Land Settlement

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 278, 19 August 1932, Page 13

Land Settlement

Sir, —In your issue of August S under the above heading Mr. Bernard Tripp advocates preference to farmers’ sons who have saved from £3OO to £BOO, and suggests that land in the hands of mortgagees should be acquired for the purpose. I assume that Mr. Tripp refers mainly to first-class land, as he advocates 100-acre blocks. His proposal to cut up those 400-acre farms will meet with general approval, but preference to farmers’ sons would be an open door to land aggregation. There is no need to stress the point that a farmer with a son or two and a desire to increase his holding would welcome such a scheme. Mr. Tripp is of opinion that the scheme would assist in relieving the unemployment situation, but as there is not one farm labourer employed to the 100 acres in normal times under farming conditions in Canterbury the direct benefit in this direction would be negligible. Taking the farmers’ sons’ experience for granted, we must remember that in the ranks of the land seekers there are a large number of experienced farm labourers, many of whom are returned soldiers who have had no opportunity of obtaining suitable land for settlement, though their experience may compare more than favourably with the average farmer’s son. Mr. Tripp, whom I regard as an authority on the land question, cannot deny that but a small percentage of our first-class land is being worked to its full capacity, and he will, I think, also admit that many of our back-country stations have been neglected to such an extent that they do not carry within 40 per cent, of the stock carried 20 years ago. This applies to some of our large holdings, while New Zealand suffers in silence. The appointment of men with a local knowledge to deal with the allotment of land would not for a moment be considered by a responsible Government with the interest of the people at heart. Furthermore, one can hardly imagine the Government acting as a go-between for the mortgagees and the farmers’ sons, collecting the rent, etc., while the mortgagee sits on velvet- However, when men such as Mr. Tripp offer suggestions it is a good omen, and he is on the right track when advocating the cuttingup for closer settlement those 400-acre farms of first-class land. Personally, I think he errs on the liberal side in suggesting 100-acre blocks, as I am of opinion that had such land been cut up in 75-acre blocks 20 years ago and now held by the original owners very few. if any. would be in the snip of the mortgagee.—T am, etc.. M. LAR ACT. Perone. August 15.