CROWN LANDS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 118, 22 May 1925, Page 7

CROWN LANDS

DETERIORATION PROBLEM

REPORTS OF INQUIRY COMMITTEES

'AMELIORATIVE LEGISLATION

PROMISED,

In releasing 1 for publication last night the reports of special committees, consisting of Lands Department officials and* practical farmers, appointed to investigate the question of deterioration of areas of Crown lands in portions of the Taranaki and Auckland districts, the Minister of Lands (the Hon. A. D. M'Leod) announced his intention of introducing legislation designed to afford assistance to the struggling settlers.

RAPIDITY OF RECENT REVER- ■ . SION. "The committees' investigations, which were carried out over a wide area," stated the Minister, 'have been of a very searching nature, and the conclusions arrived at will be exceedingly helpful to me, as Minister of Lands, in framing for the consideration of the Government and Parliament, legislation which it is hoped will in a large measure overcome the difficulties that have arisen. ' "Deterioration, or reversion towards forest-regeneration, is regarded by practical farmers as a very intricate problem, and is by no means a new matter in various jjarts of the Dominion, more especially in those localities situated above certain altitudes and having a rainfall much in excess of the Dominion average: The rapidity of this reversion has be* come more pronounced during . recent years, largely as a result of economic factors over which those developing and maintaining such lands have had no control. The maintenance process even in pre-war days required close watching and comparatively heavy expenditure, and often a very narrow margin of profit resulted. With an after-War increase of 30 to pO per cent, in interest costs, an increase of from 75 to 200' per cent, in other costings, including -labour, seeds, fencing materials; internal and oversea freights, together with the hundred and one necessities connected with farm development from standing bush to pasture and with production from. the farm to sale of the product in Britain, the POsi' tion became almost heieless. When those directing industrial ventures find that overhead costings: have gone ahead of financial returns, they very early,seek a remedy against further loss, either by going out of business, seeking better and more up-to-date means to reduce anil.improve output costings, or, if opportunity offers, by raising prices to consumers. To adopt the first alternative would not only mean a, serious matter to individual farmers, but to the Dominion as a whole. The third alternative does not give much hope in view of present world conditions and competition in our chief market. There remains, therefore, only the second alternative, and I hope to place before Parliament legislation which, if passed, will jn a measure at least give renewed heart to those settlers who to-day can see little prospect of success.

NOT WITHOUT HOPE. "Apart from my desire to make a,per.so»aj inspection of the areas affected, my only excuse for delaying the publication of the report is that I hesitated to create a pessimistic feeling amongst financial institutions, and others who have interests, at stake and who have performed good services in the past in assisting to develop back country areas. But careful study of the reports shows that'the position jg not' without hope, and compatible with its wider duty and responsibility to tne. taxpayers in general, the Government will leave no stone unturned towards effecting a solution of the difficulty ;which has arisen.".'

One of the committees set up was asked to report on the means of overcoming the deterioration of Crown lands in the Whangamomona, Ohura, Waitomo, Oto-l-ohanga, Kawhia, Raglan, Kaitieke, Waitotava, Waimarino, and other counties. In this district there were (excluding soldiers' lands) about 1990 Crown holdings, with a total area of 874,700 ncres Of those holdings 75, with a total area of 42,905 acres, had been abandoned, the percentage of abandoned holdings being J. 77, and the percentage of area abandoned being 4.9. It was estimated that tne total area of reverted lands was 232 - 500 acres. The country consisted of: (a) ftiUy forest country, too steep for ploughingand comprising the greater portion oi tne area; _(o) forest country containing a large portion of ploughabie land; (cl open fern and scrub country, most of which was, ploughable. The altitudes varied.from sea-level up to about 2000 ft, and the heights of the hills above the valleys varied up to 800 ft, an average being about 600 ft. '

. CAUSES OF DETERIORATION. After describing the various classes of ■ soils met with, and the nature of the forest cover, the Committee states "that the deterioration markedly in evidence consisted largely iv a dying-out or in a replacement of the Masses and clovers sqwn, by various classes of fern; herb, and scrub growths.; The- most potent factors in the bringing about of the deterioration were;— ■ ' - .. .. The wet cjimatic conditions prevailing preventing hot forest-burns—primary or secondary-necessary to kill the germ of ■ thei forest,- and favouring a .very gtrong and _■ rapid growth of fern;' insufficient fencing of the country, so that controlled stocking, particularly by cattle, could not ue carried out; injudicious stockingclose and continuous grazing by sheep; failure to spell the country; sowing 'of grasses, and clovers not wholly adapted to the country; depletion of. fertility; the eflects of the land "boom," and the slump wmch followed making it difficult tor settlers to improve their holdings and purchase stock; high maintenance costs, these being in most cases too high for the unnnancjal settlor to keep up and live; jack of knowledge of local conditions high rental values and high unimproved Talyes; difficulty of providing winter feed; aspect and steepness of country": Jack of formed access, and lack of capi-

''It was almost universally ssjid in statements made by settlers that lack of nart rfT- re? P°^! ble ior the SWter P&U of their trouble," says the report! . Uleap money-was said- to be the cry2^f °f the. c°™*y- They realised that ™n had to be erected, mo,V W ?if al W^ hsd t0 l9e kept, that Z«- ? t h9d to 1?e »°wn, and that ma, Th 6 e'nl hr e P°l sib! e ' had'to be applied. J-ae question of raising- money for the Cm£ °f f th?S6 w^ «'c g7eat stumb wof ",/ k '.for, ln many instances the lajid ftStitnfi eatly ? hef v !y Waed. and lending institutions had tightened up considei° S: en ffJ dea' of money must yet o'fi i f -B C? U? try ' *nc] w the case ?ndu«m d t etel:l<?rate/ a™as there is little nrivni J! Slve"for the investment of private money. Undoubtedly the-ti<%t settlers had deterred much «ood work from being accomplished." *

LARGER HOLDINGS RECOMMENDED/ " In the case of the unploughabls hilly •Iwd the.c6mroittee considered that many ,0t tlia .Jiojdings were too small to apjsble tee settlers; to giake a ressosaljle

living, and that the same class of land could be improved and worked more economically' in large holdings, the capital expenditure in the matter of fencing, building, etc., being considerably lessper acre on larger holdings. The minimum area should be large enough to wintefi about 1000 mixed sheep and one cattle-beast to 5 acres.

