Minister for Lands

Hastings Standard, Volume X, Issue 5305, 18 September 1906, Page 3

Minister for Lands

Wellington, September 18 Speaking at a banquet to Mr Stevens, M.H.S., at Shannon, Mr McNab said that the Ministry were determined that there should be no man in the State who should put himself into an early grave simply to serve New Zealand. The present Ministry had resolved that the load should bo equally distributed among the members comprising the Cabinet. Speaking of agriculture, he said the Government intended to go into the whole question of experimental stations and arrange them according to some proper classification. Referring to the flax, industry, he believed whon it got a proper start and properly treated it would be one of the greatest industries, not only in New Zealand but in the Southern Hemisphere. He discussed the land proposals at length, which he declared would play an important part in the settlement of the State. The people were determined that the land should be settled on. He thought the time rarpidly going when people would care to ride in trains and see large properties with no settlement. Settlement would induce and promote traffic along the railway lines. They would not require to spend so much money on roads and bridges a3 was necessitatad by the opening up of remote lands, and altogether settlement in these areas would be more productive than by going into back blocks. Any Government would have been compelled to face the problem of providing lands out of large private estates te meet the demand for freehold. There was bound to be a row when that question was touched on, but nearly all great problems had now reached such an acute stage that any Government which faced them was bound to have a row. Taking that view, the Government thought it advisable to face the whole lot at once, and Make one big row do for the lot. Mr Stevens declared himself a freeholder, with limitation of area. Replying to a deputation which asked for a vote of £SOOO in the way of a bonus for the first 500 tons of phormium tenax of good fair average quality grown under cultivation, £he Minister said the Government was not in a position to grant bonuses for flax growing. The Government knew nothing as to the best varieties, etc. The only researeh made in ilax had been done at Canterbury College. If they had asked him to spend £SOOO in learning what was to be learned, he was with them up to the hilt. The Government were arranging for a research in the ilax industry, by which it was hoped to introduce a better method for bhe treatment of fibre, and also to utilise by-products.