LAND SETTLEMENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 27 March 1926, Page 6

LAND SETTLEMENT.

\ (To the Editor). Sir, —i notice that the Hon. \Y. Pemher Beeves advocates cutting up some of tlie big~ farms. From, my viewpoint he is quite right—that is, u the rigiut class of land is dealt with. But it is worse than useless to cut up sheep country into small farms, as has been done in the past. As far as I can find out, where it has been done, there is no instance where the total production of the estate, dealt with has even resulted in keeping up’ the.old returns. On the other hand, wherever good and fairly goon land has been dealt with, 1 do not know of any failures, at least in Taranaki. I wel] remember the. advice I received the hist day I cam e on the Flams, and it holds good to-day,: ‘lt is hard to. lmy good land dear, but harder still to buy bad land cheap.” I thought I could farm a bit, but after our farm was cut up in seven or eight farms it must have quite the production. But, of course, it so happened that it all got into real farmers’ handsana the same applies to the Livingston, McLean and Sutherland estates. Though the land was thought dear at the time, there has not been a failure, and subdivision resulted in a large number of good homes where only two or three, existed before. But one thing is very certain: Production is not increasing—rather the reverse —and heavy payments have to lie met* There are hundreds of people landing here, and at present there does not seem a great deal of opening for them, as there is very little new country opening up and. farmers are more inclined to contract than expand. I know of two large farms where one gave notice to three men and another to two, owing to the drop in wool and lambs and the high rate of interest. They have not the money to spend, and it is no. use us spending money—a lot of money—on railways, harbours, etc., if w 7 e have nothing to carry. It may be said the Government lias no money to spend, to open up estates, but in very many instances it could be met by the issue of Government debentures, or Treasury notes, or bonds to tlie vendors of land, provided that the purchase money u of such land represents its real va.lue on a producing basis. The .splitting, up of the good lands into smaller holdings will result in more production, and will add no burden to the Consolidated Fund, as the. occupiers of the land so purchased therpselves bear the interest on the capital value of tlie bind, bearing in mind the fact that the land is purchased on its productive value. To place people on the land at a. price equal to its producing value wiU. I am certain, prevent the large influx of people to the towns —a much-desired result, especially in a. producing country like New Zealand, as it has also to be kept in mind that an extra, family producing means nearly another family in the towns to handle the supplies.' That is what it works out at in the total, as they each: have to have food, clothing, etc., I am, etc., OLD FAPMFP. Manaia.