LAND SETTLEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 497, 3 May 1909, Page 8

LAND SETTLEMENT.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENTS. Regarding, land settlement^" 'during 1 , the year, there has been a»very .satisfactory/increase. ..A.'total"'of 2402. settlors took up 1,381,132 acres; The total, number of selectors of Crown laid at March, 31, 1908, was 25,315,.; and'. the i total .area; keldi by.' these. : selectors,.is ~ 18,2 63, y24. iTor, ,tiio ast 'year , ordinary , (>bwn, lands':,were 'taken up, by 1451 : , for - settlomentsr were ' taken , up.' by .'settlers ivith 95,698 aores;, Choviot:Estate land,was taken up. by; three settlerS| .with )13: acres:; 1 endowment, lands ■were 7 takPn,up'by''.634 'set-, tiers with 531,112 acres;,and workers' 'dwell-' . ings'. lairds, by :26 settlers with three acres. This.shows gain of 2402.'selectors forthe year; the area selected''by-them being no less ihan '1,381,132 ■ acrPs. > The estimated revenue for the year; (which docs not include ; the .£73,547; of .national endow-, ■me'nt receipts formerly included in territorial) was £236,799, and tho actual V receipts were/£224,156. Tho estimated nonterritorial revenue, 1 which' included • £73,547. of' national endowment :' reooipts, , was, £426,863, and tho actual amount received was £471,970. .The total: revenue for tho year was, ;■ therefore, ■ ; £696,126, or somo £32,000 over tho' total 1 estimate. I am glad, to bo .able to inform jou '.that the receipts from: national endowments of £73,547 havo ; been more than realisedy as .tho total ro- : ceipts were £76,597' 55..'1id. 1 This is all. the more, gratifying as fpr'somo time it appeared that the receipts ■ from "national, endowment .would fall': off ovfing to/tho'difficulty of. get- . ting''the-land into the .market. However,' 1 you will see .by what I have; said that 634 , settlers undor national endowment took up 531,112' acres during the ipast year. The total selectors under national endowment to March.'3l.'l9o9,: is ■ 1583, and uho total area held by tneni' 5,709,641 aerei. So that' here again I find'that the predictions of the opponents '.of." the, national endowment as to rovenuo results,, and the taking of them up by settlers, , U absolutely refuted, in the' most practical way by a record of facts which'l allow to speak for themselves. •. , Native Lands. -, ■ The public is prone, toigauge tho Department's work by . the area:: of .Native ■ land set apart / t.nd actually rendered Available 'for '.settlement. 1. have,, therefore,', had prepared, a-return'showing, the areas dealt .with since the passing of :the Act of 1900.. For the purpose of comparison,; the ; return shows the work done during: the. twelve; months, ended ' March 31 last, and/also the total to i date. Summarised,-itvyill,'be,'seen' that since October 21, 1900/ ah. area of 1,699,047 acres have beon. rendered: available by sale or .lease, oi-, m'Prtgaged, : either'through the agency of. the boards or by tho direct agency, of the ownors themselves. , The boards have in hand' at; the : present time tho surveys of something, over 100,000 acres of land;! a large portion of which is expected .to be put upon the market, almost at once; I pay add that the,airea ; acquired by the Crown through tho Land tfurcbaso Department during last year was 266;403 acres, whickPadded to the area above referred to', makes !an:: aggregate of rather over 2,000,000 acres.The'. acquisition of a' further area of 30j00Q'acres was also in hand, but did not roach finality owing to; the. amount, appropriated for land purchases having run out. The area .dealt with by: Order-in-Oouncil, to date, in terms of, recommendations of. the Native- Land (immißsion,, is' 124,495 acres. "Of this area 49,410 acres: halve- been ( vested in the Maori land boards for purposes of silo ■' or leasing. There al !6. .of 'course, necessary:preliminaries to'bo gone through in.th 6 Wjiy of surveying, cutting up, : and roading, but steps l will bo' taken to put this area upon tho market as soon as possible. An area of 75,060 has also been reserved' for. Native/settlement ;.:tho administration of a great part; of this area will be in'tho liands of the/boards, hut in : other cases, wliero recommended, I have made application for tho ownors to bo incorporated for the purpose of managing the lands thomsolvos. Orders-in-Council - dealing with an aggregate area of 118,654 . acres are . now in ' course of preparation. 1 All'' this area will bo available for purposes of settlement. : The Government is' obtaining information in 'regard to a further area of some 200,000, acres, which is also'proposed to' bo deolt with and vested in ,tho boards for settlement, purposes. I may state) that tho work of surveying Native lands is to bo transferred to tho Lands Department, and to bo carried out undor tlio administration of tho .Lands and Survey Branch. It > is intended to ask Parliament for further funds to enable tho work of survey to bo carried out vigorously, and with duo provision made for this purooso the Nativo Department should be able to have available for settlement a further two million of aores frithin a reasonable spaco of time. :This will , bo in addition to tho areas over two millions of acres to which I havo referred,'so: that .here again,'though the over-fastidious may

call out that nothing hns beon done in Na» . 1 , tivo land matters,: the. answer 'is .i to bofound in tho position,! have indicated. ■