MINISTER ON TOUR

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 10 March 1934, Page 5

MINISTER ON TOUR

| VISIT OF !HON E. A. RANSOM. PATH A & EtGMONT ELECTORATES SEVERAL DEPUTATIONS ’The Minister of Lands, the Hon. E. At. Ransom, yesterday concluded lii.s tour of Taranaki with visits to centres in the Egmont and Patea electorates, being accompanied by Messrs O. A. Wilkinson and H. G. Dickie, M.P.’s., in the respective districts. Leaving Eltham in the morning, the Minister visited Kaponga, Opunake •and Manaia and arrived at Hawera for luncheon. In the afternoon he went to Patea, returning to Hawera to spend the night and to receive deputations. The Minister returned to Wellington by the mail train this morning. VISIT TO KAPONGA At Kaponga the Minister was welcomed by members of the town board the chairman (Mr. A. R.. Betts) expressing pleasure at the visit of the Minister. Mr. R. A. Law said they had in complaints, and, having a good representative in Parliament, they were able to obtain all that was possible. It was desired to have a revaluation o. the town and to obtain some financial assistance for the park. It might be possible to obtain this from the proceeds of an art union. He believed that football could be classed as a work of national importance, as games helped much in keeping up the morale of the people in times of depression. Mr. W Ivtarr urged the claims of a national medical scheme and asked for support in the event of a measure being introduced. Regarding the domain, the Minister said he was in sympathy with those who believed that sport was as essential as work. He remembered when he played football against Taranaki, and very good men they were, too While he was in sympathy with any { national object tip tug a idled by art j unions he could not call sports as of 1 that character. He appreciated th. idea of the national medical scheme very much, and if anything could b done in that way from art unions il j might be a good thing. i

WORK OF DEPARTMENT. The Minister said that the work o the department consisted in lookim after 35,000 Crown tenants,’which wa nearly half the number of farmers in the Dominion. This was a big task and he was very proud of the work of the lands boards and field inspector;throughout New Zealand, who undoubtedly possessed the confidence of the country. He considered they should not only manage the eommercia side, but also" be in a position of advisers, and lie would like to sea l the young men coming on as inspectors take a course of scientific farming at Massey College. They would then be trained to advise those the,- met. “If, as Mr. Wilkinson says, you have the best land and the best people in Taranaki, that is where I am least needed, as you are able to look aftei yourselves,’’ added the Minister.

RATES AT OPEN ARE. At Opunake the Minister was we! coined by Air A. J. Brennan and Mr J. S. Tosland on behalf of the Opunake Town Board and Egmont County Council. _ ... i Mr. Tcslaml mentioned the difficulty of collecting native rates and said that the charging system was collapsing. The Egmont county had a large amount of native rates and unless the land was farmed by Europeans collection was often hopeless. In regain to Crown tenants’ rates it was felt that soldier settlers should pay their rates as well as anyone else, and that rates should be the first charge. Air. Tosland also asked lor assistance in forming 50 chains of road u> give access to 'Brame’s Falls, one of the scenic attractions on Mount Egmont. The Alinister said he was alive to the importance of maintaining the back country roads and felt that a greater measure of assistance should be given to county councils on buck roads. He realised the burden that was falling on those who were paying rates on special loans. The Government accepted responsibility for special rates, but not for general rates. He pointed out that the Government already contributed a large amount m subsidies, but lie hoped in time to see portion of the petrol diverted to make a fund available for roads m outlying districts. He would bring the question of the road to Brume’s Falls before the Ministers of Public Works and Employment. There was a fair amount of Crown land in Opunake town and many who leased the sections failed to pay their i rates, said Mr. Brennan. Some had | no intention of doing so and tendered !on that basis. He thought the department should take into considerajtion the standing of the applicants m lea ing. There was little hope ot j-e-Icovery in many instances as the tenj ants had no assets.

Air. C. O. Edmonds said that the Athenaeum proposed to luind over its books and assets, including a halfacre section, to the town board, but there was no title to the land and it was intended to make application to have a title granted to the town board. Flie Minister's assistance in this would be appreciated. The Minister promised to give the

matter attention. Regarding the point raised by Mr. Brennan be said there was an impression that the department did not encourage Crown tenants fo pay their rates, but that was not so.

