BOYS FOR THE LAND

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 19, 22 July 1932, Page 14

BOYS FOR THE LAND

LAND FOR HOYS

AN IDLE LAND TAX*

,MR. G. MITCHELL'S PROPOSALS

, The problem of how to put young people on the land has recently boen before a cominitteo of the Eotary Club and V.M.C.A. Mr. G. Mitchell presented a scheme for (1) training boys St» farm wort, (2) placing them, on and (3) , providing new farm Hands by a process of voluntary sub'(Jivisiori, plus a plan of taxing idlo farm lands and surplus farm lands now in private "ownership: . The committee --endorsed No. 1 and 3SFo. 2, but not No. 3. The committee passed the following resolution: —"That the, committee commends Mr. G. Mitchell for the time and thought he has J&it "into his scheme dealing with agricultural pursuits for boys. The committee will be prcparod to associate staelf with the first and second phases p£ the scheme—i.e., dealing with the 'training and placing of boys, and would help in projecting these two aspects, ,Tvhich is consistent with the present pirn and programme of the committee." _£ The 'following -ia Mr. Mitchell's report:'—''Our social structure 'cannot Jong stand the present strain of mismanagement and .depression/ nor can those people in work "continue to bear the burden of unemployed and other taxation without being brought nearly to the level of the unemployed thoy &re assisting, nor can the unemployed fee expected to much longer to the suffering and indignity of their (position. Therefore relief for all must nar speedily found.- Fortunately the means'of relief have been given to us by a generous Creator, if wo have but jfche courage to use; them. JTEWER •WOBXEBS.ON FARM AND IN FACTORY. ' , "There are but two avenues of croaiive and permanent work before us—the Jand and the factory. Develop the former and .development of the latter %ill follow. "Wo are not suffering today from over-population, but because i>± the mal-distribution-of our 'people. Xn a country purely agricultural fewer than 140,000 ont of one million and a half, produce, the whole of our exports by which we pay our overseas debts, and fewer than 80,000 are engaged in secondary industries. This position is growing worso. We have fewer farms «no\, fewer, people- employed' on them, and fqwer-employees in secondary industries than there were eight years iago, while the population has increased fey 180,000 in the meantime. The whole of this increase has gone into the nonproductive avenues or joined the army qf unemployed. Thousands of our brightest boys are leaving school without sufficient for tho present and no Jiope for the future, except the land. "Modern farming is a scienco, and 5t is useless to-put men on farms who lave not been trained in farming, and ihev training must start with the boy. IFarmrng is, moreover, unattractive to the youth and his parents if all they dan look forward to is to become farm lands at low wages. The hope of obtaining a foothold on land of their own must ever be before them." It Would be useless also to train largo numbers of boys in farming1 unless'we treated more farms' on which to employ them. "With all our best land tightly held, 'this is only possible- fiy, a drastic and far-reaching land settlement" policy. ' • <■ DOUBLE THE FARMS. ' . "Modern methods of farming have bhown that '85,000 {arms in New-Zea-land could on an T av,erage be cut into half, and that by the employment of modern methods and closer settlement ihe present holders could take as much ©ft? the half as our total production to-day, thus making available 85,000 jmore'farms scattered throughout 'the country near' ra^wiiys arid- rpqtd^. show that' this is not' aa qver'-state-menj, we seb Denmark, maintaining 3i pillion and exporting'more''farm prodnce from 16,000 square 'miles than ■we do from 100,000, and we have only 14 million people to support. They lays'a rural population of 125 to the square •> mile; we have' six. *A* policy ti£_ doubling both the holdings and settlers on tho -land offers an immediate and permanent remedy for unemployed to-day. 1 "The - consummation of such a (policy trould be spread over a number of < years, as the subdivision must go hand in land with the trained settlers created to occupy them; 2000 fresh holdings a yea* should be within tho possibilities of training the men and subdividing the land. .I.therefore suggest a policy »f (1) training tho youth in the principles of farming under a concentrated system; (2) placing the youths in positions on farms; (3) doubling our .holdings, farm, population, and pfodnction, thus providing work for youths and an opportunity of acquiring a farm, of their own-when qualified to work one. TRAINING THE YOUTH. t ,"It is proposed that two farm training centres be established—one in the jNprth Island and'one in the South Island—immediately, with a capacity-of SOO t0'250 boys at one time, that they fee given a 'two months''course and concentrated training under.'comp'etont instructors under the Army 'bull-ring' system. It is not suggested that two months' training will teach boys, to jp ( o' t farmers, but thoy would receive training in tho routine and principles jr farming under competent, instructors and would be desirable helps to tray farmer. , , f .' "It is estimated that over 2000 farmers {are at present on relief works- throughout the country, while many thousands m young farmers now working on farms are competent to work a farm of their own, and would willingly do so if given a j chance. If subdivision and settlement were to begin at once, this would draw off these trained farmers to settle on the new farms and thereby create a demand for boys from the" training centres to take their place. 'Thus-we would provide both for the trained (landless farmer and the boy. ' CLASSIFICATION OP I^VNDS. % ,"It is essential to this, or any other jftomprehensive land settlement policy, ™ BELIEVE THAT PAIN SAFELY. , - You can always relieve that ache or -Jain harmlessly with Bayer Aspirin .tablets. ' Even those deep-seated pains that make a man's very bones ache. .Even the systemic, pains so many women suffer. They will yield to these .tablets 1 Genuine Bayer Aspirin has many important uses. 'Read the proven directions in every package of genuiue Bayer Aspirin, and don't ensure ' any needless pains from neuralgia,' neuritis,'-rheumatism. - Keep a bottle of theso tablets in the -Rouse; carry tho handy pocket box if subject to unexpected headaches,' sud"<&en colds. Quick relief, without any Kannful effect!); Bayer Aspirin does not Repress tho heart. _>■- All Chemists sell boxes of 13 Bayer '-Aspirin tablets, also bottles of 24 and 200 tablets —the Bayer Cross trade 'Mark appears on every tablet. Bayor Aspirin costs no more than the uncer-tain-imitations and. loudly-advertised substitutes, which physicians would not think of prescribing. Say Bayer and 'insist!—Advt,

