LAND SETTLEMENT IN CANTER BURY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11535, 18 March 1903, Page 4

LAND SETTLEMENT IN CANTER BURY.

TO THK EDITOR 0» THE PHES3. ' Sir,—Tho Canterbury- Land Board, at it. ( recent meeting, replied to a statement in our report on land settlement in this province, to the effect that fresh settlemen. to the extent of 7416 acres only had ] taken place here during the past five years, by quoting the figures for lands thrown ' open for settlement under the Lands for i Settlement Act, and also for pastoral runs ; re-let. _ We do not'deny the accuracy of these figures, nor do we" desire to disparage the valuable work now being done for Canterbury by its present Land Board and the Commissioner Mr Humphries, but we wish to re-affirm tbe figures of our report which dealt with new lands brought under the influence of settlement. Let me give the figures from the Registrar-General's ** report, which shows the growth of the colony for the past five years. In that connection it gives the "number of holdings and the area, of land brought under cultivation or _own in gn__ or lying fallow in each provincial district area no dealt with. _ **> *_ _ ° 5 a M to _> *• § .£ t % _ "«• ■ _ •_ £ is o Iti 18-G 1,506.52. 517,137 2.159,-to_ 2.SOT. .70 lv 1901 2.013,90.2 73G.264 2.6.1,8 .1 2,401.75 C Increase 507.134 213,1-27 42-2,483 7.1 G Following th_ up, let tis draw tli_ attention of tlie menil>ens of tlie Land Board to the fact that it is not- so much the area of land settled a. the number of people settled on the land that is the important question. Let us draw the attention of the public to the position from that aspect.Since 1899 Auckland has increased her holders of land of over one acre in extent by 1188, Taranaki by 194. Wellington by 560, while in Canterbury tlie number has oecreased by 112. This is the sort of thing that is depopulating our province. During the past five years our 100 in population, after allowing • for birth. I *, deaths, and arrivals and departures. :'e equal to the present population of Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Sumnerj and Xew Brighton. • This is not a particularly bright state of things in a province which ban just celebrated her fii_ t jubilee. It is a state of things caused by one fact, and tliat fact is land monopoly. Providentially tliat can be cured.—Yours. .tc THE COMPILER OF THE REPORT.