EFFORTS MUST BE MADE TO KEEP MEN ON THE LAND

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22696, 22 July 1948, Page 3

EFFORTS MUST BE MADE TO KEEP MEN ON THE LAND

(P.A.) HASTINGS, July 22. A case had been made for keeping people on the land, declared the chairman of the Royal Commission on the Sheep Industry, Mr. R. H. White, during a sitting of the commission in liastmfsiere were a number of questions calling for impovements, such as better amenities for the housewife. . and ini improved educational facilities, and members of the commission were fully seized with the importance of these factors, he said. . Most witnesses again . emphasised the seriousness of the rabbit pest which was a major factor in the reduction of productivity of high country properties. Hand in hand with the rabbit went the manuka invasion, which on many properties, it was stated, had become out of control because of the difficulty of obtaining adequate and efficient farm labour. Factors contributing to the difficulty of holding farm labour on backblock country were also dealt with. , , ~ The chairman said members of the commission thought there should be some arrangement for young men as farming was a basic industry. A member of the commission, Mr. R. Eddy, said a young man had a natural inclination to marriage. There was no accommodation, so he left the land and was lost to the industry for all time. As there was little chance of his acquiring his own farm, he felt that farming was a blind-alley occupation. “Men on farms can save money today if they set their minds to it, but they need to save a lot before they can buy a farm at today’s prices.