VILLAGE SETTLEMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9116, 26 July 1888, Page 5

VILLAGE SETTLEMENT

DISCUSSION IN THE HdUSE* DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT. [BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Wednesday. The whole afternoon was devoted to a discussion on the Village Homestead Settlement Scheme, arising out of Mr. Peacock's question as to whether the Minister of Lands was satisfied with the working of the scheme and hopeful as to its ultimate success, also whether the Minister intends to take any special steps with a view to facilitate further settlement on the land, either oil similar lines or any modification of them'!, ;; ; .tf;'

Mr. Peacock, in asking the question, said his object was to elicit the facts concerning these settlements, so that the public would be in a position to come to a right judgment on the question. The Minister of Lands, in reply, quoted the statistics I have already telegraphed, and also quoted largely, from the Commissioner of Lands' report in support of his his views. The report of Mr. Kavanagh, the village steward, was correct as far as it went, but it only , dealt with r? one feature of the settlement scheme. For instance, ■he said the advances only amounted to £6000, while the advances paid at Herekino were £1082, and the cost £52-57, or nearly the whole amount named by Mr. Kavanagh. At Omaha the advances paid amounted to £720, and the cost was £2524. The total advances were £11,673 and the works in aid £10,148, or a total of £21,821. Sixtyone selectors had abandoned their holdings, 233 had forfeited their selections. 1096 acres had been forfeited or abandoned, and 2328 acres transferred. The settlers to whom the transfers had been , made had proved much superior to the original selectors. Of the 19 settlements in Auckland, 6 were self-supporting, 5 hardly so, while 8 required works in aid. Some of the settlements of this character ' in Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, and in the North, had proved fairly successful. He had endeavoured to fulfil loyally,- the engagements of his predecessor, and refused to yield to the pressure brought to bear upon him to alter the tenure of the land; but he had no intention of taking any special steps with a view to facilitate further settlement on the land on similar, lines. His idea was to settle the land in the ordinary way, and to use every endeavour to bring it into the market in suitably - sized holdings, so as to get the land settled ,by people who would not look for Government aid, but would cultivate the land without assistance. The Government claimed to have settled over 600 persons on the land in this way during the past year. Still, he was free to confess that the village settlement scheme had done good in some districts in the colony. Sir G. Grey said -he had always been in favour of the village settlement scheme. He then propounded his plan for constructing the Otago Central, the outline of v hie l I telegraphed the other day, and ; aid; he would also apply the same principle to the construction of the North Auckland J. runk Railway extension, so as to prevent the outflow of people to Australia. Mr. Blake said it was a matter of no consequence as to what had been expended on these settlements; but the question was whether they were now self-supporting. Mr. Moss said the scheme was most beneficial. Of course there would be failures; but they were the exception., Mr. Peacock said he was scarcely satisfied with the answer of the Minister. He wanted to know whether he was satisfied with their present state and future, but that could only ■; be : gathered inferentially. It was important to them that the land was being settled in small holdings, and he would have been glad to hear the Minister speak more fully on that subject. Mr. Turnbcll thought the settlement scheme had done great good by clearing the unemployed out of the towns. Mr. T. Thompson spoke to the same effect, and said it. had that effect in Auckland. He was sorry to hear that the further working of the scheme had been discontinued.

Major Steward said, whether the village settlement had been successful or not in Auckland, even the Minister himself had declared those in Canterbury " a pronounced success." He regretted the Minister of Lands, with his statesmanlike capacity and large intellect, had not accepted the work left him by his predecessor, to settle the people on the land, where they would have & chance to live.

