MR. PARR'S POLICY.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 191, 13 August 1919, Page 7

MR. PARR'S POLICY.

GET THE NATIVE LANDS. WHY NOT STATE WOOLLEN MILLS : Tn common with most of the other representatives of the Auckland const itnencics, Air. C. J. Parr, the member for Eden, strongly holds that the land is the leaping point for reconstruction and greater productivity. First of all, however, he suggested that to meet the staggering cost of the war and reconstructive measures, the strictest public and private economy would have to be practised. Every acre in New Zealand that could be tilled must be put to use. Large estates must be hurst up with a view to closer settlement and more intensive funning. It was wonderful what a good fanner could do with 50 acres. Present prices were so inflated as to have become v public danger, and they had got to come down. That would happen so soon as the prices of produce fell. Much mire important than the buying of large estates at ridiculous prices wr.H the question of settling the virgin lands of I be country, and particularly of the Auckland province. 'Ibis was especially true of native la mis which were at present unused, constituted a menace on account, of noxious weeds, aud contributed no rates. Notwithstanding the Maori's rights under the Treaty of W'aitangi and subsequent legislation, he had no more right than any pakeha to hold hundreds of thousands of acres of good land, unfilled and paying nothing to the revenue, for. after all, the public interest was paramount. GET THEM, AND MET TCI EM NOW. Government should legislate immediately to acquire all Maori lands by paying a fair price to the Public Trustee, who would disburse the income therefrom for the benefit of the natives. Government should not wait until the titles w.re individualised. The native landshould be taken en bloc so that -Jn.uor new settlers could be placed on the land forthwith. The land should be tapped n- quickly as pos-iblc by light railways and ultimately by a good main road. The most 'important fact .r in the opening up of the Auckland province wiv (he construction of a main arterial roat in concrete from the North Cape t< Tarnnaki. RE< 'OXDAI! V 1N" I)l"STIlI I".S. Coming to commercial and industria reconstruction. Mr. I'arr was of opinioi that we had got t.i do more in the de vclopment of our secondary industries Tn counteract the present prohibitiv prices of woollen goods from Europe, li ra.ised the question of why we shoul not manufacture the whole (of ou tweeds and woollen goods, lie imagine that there was room for a good Go' ernment woollen mill. On the public works side, the membe for Eden was of opinion that two point of policy were imperatively necessary j namely, the bringing of hydro-electri ; energy into everyday business and til 1 life of tbe community, and. secondly, more vigorous railway programme tha this country had known since its birtl With regard to the coal industr there was no doubt that tbe State woul have to step in in s mie way or otlll and see that while the miner got a goc wage and tbe best of living condition the public got the cal. UTTERLY INADEQUATE.

SLOW SETTLEMENT METHODS A LEAF FROM ENGLAND.

The member for Kaiprra, Mr. .1. O. Coales, was emphatic on the paramount importance of increased settlement, t Speaking of his own electorate, he re- h marked that there alone there were in I \ round figures fully To,01)0 acres of use- | fill country in the shape of scenic re- < serves not' needed for scenic purposes, j 1 kauri gum reserves containing no gum, < / and swamp country. This, he said, < was a conservative estimate. There was j > a great der.l of forest land to lie con- I f sidered, and an important aspect re- i 1 specting this class of country wits that < relating to the most economic method.' of dealing with it. Inder tiie contract | -v-tom of disposing of the timber a 1 greet deal of it is often left standing:! by the contractor as not worth removal'; by him- timber which has a, considerable 1 lumber value. It was a question for 1 consideration, therefore, whether the i land should lie idle for years waiting the j - removal of all the timber, or whether i i it should be immediately cleared so that • the land could be brought into early j I profit under settlement. That was a policy mutter lor the Government to, | decide. , , „ I' "Hut. apart from fhe Crown lands. , remarked Mr. Cnatcs. "any amount of j, land is being offered to the Government i by private owners, an.l is being dealt: with as fast as the present system makes ! 'it possible. But under the present sys- . tern of land acquisition there is a period of at least four or five months' waiting 11 for the vendor, apart altogether from, the further long wait the applicant for;, the land has to sutler. The system is, j !in short, entirely too cumbersome. I'er- , | sunnily 1 think there should be subsidi- | nrv district boards set up. with powers given them to carry out the valuations and forward recommendations direct to the Government. The administration part could be done by t lie existing Land j Board, nnd the whole transaction to acquire and dispose of the land for settlement would be completed in a tithe of the time now occupied."' Mr. Coatcs expressed the opinion that the subsidiary hoards might be established on a similar basis as they were in England during the war for productive purposes, constituted of local farmers elected in the area. These men would then take a personal interest in every settler that went on to that particular district, and be ready to give ! advice if needed. One thing stood out clearly—our present methods of pushing forward settlement were utterly inadequate. There was no occasion to worry about the disposal of our products. The present demand for land was enormously greater than the supply. Cnlcss everything possible were done to satisfy that demand, the time might arrive when it ' would dwindle again. Prices were high, ■ and in his opinion they were not likely to go down rapidly. Europe bad practically eaten itself out, an.l had very little • stock of any sort left. He would urge, therefore, that every facility be disi covered for the expeditious land settle- ; nicnt as one of the great factors to--1 wards assisting the Stale and indivi- : dual out of the economic difficulties that ' faced the country. One should not, however, forget the : great secondary industries, including : those concerned with the manufacture of ? our primary products into articles of i commerce. Our one idf.il should be to t multiply our present population by at i least live, and the secondary industries r were the only means of gaining for us a rapid increase in population..