LAND SETTLEMENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 August 1924, Page 7

LAND SETTLEMENT.

IN NEW ZEALAND. A FAVOURABLE outlook. (B> Alaior-General A. G. Wauchope, in the Times, j No one who ha s travelled, in New mal.iiKl denies either the charm of the counti y. the richness of its soil, or the uann welcome that its peoole "ire to , But • there are.some rho nave never been there who argue that New Zealand is but a small island, hat the best oi the land has already jeen bought or leased, and consequently that there is no room for further development. Ceitainly, if there be no scope for turtlier development in farming then there is no room for moire settlers, for, as in Australia, there is little demand ror workers in the towns, it- needs, however. but little ,-knowledge or a slim t v lsit to the Dominion to confute a pun>ption that progress in the chief branches of farming has come to an end. The development of farm products during the past ten years lias been extraordinary. Roughly, speaking, the \ <UUe. or exports in 1923 was twice the value of exports in 1913. In. that year tnere were 600,000 dairy cattle in New Zealand, to-day there are over a million and a quarter. Ten years ago the expoit oi butter and cheese weighed 00,000 tons; in. 1923 the weight was oveir 110,000 tons. Two years ago the value of the wool export was ten million pounds, a rise ot over two millions in one year, and that, rise still .continues. Last year * supplied England with one-half of the total imports of frozen mutton and Jamb. These figures rev|'a , something of the flourishing state ot the three main farming industries—dairy • products, frozen mutton, and wool.

Li forming a judgment as to the pi ospeet-s ol future settlers. 1 was much influenced by the confidence show n by recent settlers on the land, and also by the opinions expressed by many local bank managers. ' No body of men have more 'sure knowledge of the economic state of rural districts than bankers in the Dominions. It is their business. They know to what extent larmers are in debt and the value oi their securities. And these men have full confidence in the development oi the thiee chief farming industries. „ is true that there- is now little twoWll land available for settlers, but there is still much land which has not been fully developed, and, as in all. new countries, a number of large propel ties are each year subdivided and made available lor closer settlement.-New-Zealand cannot accent the number of migrants that Canada or Australia aosorbs, but she is ready to accept, some I(),(jou a year-, and, judging on the evidence &iven me by a hundred recent settlers whom 1 saw last autumn, I believe the outlook for future immigiants wild are ready to work on the laud to be most favourable. Settlers ol the next lew years will, in laet. have advantages over those who migrated shortly after the war. In the first place, certain factors which caused extreme fluctuations in the prices of farm produce during the years immediately alter the war no longer operate, and greater stability in prices is an immense gain to the settler. 1< urther, land, slock and building material have generally fallen in value during the last few years, consequently a settler to-day with the same amount of capital can make a start on a betterequipped fan* than could the settler a lew years ago. Lastly, Now - Zealand has now' recovered from a period of depression, and the value of farm products has risen in relation to the cost of production. ft was certainly the opinion of nearly all farmers whom ,1 met that, though many had failed since the war, and many others were hard hit. the prospects of all—except those of some fruitgrowers—were growing more and more hopeful. Shortage ol houses is at nresent a difficult problem in nearly "all countries. ilie housing question is being tackled bv the Government in NewZealand, but it has not yet been solved. The large numbers of men, however, both in Australia and New Zealand who own their own houses is remarkable, and proves a most happy plan both to the owners and to tne State, i found also that the Immigration Department has been successful in giving assisted passages only to those whom the officials could house either as farmers or farm labourers. Outside the nominated system, farm labourers. domestic servants, and, under the recent agreement, public scpool boys are given special assistance to settle in New Zealand.

Except sometimes during the winter months.. the demand for farm workers is good, and a larm hand receives not less than 25s a week from the time: of his arrival, besides free board and lodging. i found the system whefeby the farm labourer was guaranteed work lor 12 months after landing was working satisfactorily both to the migrant and the farmer.

Seven hundred domestic servants were given tree passages last year to New Zealand, and the demand, so far as 1 could gather in New Zealand, still great)v exceeds the supply. New Zealand has been called the Britain of the Pacific, the Britain. with more sun. It is, however, a poor compliment to say that one country is like another. New Zealand Inis a beauty and character of it s own. In the variety of its scenery lies, petit ps. its greatest charm. The snowcovered mountains of the west, the country of forest and hush yielding every year to the attacks of pioneers and new settlers, the volcanic districts of the north, jind the well-watered valleys green with pastures of unequal richness, are praised by every traveller, as they are loved by all her people. The dairy lands in many parts are so fertile that grasses, natural and imported. grow ad the year round. The climate is so favourable that Jersey cows need hut little shelter in winter c’r summer. An English farmer can appreciate the saving this effects, both in feed and buildings for dairy cattle. ft is true that the price of good land near the railway is high, but the value of land depends upon what it p'roduces and on the cost of production. The high price of land is an evil more apparent than real. The real evil is the sale of land at more than its true economic value, whether that nriee be high, or low. I believe it to be generally true in New Zealand, as it is generally true in Scotland, that farmers make the best profits on rich land, and the smallest profits on poor soil, even if' leased at a low rent.