Mr. Cowan objected to the settlements being spoon-fed. When : the scheme .was first started they began with £5000, and ended with a liability of £60,000. The Government had done much to settle the land, and for that deserved their thanks. If these village settlements were to.be kept going the Government must spend' money, and the House must find it. Where the money was to come from he did not know. Mr. Goldie warmly eulogised the scheme. Many of the people now on the land he had known in connection with the Auckland Charitable Aid Board. Better spend £60,000 in putting people on _ the land than spend £60,000 in charitable aid, as they were likely to do. The money was spent on improvements on the land, and the colony had full security for its money. Mr. Smith thanked the Minister of Lands for resisting the pressure brought to bear on him to break down the perpetual lease system. Mr. O'Callaghan believed the village settlement scheme was the best method of settling the land, and if £300,000 was spent on the scheme the colony would have a good investment. Mr. Fish said he had visited some of the special village settlements in the Forty-mile Bush, and there was every appearance of comfort and content. Mr. O'Conor regretted the Government had not gone on with the scheme. Mr. Tanner thought that thanks were due to Mr. Ballauce for what he had-done; but when men talked of £300,000 lie wanted to know where the money was to come from ? The village settlement scheme gave people an average of 25 acres a settler ; while the present Government had settled 600 people, their average area being 110 acres. The former area was too small, and the children would have to go ; while the latter enabled a settler to keep his children round him. Sydney Taiwhanga complained that some of the blocks on which these settlers were placed belonged to the natives, and had notbeen paid for. He would have to take the matter into the Supreme Court yet, though he did not wish to eject the poor settlers. There were no less than 600,000 acres of land not yet paid for. Dr. Hodgkinson said the Minister of Lands had been unjustly blamed. The village settlers' scheme was purely artificial, and a hothouse system of settlement. It could never succeed unless the settlers were near minerals, fisheries, or in a neighbourhood where they could largely earn their li velihood apart from the land. He was not opposed to a village settlement scheme, but wanted them started and continued on a sound and practical basis of self-support apart from Government aid. Mr. Duncan was in favour of the scheme, but did not blame the Minister for holding his hand when he remembered that last session nearly every man denounced the perpetual lease system as simply perpetuating perpetual poverty. It was denounced on every platform and every hustings. Now it was proving a success they approved of it. He hoped the Minister of Lands would go oil with it. . . Mr. Hobbs spoke in support of the village settlements. Few members in the House were better acquainted with the northern special settlements than he was. _ The Government and the Minister had fulfilled their engagements, and he had letters and telegrams from settlers admitting this, and that the Government had loyally fulfilled the engagements of their predecessors. In some of the settlements established under unfavourable conditions, the settlers had some difficulty in getting work, and he had seen the Government about work. As to the tenure of the land, only this week he had a letter from a settler, asking to get their tenurechanged to freehold, but the Minister of Lands refused, and said he would be loyal to the scheme propounded by Mr. Ballance. He was glad to see the House in a sympathetic mood. When the time came to vote some aid to those settlers he hoped members would prove their sympathy by their vote, and thus aid these people to make homes. The special settlers were acting nobly, and only wanted a little aid to help them on. He then referred to the Waimamaku settlement at Hokianga, which, though only established by a private association of settlers, was going on successfully. Mr. Balianck was glad to hear the testimony of members in favour of the settlements. These settlers were fulfilling their obligations, and he hoped never to hear the word pauper used regarding them. He thanked the Minister of Lands for his manliness, and the consideration he had shown. The Minister admitted the success of the settlements in the South, and he believed if he went North, and saw for himself the state of affairs, he would think differently of what was going on there. It was quite true the Minister of Lands had resisted pressure, and had been loyal to the system. If the Minister sent the Under Secretary of Lands to the Assistant Surveyor-General, or other reliable officer, to visit and report upon these Northern settlements, he would get the necessary information respecting them. He did not blame the Government for carrying out their own policy, but he hoped on their own lines, or oy some scheme of their own,

they would go on with the village settlement system. He demurred to £10,000 , being charged against the settlements for roads, etc., as these roads opened up the country, and they were not charged against other forms of- settlement. The Minister of Lands explained that some of the Northern settlements had been a marked success, and confessed that they would not have been so but for the village settlement scheme. Some of the settlements, however, looked for work for two or three years, especially those remotely situated, and a good deal had been provided. He did not take the' gloomy view of the village settlements taken by Dr. Hodgkinson, still so long as the land was being rapidly taken up in the natural way by being brought into the market, he did not see the necessity of going on with the scheme. He had lately received letters from people on the Auckland gumfields. saying that thev could not get suitable land for settling on. It was his intention to remove such complaints, and give every facility for getting the land settled. Mr. Reeves spoke in favour of the village settlements. Sir G. Grey denounced the perpetual lease system. He said it was unjust and unfair, tnd the Minister of Lands should pay no ittention to the requests to be loyal to the system. They were fixed to the land, and lad no escape. The language used in the •egulations was pretty well that used by slave-owners, namely, of fixing them on the •' it ' .1 j. - 1 ' '

soil. He urged that every facility should be given to the settlers to get the freehold of the land.

Mr. R. Thompson, at the close of the debate, moved for a return showing the amount expended on the Northern village settlements.

Mr. Thomas Thompson also gave notice tnat he would move the following new clause in the Land Act Amendment Bill:— Within six months after the passing of this Act the Minister shall cause a report and plans to be prepared by the Surveyor-General, showing what lands within the colony are best adapted for laying off as village settlements, under the regulations published in Gazette No. 45, of the year 1886, pages 1053 and 1054, or any - amendments heretofore or hereafter to be made, and the Minister in each year shall cause all necessary steps to be taken to set aside such of the aforesaid lands for the purpose of such settlements, and in each year he snail cause to be . set aside not less than 10,000 acres on the whole." -