OPENING THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17113, 19 March 1919, Page 9

OPENING THE LAND.

WANTS OF ROTORUA.

CHANCE FOR SOLDIERS. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. [BT TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] EOTORUA. Tuesday. Land settlement was the mission of a deputation representing the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce and Farmers' Union, which waited upon the Hon. J. H. Guthrie, Minister for Lands, on Monday morning, and requested that he would do his utmost to accelerate settlement in the country round Rotorua, in particular by removing the proclamations from native lands and oponing them for settlers. They also suggested that soldiers' settlements should be established, | tho men being paid for the work of im- j proving the land and having the first | right to the sections on which they j worked. They were of opinion that the sections for settlement should not exceed 150 to 200 acres, as few settlers had sufficient capital to work allotments of larget size. They also contended that the renewable lease tenure was a bar to settlement, as it was impossible to raise money on land held thereunder. Mr. Guthrie replied that in regard to national endowment lands the renewable , lease tenure was fixed by statute, and i there was not the least chance of Parliament altering it. The proclamations ovor native lands had, he 6aid, been mado in , the- interests of settlement to prevent speculators acquiring the land ana charg- I ing extortionate prices for it. He thought | that the pumice country had got an un- . deservedly bad name, and that then* was t a great future before the district. It was, however, necessary to proceed carefully. He was anxious to do all in his power to ) promote settlement. He had been over a ' good part of the district, and was pre- ' pared to undertake the experiment on a fairly large scale of breaking m a portion of this land. The Government would not waste the country a money in buying land when they had plenty of it. They might take 100 returned men, put them on the land and pay them wages. The moment he received authority from the Cabinet he would deal with the matter.