WORK IN COUNTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 283, 30 November 1931, Page 2

WORK IN COUNTRY.

UNEMPLOYMENT SCHEME.

WAITOMO COUNTY PROPOSALS

DEVELOPMENT OF EXISTING FARMS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

TE KUITI, Saturday;

The Waitomo County Council met'as a special committee to-day to consider recommendations .r...de as the result of a series of meetings held in various parts of the county, following upon receipt of a letter from the Minister in Charge of Unemployment with regard to a scheme of placing unemployed oil the land. -

Mr. Albertson, district Public Works engineer at Taumarunui, was present in an advisory capacity. ' '_-,',

After a o eneral discussion, the following decision, to be forwarded to, the Minister, was made: "That this council appreciates the Minister's proposal for utilising the unemployed on productive works; that in carrying out the scheme the "council strongly urges that first consideration be given to assieting' those farmers who are capable of making goad and increasing production on their present holdings, but are handicapped through iinancial stress, rather than that the available funds be spent on opening up new country; that to this end_.gropps ot unemployed be allocated to .various parts of the county, where the best -and quickest results can be obtained, and that the selection of such localities be left to a sub-committee of the council' in co-operation with the district engineer, t :

"That consideration be given the suggestion of financing these eettlers, wla are prepared to refund the cost of'the work along the following linesi—ln tie case of a farmer requiring developmental work .done on his property, wbo.hasaot the capital to carry out the yvotk, .ah estimate be made of the cost by a local committee and tlie owner, and the cost to the^ owner not to exceed the amount agreed'upon, irrespective of what it ttav cost the board, eucli sum to be repayable to the board after a term of yeafe at a nominal rate of interest."

A sub-committee was set up to fix tlie localities. It was also decided that, should there be funds available after the work was carried out, certain suitable blocks ehould be recommended for land development. .