BIG DEMAND FOR LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15262, 28 March 1913, Page 5

BIG DEMAND FOR LAND.

A RUSH FOR SECTIONS. DISAPPOINTED APPLICANTS. BALLOT TO BE HELD TO-DAY. The Land Board, which met yesterday for the purpose of examining applicants for the 23 sections on the Hauraki Plains, prior to the big ballot for Auckland lands, which takes place to-day, had a somewhat difficult and by no means enviable task. The present land hunger may be guagod from the fact that for the 112 sections, representing about 47,000 acres, which are to be balloted for to-day, no less than 4257 applications were received from 1092 applicants.

The business of the Land Board yesterday was to examine the applicants for the Hauraki Plains lands, and for theee 23 sections there were no less than 700 applications. So great was the demand that the meeting had to adjourn to the Sailor's Mission Hall, and the board, consisting of Messrs. H. M. Skeet (commissioner), W. Johns, and C. Trounson, had a busy day inquiring into the bona fides of the applicants

The Mission Hall was well filled with eager land-seekers when business commenced. The applications included some from entire families who, having previous experience, discovered the wisdom of making as many applications as possible, so that their chance of > rejection might be thus considerably diminished. Mr. Skeet briefly explained that the coming ballot was the first big one to be governed by the clause giving preference to landless men with families dependent on them, or those who, within the past two years, had been twice unsuccessful at previous ballots. Mr. Skeet explained that under the Land Act such applicants had to be given preference, and those who were now unsuccessful would, if they conformed with' the provisions of this clause, be given preference next time.* A long list, numbering close upon 250 names of those who had thus been rejected, waa then read, and the disappointed applicants dejectedly left the room, not, however, without ventilating some grievances. "A single man has/ -therefore, no chance," said one man, to which the commissioner replied that after failing twice they would get their chance, with preference to the man with a family. ■ As they left the room, friends could be heard remarking on what they considered the injustice of this provision, and such expressions could be heard as "Come on lad, we will have to get married before we get a chance," and another rejected applicant voiced the opinion that New Zealand-born men should bo given preference over foreigners and immigrants. The disappointed applicants were almost all. stalwart, hard-working looking young fellows, and their disappointment was evidently very keen. A largo number of applications, which had arrived too late, ■were also read. > The applications which still remained were then considered by the board until a comparatively late hour, and these will have their chance to-day, when ballots, commencing at 10 a.m., will be taken for the whole of the lands opened up in the Auckland Province. ;i The preference clause was referred to by the prime Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey), in the course of a speech at Timaru last Wednesday. Mr. Massey said that Parliament had endeavoured to > comply with requests made, and to give preference to married, men with children, and to disappointed applicants. The success of the preferred clause depended largely upon administration. It was somewhat complicated, and he believed it would have to be straightened out, and also that it would have <to be amended. But in some parts of New Zealand, according to his information* it was working very well indeed. Two or ' three ballots had been held in Hawke's Bay, and-before going to Timaru he had asked the Commissioner for Lands how the clause was working. In reply, he had assured him that it was working very well, and that there were no hardship®, and that single men were not barred in the sense in which they were supposed to be barred in other parts of New Zealand. They had interpreted the clause in this way: " If young fellows and married folk applied for the same block of land, then married folk received the preference, but at the same time the single young fellows were considered as being disappointed applicants for the next ballot, and where they had two ballots in the Bamo day, they reoeived preference at the eecond. 4 Thus the young fellows and the married folk' both received preference, and all were thoroughly satisfied, and the whole thing worked very well indeed. He (Mr. Massey) thought this interpretation might be the correct one. He mentioned this because there was a feeling that the young fellows were .barred. His intention was the opposite. 4 He wanted both married and single folk to get land; in fact, he wanted to put sufficient land on the market to satisfy all applicants.