immediately j concerned, but in the interests of the I Dominion as a whole. I. Messrs. Mander, C-oates, Reed, and I Rhodes placed the position before the | Premier to-day. urging classification with j the idea of allotting certain areas as j gum reserves, and of setting apart nonl gum-beaTing areas for homestead purposes. The question of tsiking over the | gum lands in the 'State forests was ateo | discussed. At present there is no power •-1 to subdivide these gum reserves, many -' of which are suitable for settlement puro' poses. The Premier promised to go into - the whola auestion in the reces3. ij r| =====