RICH HAURAKI PLAINS AND THE BALLOT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 685, 9 December 1909, Page 3

RICH HAURAKI PLAINS AND THE BALLOT.

... —_— will the < state throw away .the : ; . . .increment:. .. • , - Among the visitors to Wellington at present is Mr.;: William C. Breakall, who has been tho engineer in charge of tho draining of the Hauralrv Plains (Kako Swamp) near Ihaines. Mr. Breakall, who is known in this district as the engineer who drained the Makorua ..Swamp so successfully,.-has been retired owing to having reached the age limit, and is now on three months' leavo of absence, preparatory to his retirement. Questioned by a Dominion'representative-on the progress of the works, at the Hauraki Plains, Mr. Breakall stated that the. operations had been wonderfully successful, and that by the end of the present financial year there should bo 15,000 acres (of the '90,000 acres in tho block) available for settlement. "It is beautiful land," said ho, "and 'will prove as rich a.block as there is in Now Zealand.: It is a rich alluvial soil that will cut lip admirably into small dairy farms—a property that il. taken up by a private company would yield a profit of a quarter, of a million in four I years."'"',''...' '-.-'■ ' "

.'ls the drained area being cup up now? "Yes. Mr. J. B..Thompson, and a party of four surveyors arc at present cutting up the land into areas ranging from 150 to 300 acres in extent, and this area (tho 15,000 acres) has only takeu two years to drain." How is it to be disposed of? "Well, that is to my mind a very important question. Under the present Lands for Settlement Act, these lauds'can only be disposed of by ballot, but I do not think the Government would be doing justice to itself if it disposed of these lands by ballot—the unearned increment is going to be top great for that. Take tho case of the s'iamp I reclaimed at Northern Wairoa. now known as the Raupo Settlement. Anyone could have bought that land before it was drained for ,7s.' (id.' per What, happened? It was sold for .£2 10s. an acre, and some of 'the lessees had paid only a year's rent, half a'crown an acre, when ( they were able to eeLl out at ,£lO io ,£l2 an acre."

;What tenure do you propose for Hauraki? '"I think ; the Government should sell it by auction. What land will bring is the best value to go upon. I could to-day sell. any amount of it at- ,£8 an acre. It should be put up for auction either for cash, for occupation with right of purchase, or.for'lcase. This TOuld mean an amendment of the Act. That might easily bo got over by an amendment to ■tho Hauraki Plains Act of last session. If that is not done, I ajn of opinion that the State will lose- heavily. .It is a magnificent property, and the .disposal' of it -should he safeguarded in some such way ns I suggest."