SETTLING THE NORTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11711, 22 July 1901, Page 6

SETTLING THE NORTH.

DISSCUSSION IN PARLIAMENT '*. SPEECHES BY AUCKLAND MEMBERS a [BY TELEGBAPH.SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] i . ' Wellington, Saturday. ' It was only natural that when the proposals fc to amend the Land for Settlement Act came ; down on Friday the House should traverse . the whole system, and each member aired - the grievance of his particular district. I Whatever may be said of the South there " is no doubt tbat the Northern representa- , tires had good grounds for drawing attenl tion to the treatment of their districts. ' Mr. Witheford considered the North Island was entitled to much more considera- > tion than it had received in the past, and • urged that the land should be opened up " in a business-like manner. The South Island had got far too large a proportion of • the money expended under the Act. The ' North Island was rich in large tracts of fer- ' tile : land, and ' there was just as great a land hunger there as there was in the South, ' and its claims should receive greater attention than hitherto. ' Mr. Lang looked upon it as a disgrace 1 that so much first-class land should lie idle in the King Country, and Mas convinced ' that if it had been in the South Island it : would have been opened up long ago. He ; deprecated taking lands compulsorily from • people who did, not want to Sell when it could be otherwise purchased, and he '■ quoted a case in his own district where a block of land suitable for settlement had ; been offered to the Government and refused. He looked on the ballot system as gambling. It had been said a poor man;could not get ' land under any other system, but ha did \ not get it even under that svstem, as for the ! most part it was taken up by big specula--1 tors, and if the poor man wanted it he almost invariably had 'to pay "a premium. He hoped that before long there would be an amendment of the Act to enable a man to acquire the freehold. Mr. interjected that the big fish would simply swallow the little fish. Mr. Lang replied that the remedy for that was to limit the area one man could hold. As a proof that people preferred the freehold Mr. Lang drew attention to the fact that in the.Auckland district more people took up land under, the lease:with. a right of purchase than under the lease in perpetuity. Mr.* Massey expressed more than surprise that the Bill was introduced, not by the Minister for Lands, but by the Premier. That was a reflection on the Minister, and if he were the Minister he would say that he must manage his own department, or else leave the Ministerial benches. He was not casting any reflection on the Minister, who knew more about lands than all the members of the Ministry put together. A great deal had been said about the ballot system, and anyone who was acquainted with it must admit that there were many evils connected with it. Many people went in, for land without any intention of settling on it, as jthey knew that they would be able to secure a substantial bonus upon it. There should be some change, and he would suggest that all applicants should be compelled to give some, guarantee of their intention to settle on the land if they were successful. In his opinion clause 6, which prevented a man doing anything with his lands after the Government had opened negotiations with him, seemed to him to be actually dishonest. He would admit that the Lands for Settlement Act had been a success, but it must be remembered that some of the estates were the reverse. Such for instance, was Pomahaka, which cost nearly £23,000, and last year the rent received was £192, less than one per cent., yet "they, were paying four per cent, on the debentures. With regard to i the compulsory clauses, he was strongly of opinion that no land should be taken compulsorily, unless it was shown to be actually impossible to acquire that land in another way, or at all events no estate should be acquired compulsorily without the consent of Parliament. That would be a check on the Government, and prevent hardship to landowners. He thought the Government should infuse a little more enthusiasm into the opening up of land in the Auckland district. The number of acres that had been opened up in the King Country during the last 12 months— The Premier: 20,000 acres. • Mr. Massey: "What : are 20,000 acres compared to the lands that are lying idle and unoccupied." The people in the Auckland district'were suffering from land 'monoply. There were three large monopolists of lands in the Auckland district—-the Crown, the natives, and the Assets Board, of which the Premier was chairman; Between them they represented thousands of acres. The Government ought to be more energetic.