BACK-BLOCK TROUBLES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1060, 24 February 1911, Page 3

BACK-BLOCK TROUBLES.

. .. THE.] ANDS.AT KAITIEKE. Th 6' K« i t ieWB lock.whlch the .Wellington . Land Board recently visited, was again before the'board, yesterday. Mr. Ellingham; asked if the oommistioncr: had. evolved any plan to relieve tho'settlers. . ' . . : !Tho Commissioner (Mr. • M'Kenzie) said that .hehad'.oonsulted with the Land Office, and it' was ' resolved -that. something would bo done. . Hut. whatever relief was given, must bo by. special legislation. Therefore the'ro could bo'no iuimcdiato Wirry until Parliament met. . 'Mf. "Ellingham said ; that the Superintendent of tho. Advances .to Settlers Offico had 'taken; exception' to .'some statement be'.had-made, ntr tho mooting in regard <o valuation. 'Ihere. were certainly complaints from.the .settlers that, they wero getting better.conditions from private individuals.' 110 had been misunderstood in'regard to 'tho matter of valuatious.lle had not.meant that,the whole, of the district was too highly valued, but only that portion through which tho board had travelled.' . This, anomaly, was the fault of no one., It \ws only n.matter of time, and .the.difficulties the settlers laboured under would ■ be overcome..Mr. Georgctti drow. a distinction • between Upper and Lower Kaitieke. • He did not know why the Upper Kaitieke settlers had;understood,his: speech at last meeting to refer.to .them.. They seemed to think that his remarks had lowered the value oftheir sections. .Thcso men had already, gone through their initial hardships, but-now,, after, their second burn, their land was all in excellent, grass. It was not'M with the Lower Kaitieke, which was a nower settlement, andhad not'had Its seoond bum, ami. tho, craw could not good'chaiico-yet. .They, also, had not bwn given tlio benefit of the Bush . and •Swamp Act, as tho'.Upper Kaitieko had. '" ' ' • ' * • Tho'Commissioner said the board must not'lose sight of the. fact'that there wns a vcrv marked difference' in the conditions "of 'tbo two districts. When the tipper district was, opened out there wero greater difficulties of ingwss and. egress, and consequently tho benefits of tho Swamp■ Act' were bestowed.' He.recogrised it would bo necessary that some sort of ■'concession';would oventnally have to be made'to those at Lower. Kaitieke. Tho board had already decided'not to press them for their'rents for two years. .