THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4. 1923. PUMICE LAND , SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18521, 4 October 1923, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4. 1923. PUMICE LAND , SETTLEMENT.

Oxe member of the British Overseas Settlement Delegation, after inspecting the pumice lands lying idle between Waimarino and Rotorua, has shown himself- to be deeply impressed by their possibilities for settlement purposes. The chairman of the delegation, Sir William Windham, has stated very reasonably that unless and until land can be found for the absorption of immigrants, it would be useless to send to New Zealand large numbers of potential settlers. In those words is expressed the vital core of the whole problem. Britain has the man-power, but if New Zealand is to obtain it, efforts must be made at this end to arrange for its utilisation in development work. If . that is done, the Imperial Government is both able and willing to provide part of the necessary funds. Under the Empire Settlement Act, 1922, a scheme may be - agreed upon "between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and any Dominion to provide joint assistance to suitable persons desiring to settle overseas. It is expressly provided that development and land settlement schemes come within the scope of the Act. When an agreement is made, the Imperial Government may provide, as a grant or a loan, or in any other way, funds up to one-half the cost of the scheme. That is to say, ; Britain can contribute on a £ for £ basis. There is the , ; scheme of which other Dominions are availing themselves, but of which New Zealand takes- no advantage. Sir William Windham says the 'land muEt be found. General Wauchope, after surveying the territory, is convinced that the pumice areas of the North Island contain the necessary land. He has promised personal support to any > scheme for the •; application of British settlement to it. The appeals of many New Zealanders to have some effort made for the pystematic development of this area have gone unanswered. ! v : Generally public:"opinion is apathetic, and the Government has not moved. If the entry of a visitor into;; the field produces - any better results, ; New Zealand will have .good reason to bo thankful,' on that ground alone, that the delegation • has /visited ; the Dominion. ,

There is no lack' of evidence and testimony to prove that the'pumice lands contain latent wealth waiting to be utilised for the; greater prosperity /ofNew Zealand; ■ At most of the agricultural •:■ shows in the lower North Island; products from the small part /under cultivation \/ stand high on the prize lists. The root crops in particular are the marvel of all who see, them. //The quantity of stock carried on some of these pumice farms,, and the manner in which : the animals thrive, speak eloquently of what can be"done with the land when properly treated. The commission /which reported in 1921 on the proposed vpurchase of the Taupo-Totara Railway was emphatic on the point.. Its report described a farm of 163 acres which had carried 130 head of cattle, including 50 milking cows for a summer, with an average return of £28 per dairy cow, and a total of 16,8201b. of but-ter-fat produced. The commission said the area adjacent to. this light railway . " undoubtedly constitutes the largest area of undeveloped waste land in the Dominion, and calls loudly for some special action, to bring it into productivity." It also observed that the pumice itself seemed to contain most of the elements of fertility, and those lacking could be supplied by the use of suitable artificial manures. In a private Bill he introduced in 1919, the Hon. A. T. Ngata demarcated 3,000,000 acres for the application of a suitable; development scheme, including systematic utilisation of the timber resources. : • His proposal received considerable support from members on different sides of the House, but suffered the fate of private Bills. .He noted also the proximity of the -land to the principal North Island sources of water-power as : a circumstance in its favour. This is but a part of the strong case for earnest attention :.:; being; given the pumice land; its adaptability for an immigration and settlement scheme is patent.. , .//

-No one has suggested that the pumice country could be successfully settled without capital being available • for its early development. It requires to be worked and fertilised. Means A of access are,". essential. Transport is the great difficulty of those who, taking their courage m both hands, have gone in .without waiting ../for.:.-, a Government scheme, iheae obstacles are not insimnouutr.

able. This inland < area naturally suggests itself as suitable for the application'.-,■' of ;'; the homestead H system for; which legislative authority ; was given several sessions ago. Some sur- ; vey work has been done : with this end in view, but the last official pronouncement was :■ that there was no money to make the '; advances)the settlers must have. . If .an arrangement were made with the Imperial Government* half the required capital might be obtained from it. New settlers might thus: undertake the task of bringing into production this great untouched area' which at present contributes nothing to the wealth of the Dominion. A certain amount of special knowledge is needed to break in the land successfully. There are men who ; have gained that knowledge by experience. They, no doubt, would be prepared ,to help and , advise new settlers. They could be organised into local committees, and thus some regularity would be imported into the task of smoothing the way for people who would be doing important pioneering ; work. None of these things is impossible or even especially difficult. All that iis needed is energy, foresight, and organisation. With the display of a little more initiative there might be devised a workable scheme by which migrants from Britain would be given a chance to, establish themselves and work their way to prosperity, and the development of this Dominion's empty spaces accelerated in a highly beneficial manner. Then there would be removed that reproach on New Zealand, noted by Mr. Wignall, the Labour member of the British delegation. He was, quite justified in saying that there was no definite Government policy of immigration, and no scheme or plan m> investigate. One of his colleagues, however, has hit upon the! channel by which an alteration for! the better could be produced, by the utilisation of those pumice areas! which commend themselves to any unprejudiced observer who troubles I to survey their potentialities. {