KAURI GUM LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1084, 24 March 1911, Page 6

KAURI GUM LANDS.

AS A'FIELD FOR 'SETTLEMENT. The gum-lands of North Auckland were named by Mr. W. F. Massey, in the course of a conversation on Tuesday evening, as a field that might very easily be adopted to. the purposes of closer settlement. In the course of his recent political journeyings, Mr; Massey noted that thousands "of men are still engaged on tho gum-fields, many of whom obtain very poor returns for their industry. The ■ time is in sight when the fields will 'be completely exhausted, and unless some, inducement" is held out to them to remain the men will drift away, and, perhaps, be lost to the country altogether. No effort, Mr. Massey remarked, is being mudo to settlo tne gmn-diggers on tho land they now temporarily occupy, and he is very strongly of opinion that something ought to be done in this direction. "Here and there," he said, "you will come across sonic gum-digger who has erected a cottage and settled down, with . n wife and family, to cultivate a small i piece of land, but these people are just . •squatters.' They have no title. It would ! be a good thing to cut up this land in . forty or fifty acre sections, and give it to diggers who are willing to settle. The price would have to bo very low for the land is poor, but, with proper cultivation, it would grow fruit and vegetables, i There seems no other way in which the land could be turned to profitable account. It would he. of no use in big blocks." At one time, Mr. Massey mentioned, an Act, called the Homestead Act, was in ' operation in New Zealand. Under its pro- ! visions blocks were sot apart for small settlers, who were required to prove their bona fides by doing a certain amount of cultivation and fencing and by residing ! on their holdings. This particular Act was repealed in the early nineties, but 1 some similar inducement should he held 1 out to the gum-diggers of North Auckland. " They were a deserving lot of people, industrious and habituated to a quiet en- ' vironment. Quite a number of them had " wives and families. Given proper en- ' couragcmenf, they should make first-class 5 settlers. Unless some such step were taken as lie had indicated, the gum-dig-B gers would gradually drift out of the " country and it would be left with an 5 area of practically waste land, and no • apparent tiso for it. Another reason for z hastening tho process of settlement was that at present the selectors would be able to find a certain amount of gum which would assist them in maintaining - their wives and families, while they got their sections into shape. If the entert prise were tackled in a proper way, Mr. t Ma«scy concluded, hundreds of men could 1 lie settled on this land within a coiue paratively short period. J