BACK COUNTRY

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18636, 10 March 1926, Page 8

BACK COUNTRY

SETTLEMENT OF s&' UNDEVELOPED LAjmj|\ MINISTER EXPLAINS STATEMENT. ™ , (fbsss association TUffimrl ""''' BLENHEIM, JU«4>. ~7 ''ln these days, a Minister to niako any definite statement tt"»2r gard to lands and possible iottlnmiiTlgi without first carefully committins tall paper what he wishes to make pttbiWTO said the Hon. A. D. McLeod, MwJfWfl for Lands at the civic reception ed liijn. at Blenheim. "Onsy «. ia^tt' weeks ago, in answer to a depatatjlra in the Far -North, which was ptcanm ior the introduction of overa*** in large numbers, I stated thatuuS-l as our settlement from overseas or Uto/Sp where was concerned, there TOaunJtfr little undeveloped lands for suck, tjfj?i that future settlement must be or*s practical and slow nature, as far as HjTSJ developed lands are concerned, ifio statement has since been twisted, jjgjpfc all shapes and forms, the gist Htffi that no more settlement of developed lands in my opinion was «ssl& sible. Such an opinion never esittSpmy head. What 1 said of the gum sj3l| pumice lands erf the north, I no» (Ssl without hesitation of the back cowtwll of the south. Certainly there wuffraj future development in that area, tSra any attempt to rush it by ineifrjrjffjjfp, ed men can only end in disaster. *lfflS til our secondary industries show fWPf of larger development, we most angl tinue to ask and hope for Bjore saraf more production front the primaiffi^ "To say that New Zealand has laadll ed the limit in such a direction fijjjjj talk nonsense, and something T.fanPj never even thought, much lest ssicfifl have, however, said that «ttWl|Bj| are still too high in price to juflgHJjS in my opinion, any large PQrdtafSrel policy in the,present unsettled. <s&s& tions of the world's markets, UilgKlf development costs. 'rSSjtSllli "I bold," proceeded the ITiiifiiMpf "that our production can be greathlgra creased off settled lands, bat I faEM that by rushing things at this ctttßff we could very easily bring aboqg<jag& other returned soldier problem, am not prepared to take tha-risteSHp that. The instability of prices qtm, products should make anyone GmSsf in the wholesale purchase of subdivision, but under a sane, gwjjM| system this country is capable oTmMK mous development. ' 'Slrel! "As to Clarence, I mast nmfiaifflSji I was rather disappointed, for ,a pHj§| pected to see a larger area. TM§jjK&; good land there, but H has kees ]|§hP lessly destroyed by rabbits, take many years to recover, cost of roading wonld be , matter will have to be cai^a%mHHp