REPRESENTATIONS AT MANAIA

The Minister was met at Manaia by members of the Manaia Town Board and Waimate West County Council. Mr L. C. Harrison, chairman of the Town Board, said that they had no requests to make at present. Air E. Long, chairman of the County Council, referred to the efforts to have a revaluation and understood that there was now power to make a 25 per cent, reduction. Mr J. S. McKay said the county was getting its rates from the Crown tenants and was more fortunate in this respect than others. Mr H. Mead stated, that the Town Board was unfortunately in a, different position and had difficulty in getting rates from the Crown tenants on the railway reserve. He urged that the town .should have some relief from the maintenance of roads for the benefit of those who paid no rates. If this land was not to be used for railway purposes he asked if it would he a load on the town for all time. Mr Ransom said he had been endeavouring to bring into use the waste lands of the Dominion and this had not led him much into Taranaki. He was gratified to find that there were no complaints in the district. An improvement was very marked in his department, which was a good barometer, the receipts for this year showing 20 per cent, increase. TViere was greater confidence to-day than a few months ago, and the improvement in Britain was being reflected here. The department’s revenue for January was £IOO,000 better than that of the previous January and he believed that bv March. 31 the improvement- Mould he more than 20 per cent. He felt that there was a danger of settlers losing hope and confidence and it was his aim to infuse in them the spirit of confidence. He realised that it was an important responsibility upon him to travel round and keep in touch with Crown tenants and inspire them with confidence. The department endeavoured to remove any grievance and assure the set-tiers that it was their friend and not a land speculator who wanted to make, money out of them.

IMPORTANT LEGISLATION Important legislation was passed last year regarding the Valuation of Land. Act, said the' Minister. It was impossible. He said, to give all the revaluations asked for and it was also found that so many were taking advantage of independent revaluations that the ? ifoct was l very disturbing. Alany were thus able to escape their proportion of taxation, "but this had been ended by an amendment of the Act so that if anyone was not satisfied with a. valuation anyone else as well as the Government could buy it at the valuation. The question of rates on Crown lands was regarded seriously. While ihov had no' desire to deprive local bodies of a. proportion of their rates the acceptance of full 'responsibility would place the department in a, serious position. • . , He was prepared to Took into the matter of the railway reserve and disoip's the question of the Town Board, baking it over if direct representation were made to the land board. Ah- Lone expressed the opinion that someone with local knowledge should advise valuers as there were often o-roat discrepancies. If there was not a true valuation to commence reducing 25 per cent, would not help very ni *The Alinister agreed with the idea of local men collaborating with valuers and admitted that there had been too manv discrepancies in valuations, tie pointed out a difficulty that local men might be swayed by having interests in certain lands.

HAWERA AND PATEA. At Hawera the Minister was met by Mr H. G. Dickie, ALP., and Air J. E. Campbell, Alavor of Hawera, both, expressing pleasure at the Minister s visit and assuring him o,f a . warm welcome to the district at all times. 1 At Hawera the Alinister received several deputations in the evening, a number being of a private nature. •On behalf of the Hawera County Council the chairman (Mr J. B. Murdoch) and clerk (Air J. AV. Harding) waited on the Alinister in connection with rates on Crown lands and also regarding a proposed road through, xta-t-ive In.ncl on the Sheet Road, to which the county objected. The Alinister was welcomed at Patea. by the Alavor (Air F. Raansbottom) and Mr A.' T. Christensen, chairman of the Patea Harbour Board. Representation's were made to the Alinister regarding rates on Crown lands, and also in connection with, the Unemployment Board’s decision not to allow the allocation of relief work.ors to school committees for maintenance work. A request was also made to _Mr Ransom to press for a provision whereby local bodies could remit the 10 per cent penalty on rates where desirable. The position of wharf labourers who were debarred for periods from relief work because of previous earnings was also discussed.

The Minister stated that with the exception of the rates on Crown lands the matters were outside his department, but lie would place them before the Alinisters concerned.

Mr Ransom subsequently paid a visit to the Patea freezing works to observe the chain system of killing.