King Country Chronicle. Thursday, November 24, 1932. LAND SETTLEMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3449, 24 November 1932, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Thursday, November 24, 1932. LAND SETTLEMENT.

Mr. Coates, as Minister of Public Works, has stated that as a result of the conference on land settlement a plan in this connection will be submitted to Cabinet this week. Mr. Coates stated that it is difficult to devise a land settlement scheme without any money, a fact that will be realised by all those who take any interest in the solution of our many problems of to-day. At the same time it must be realised that while fresh borrowing for placing more men on the land would not be a wise policy, and in fact almost impossible, there is a new avenue available for this purpose in the Unemployment Fund. This tax is for the specific purpose of finding' work for the workless, and it could not be applied to a better purpose than placing some of least of the unemployed on the land. Mr. Coates stated that there had been applications from 8000 men to be given a chance in the proposed land settlement scheme, and went on to say that it did not follow that all applicants were suitable for farming. It is safe to state, however, that there would be at least 20 per cent, of the unemployed who would make good as farmers. If 5000 new farmers were to be established in the Dominion, they would provide work for at least another 5000 in other occupations. In any case, the establishment of new farms would provide valuable assets to the Dominion. This would be better business than spending the unemployment funds in work that will give no permanent benefits. Mr. Coates said that one of the proposals was to acquire land from farmers who had more than they could profitably farm. It is well known that there are hundreds of farmers in this position. By farming under the more scientific methods in vogue to-day and consistent topdressing, it has been proved that a man can do better on small holdings than adhering to the old rule of thumb principles on large areas. Successful farming of the future will be on the lines of more intense cultivation, and this will mean that largo areas of semi-developed land can be made available for settlement. There /

are difficulties in many of these cases, however, where the land is carrying a mortgage. The mortgagee may not want to discard a portion of his security, and again the mortgagor may find it too heavy a burden to have the whole liability thrown on his smaller holding. In such cases it will be necessary to compromise. If the mortgagee is willing to make some sacrifice, he will at least know that his security, though smaller, will become at least a more tangible asset under intense farming. If the mortgagor has to bear a heavier burden per acre, his increased returns from the smaller area will help him, and he will obtain some relief from local rating. It is acknowledged that while a farmer is holding too much land the position of the mortgagee is most difficult, but these are times which call for domestic as well as national adjustments. With over 70,000 unemployed this Dominion has the biggest problem it has yet been called upon to face. Even with the depreciated prices for our exports the land offers the only avenue for these men. It has been clearly demonstrated that for the next five years at least there must be a drastic curtailment in public works. To look for any development in our secondary industries would be futile. Therefore, the land offers the only solution of the problem, even though, under present-day conditions, it is not a happy solution. Land settlement of the future must be on very much different lines to those of the past. In the first place, farms must be on small areas and intensely cultivated; they should be situated where good transport is available and not in the backblocks, and costs in regard to repayments and interest charges must be on a lower level. Under these conditions a man can at least provide himself with the necessities of life with the prospect, when the world outlook improves, of making a decent living for himself and family. It will be quite impossible to place the whole or even half the unemployed on the land, but if a certain percentage can be dealt with in this way, they will automatically provide work for others.