The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1933. SMALL FARMS FOR UNEMPLOYED

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 36, 6 November 1933, Page 8

The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1933. SMALL FARMS FOR UNEMPLOYED

A useful summary of the progress made with the small farms scheme is provided in the statement issued by the Minister of Lands. It is of special interest and importance because land settlement represents the chief constructive effort of the Government toward permanently reducing the number out of work. . ... , Viewed from that angle and by comparison with the number unemployed, the claim that under the Small. Farms Act and its pre decessor a total of 1410 men has been placed in rural occupations may seem insubstantial. It should be remembered, however, that the administration under the Act has been in operation, for only a f6w months. Some time would necessarily be occupied with preliminaries and organisation before results began to show. From Mr. Ransom’s statement it is apparent that, he expects activities under the scheme to increase rapidly in the immediate future. Before the end of January men engaged on development and subdivision works will increase from 42 to 1100, the latter being a conservative figure based on land already acquired, and set aside. These areas may shortly be added to, thus accelerating the rate of progress. . . , , An examination of the list of properties recently acquired under the scheme shows that almost all of them are in the Auckland Province and a surprisingly large proportion in the North Auckland peninsula. Mr. Ransom himself seems to think that this geographical distribution calls for some explanation. He explains that .it is. partly due to the' greater energy of the administrative bodies in the North and partly to the fact that there are more undeveloped lands available there at a suitable price. If in fact the conditions do favour more development in the North, care should be taken that unemployed further South who wish to become settlers should have an equal chance of taking up sections under the scheme. The limit placed op the distance over which the transport expenses of intending settlers are paid must prejudice the chances of men remote from. settlement areas who may be just, as deserving as those more conveniently situated. Mr. Ransom recognises the difficulty and may find the solution, either in opening more areas in other districts or allowing the unemployed from any pdrt of the. Dominion an equal opportunity of going on the land in the North. Apparently the scheme is now . aiming chiefly at creating. 25 to 35-cow farms which will be self-supporting. It would be a mistake, however, to slacken efforts to settle, men on smaller, part-time farms wherever land can be obtained within handy distance of a reasonable market for casual labour. This is a point the Government should keep before it.