A recommendation is made for reclassification of the lands, and also of the freehold lands held under title subject to Part XIII. of the Land Act, 1908, with a view of allowing an increase in the area of holdings where desirable. The present areas of ploughable lands are considered sufficient. It would, in the committee's view, be a great benefit to the settler who has only steep, unploughable land if he could secure, in addition, a piece of ploughable land. This would enable him to carry stock through the winter which he requires in the spring to keep his country in order. In regard to steep and unprofitable portions it would not be advisable to sever them from the holding, but to reduce the rental to a nominal figure and allow the settler to retain them, Stress is laid by the committee on the urgent need pf affording road access to settlers' holdings, and it is suggested that increased road subsidies should be made to certain counties. "Part of the lessees' difficulty has been/ and is still, due to bad roads, or none at all, and the distance of the hold* ings from railway stations or distributing centres. This adds to the cost of everything that goes on the place; .and, where top-dressing is found to be profitable, good roads will lessen the cost of and encourage the use of manures. They would also in many parts enable fat lambs to be sent to market .without waste by motor-lorry, and thus enable the farmer to secure larger returns." In newly-settled districts the committee thinks it would be reasonable to give local bodies a larger limit of borrowing.power from the State Advances Office than older-settled districts, and a more generous contribution in the way of subsidies for metalling, say, £2 for £1, instead pf £1 for £1 as at present. ■ In view of the large amount of capital already spent in felling, grassing, and roading, etc., caution should be used before abandoning any of the country. A small portion of the poorest and roughest country was not worth trying to farm. At the same time, the sec-ond-class grasses had not yet had sufficient trial, and it was desirable that work' of an experimental nature be carried out on this class of country by the Crown. In the meantime the disposal of this class of land should be held in abeyance.

EEVvALUATION ADVISABLE. In consequence of the change in ciiv cumstances since many of the lands were selected revaluation is advisable, says the committee. The lowering of rents on revaluation would not amount to enough to remedy the situation altogether, but it would afford a measure of relief to many harassed settlers. "We are of the opinion that in many cases remissions of rent for any period up. to five years will be required, and also think that actual remissions for a period would be better than postponements of larger amounts for longer terms," says the committee. "Such should only be given subject to the amount remitted being spent either on fencing, manuring, seeds, clearing, or other land-improvement to the satisfac-' tion of the Department. In many instances the settlers are so heavily involved that any assistance is futile until, a large proportion of their indebtedness is written off. Any assistance given should be contingent upon the mortgagees, State or private, reducing mortgages or reraiSing or lowering the rate of interest. In granting assistance of any kind the merits of each individual case would be have to be carefully considered."

Basing its calculations on the circulars returned by 310 settlers, the committee estimates that the State' has advanced about £1,209,000 on the 874,700 acres concerned, the amount involved from private sources being £1,174,000, making a total of £2,383,000. To this had to be added £493,500 for stock mortgages. Besides money lent on Crown .holdings, different Government Departments had securities on freeholds . and other tenures.

The committee estimates the cost of getting the reverted country back into profit at from £1 15s to £2 3s 6d per acre. Given a really dry burning season, a ; great portion could be brought back for little . more than the cost of. grass seeding and repairs to fencing. Further recommendations of the committee are as follow:—

Extending up to ten years the period for exercising the right to purchase the freehold; the provision of a special fund to assist settlers in the purchase of fenc-ing-wire, grass seed, and' manures; the general payment of a royalty of Is per snout for the destruction of wild pigs; free railage on manures; an allowance in rental to settlers whose lands adjoin Crown reserves, or actual financial assistance in .the erection of boundaryfences; development oj research work by the Government in the question of hill-country farm management and farm economies.

The report concludes with an optiniistic note as to the future'of the area investigated once the. secondary growth is_ controlled. "We think," it says, "it is not too much to say that, once the country is sufficiently fenced and the secondary growth cleaned off, one to one and a half mixed sheep per acre, besides' cattle, is not too high a carrying capacity to expect over the majority of the country. With manuring more could be carried,"

OPOTIKI HILL LANDS, A special committee was also appointed to investigate the deterioration problem in the Opotjki county, and it recommeded, inter alia, that as the cost of rpnding would bo so disproportionate to the revenue, the Crown should not in the meantime attempt to settle a very large area of steep, forest-clad broken country.. It points out that certain portions of settled holdings should never have been felled, but adds that faulty handling froni various causes has. been largely responsible for the bad state pf many oj the pastures and the consequent reduced carrying capacity. The writing-off of tenants' liabilities in certain areas is recommended, the Crown reserving the right of resumption, and jt is also suggested that assistance should be given in the matter of erectIng fences on the boundaries of Crown reserves. -Regrouping of holdings, provision of improved road access, a reduction in unimproved values more compatible.-with the quality of the land, and remissions of rent in certain cases ara recommended.