'""i Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. 'Sot troughs and colds, never faila.—Advfc. ,

that a report ■be obtained by competent officers, on evory holding in the country, Bhowing those suitable for subdivision, the number of farms, into which they could bo subdivided, the class of farming each is suitable for, and the amount (if-any) of idlo or semi-idle land the holding contains. This information is an immediate and basic necessity. Throughout the country there are thousands of acres of idio land alongside rail and road, in its natural or semi-natural state, mostly privately owned, and therefore the State's necessity conflicts with private interest, yet however difficult of solution the problem may-bo this land niust.be.settled by the legitimate procedure of legislation, or the necessity of hungry people. "Thero is little doubt that thousands of acres of these lands are useablo, but Government machinery seems too clumsy or in,competont to settle them. Theso should bo handed over to a committee of farmers in the districts concornod, and they bo given a free hand to settle them. "The Government purchase of land for settlement in tho past, with its costly procedure, slowness of results, and inflation of land values, has been disastrous for all concerned. It is not, therefore, proposed that tee Government purchase land for settlement, but that they call upon the present owners to subdivide and sqttle idlo and surplus land cither by sale, lease, share-milk-ing, or any other way the owner may desire.' The inothod of settlement is left entirely to the owner so long as each holding is occupied and run as a complete and separate unit and the tenure gives sufficient encouragement and protection to L ttie lessee. HELP OF LAND OWNERS. "It is believed that holders of subdividablo lands will realise the danger of tho growing tide of unemployed people living on t}ie barest necessities and outside our" social system; that the rock on which we sit in comfort to-day may be submerged by "tKe rising tide jto-morrow. lam sure the great majority of land owners would respond ,to ; an appeal along the Hues we suggest without compulsion, but unfortunately there must be* compulsion for absentee landlords and those who win not heed the .country's cajl. "While tho Government may call upon holders to settle surplus land, they must provide the capital necessary for improvements and stocking, and "we suggest that up to £750 be advanced to owner of "each new holding; "Wo are satisfied that there aro many hundreds of land own.crs billing to settle surplus land "without compulsion at once if the necessary capital was availablo'for improvements and stocking. "As we can no longer afford to allow land to bo idlo in tho country while men are unemployed and kept by charity in the cities, we propose that the idle land tax; bo applied to all subdividable idle lands immediately, and that tho tax be sufficiently, drastic to 1 compel tho immediate settlement of theso 'lands before any action ia taken to subdivide the cultivated holdings. This tax'should .be an annual sum. on each subdivision" in the holding, irrespective of- area—-i.e., tho tax would bo the same for '-'50 acres or 250 acres so long as that area was' considered by experts as sufficient for one new holding only. When the idlo lands have been. dealt with" wo propose that the same' system bo applied to snbdividable cultivated holdings. . ■ ,\ ' , RELIEF FROM TAXATION. "Land owners' could avoid any tax or be freed from.it as soon as each individual holding is settled. In the event of -there- being no -applicant for land advertised for occupation, under fair and -reasonable* -conditions,' the owner Would be"relieved of any taxation, providing always that the-land-remained open >f or'selection to tho first suitable applicant. " . -, - "It would bo found necessary in practice for the Government, on account of .want of roading and, other physical reasons, 'to havo power to grant temporary exemptions from the operation of this A:t. • Virgin bush lands and plantations; would naturally come within the scopo of' exemptions. Also high or poor country which 'it is not desirable to subdivide ,at present. ' "Wo realise tho impossibility, of tho Government raising large' sums of money for any purpose at tho present time, and the y settlement, of 2000 '.now holdings' 'per annum would absorb £1,500,000. As this money would be required for buildings and stock to make the. land productive, it should be a' first charge on the proporty, taking precedence to any other mortgage. As the security is ample and payments on a table mortgage annually reduce the debt, I am of opinion that it would be sound .finance for the Government to issue Treasury bonds for the amount required for- this puiposc, these bonds to have a currency of, say, thirty-three years. AGGREGATION. "Tho nature of these will tend to prevent aggregation; nevertheless'we suggest very definite provision be taken to prevent it, except in such cases as may bo in the public interest. Subdivision such as 'suggested herein must bo of sufficient size to occupy the whole of a settler's time and provide him with a comfortable living., These proposals would at' once create general employment in building homes and steading, providing posts, equipment, etc. It is estimated that each 100 new settlers w t buld provide, work directly and indirectly for 200. others. The settlement of 2000 new holdings annually would therefore give permanent work a to 6000 people. • Thus in a few years 'all* the unemployed would b© absorbed in reproductive work and the country, relieved of 3£ million pounds annually to keep them, besides which v the .volume fit exports would bo greatly increased and the Government's difficulty; in meeting' its obligations overseas reduced accordingly. Closer settlement means a sure and definite return .to internal peace and prosperity."