SUBDIVIDING THE LAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15235, 24 February 1913, Page 8

SUBDIVIDING THE LAND

LIMITATION EFFECTIVE. AREAS OPEN NEXT MONTH GRAND TOTAL, 161, ACRES.

[lir ELF GRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Wellington, Sunday. Statements thai; the aggregation of land is proceeding apace in the Taihape and Mangaweka districts have been published recently. When the matter was mentioned to tho Prime Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey) he pointed out that the allegations were general in character. In any part of the Dominion, however, the limitation provisions of the Land Act and of the amending measure of last session would apply both in the case of owners of Crown land and in that of owners of private land who sought to become owners of . Crown land.

The limitation clauses, Mr. Maawy added, might not prevent aggregation altogether, but they were designed to prevent it as far as possible. If a man cannot live on his section, continued the Prime Minister, he must get a sufficient area to enable him to make a living, and that is what is going on repeatedly, but while it is almost impossible to stop occasional aggregation, it is a fact that for every instance of aggregation there are 20 instances of subdivision.

Interesting light is thrown on the position regarding subdivision of land by a return which lias been furnished to the Lands Department by Mr. W. S. Hardy (supervising salesman). Mr. Hardy, an officer of the headquarters staff of the Lands Department, has been detailed by the present Minister for Lands (the Hon. W. F. M-assey) to supervise all arrangements for placing land on the market, to report regularly to the Minister for I Hinds, and generally to carry out his instructions regarding the opening of land for settlement. The return deals with the lands available for settlement during. March. Following are its details:— Auckland district: Optional. 102 sections, 25.232 acres; renewable lease, 21 sections, 12,638 acres; auction, 'cash, 57 sections, 26 acres; small grazing inns, 4 sections, 10,562 acres; Ilauraki pastoral license, 1 section, 710 acres; education reserves, 10 sections, 2569 acres; total for Auckland district, 49,737 acres.

Hawke's Bay district : Renewable lease land for settlements, 21 sections, 16,163 acres; auction, 2 sections, 201 acres; total, 16.364 acres.

Taranaki district: Auction, 8 sections, 64 acres.

Wellington district Optional, 19 sections, 9010 acres; renewable lease, 7 sections, 443 acres ; total, 9453 acres. Total for North Island : 75,618 acres. Marlborough district: Optional, 11 sections, 9998 acres.

Westland district: Renewable lease. 6 sections, 1515 acres; auction, 39 sections, 19 acres total, 1534 acres, a Canterbury district : Renewable lease land for settlements, 22 sections, 61,387 acres.

Ctago district: Optional, 1 section, 226 acres; renewable lease, 18 sections 1284 acres; renewable lease, land for settlements. 1 section, 436 acres; auction, 30 sections, 39 acres; total, 1985 acres.

Southland district : Optional, 8 sections, 5553 acres; renewable lease, 11 sections, 1990 acres; renewable laase land for settlements, 10 sections, 3369 acres total, 10,912 acres.

Total for South Island : 85,816 acres. Grand total for the Dominion : 161,434 acres.

Many of the sections to bo auctioned are small town sections. In some other cases the goodwill of the leases and not the fee simple will be sold by auction.

Tho above particulars relate only to lands which will definitely be opened for settlement during March. Other large areas are in preparation. In Taranaki, for instance, the board expects to open for settlement shortly areas aggregating 50,000 acres.