THE TE WERA PURCHASE

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 211, 7 September 1927, Page 9

THE TE WERA PURCHASE

" NOTHING SCANDALOUS."

MHIXSTER RESENTS CRITICISM

-GULLING RAGLAN ELECTORS."

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, Tuesday. The appearance of the Crown lands report in the House of Representatives to-day gave members an opportunity of generally discussing the progress of land settlement. The debate opened with critical references from Mr. J. A. Lee (Auckland East) who suggested that the Minister of Lands would no doubt give the House some explanation of the land purchase near Gisborne, of which a strong Reform newspaper said that instead of adding anything to the area of settled land it merely added another scandal to dux land administration. This was in strong contrast to the Government's pre-election promises regarding land settlement, and no doubt there would be another issue of the Reform official "Newsletter," for the purpose of gulling the electors of ««chn The Prime Minister: There is one issued already, but it does not contain anything of that sort.

Mr. Lee: I don't suppose it will contain a photograph of the man who gets things done. He reminded the Prime Minister that the pre-election pledge was for a general survey of unoccupied lands with a view to discovering those areas which could be made available for settlemeat which waa a very amiable undertaking just before an election. He would like to know how far that general survey had gone wbether there anything about it in the lands report. Should bo a Definite Charge.

The Minister said that he had already made public the full history of the Te Dr. ChappeJl aad Mr. J. C Field. The *Sf \ m * aesaion a member of the New Zealand Parliament, but not a supporter of the Reform party, while ualeaa Mr. Field supportedthe'preaent member for Gisborne he (the speaker) WM *ary anre that he had not supported •ay previous Reform candidate or member. Insinuations were usually not worthy of attention, but he resented any tt»t someone had been getting away with the boodle. When things of that sort were said there should be some definite charge. There were two purchases la which he had taken keen interest that of Tβ Wera andof the Tangawahine block in North Auckland, which waa not quite completed, la regard to the latter he waa informed by the PubUe Works Department that the proposed railway running north of Dargavffle waa the subject of la battb of routes, that the line would

take a certain direction and that there was wme land which would cost a lot for compensation, and that it would bo required for railway drainage. Before the route became public property his Department negotiated for the whole block, and that property was bought. Aβ for Te Were, he had already explained that the original offer to sell waa at £90,000, which the Government declined, and it steadily adhered to iU attitude that it would pay no more than the Government valuation, at which price the purchase waa eventualy made. It had been suggested: Why sot take it compulsorily? But waa there aay law which compelled a man to give op hit property at leas than the figure* on which he was taxed t

Mr. Jordan i Waa the tax valne too high?

The Minister replied that he waa not prepared to say that then waa not some land in the Dominion which waa not valued too high, because produce prices had come down heavily since they were assessed. His officers had honestly done their best over Te Wera, and he doubly resented suggestions in the House and in the Press that something scandalous or under the rose had taken place over this transaction.