LAND SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18762, 16 July 1924, Page 10

LAND SETTLEMENT.

MINISTER AND THE CRITICS. FARMS FOR THE SOLDIERS. HEAVY STATE ADVANCES. LARGE AREAS OPENED UP. [BT TELEGEAPH. —SPECIAL BEPOKTER,] WELLINGTON. Tuesday. The- lack of any fixed land settlement policy in New Zealand, as noted in tho report of the Empire Overseas Settlement Delegation, was the subject of comment by Air. A J. Murdoch (Marsden) in the House of Representatives this afternoon. The complaint was not new, said Mr. Murdoch," but he hoped the new Minister for Lands, the Hon. A. D. McLeod, would attack the problem with greater vigour. The process of urbanisation was accelerating. Immigrants drifted back to the towns, while the farmers were more or disgruntled. Much of this was due to inflated land values, induced by the Government's policy of soldier settlement. Better means of communication to farms must be the first essential in a real land settlement policy. Mr. Murdoch's remarks drew a reply later from the Minister for Lands, who made a general defence of the Government's land settlement policy. Dealing with sold : er settlement, the Minister said the Government had been freely accused by the Liberals of having paid unduly high prices and in particular of having bought land for the express purpose of helping its wealthy friends. He was still of the opinion that the great bulk of the losses which would bo incurred would not be in respect of lands purchased by the Government, but in respect of land purchased by the men themselves. He would maintain that no Government could have withstood even for a month the pressure; which had been put upon the Government at that time to settle soldiers on the land linder the section of the Act which permitted such purchases. Since reference had been made again to losses on lands purchased by the Government, he felt that he must bring up once more the question of the Hutt Valley lands purchased by the Liberal Administration from 1893 to 1895, though •he disliked doing so. The loss on these had been over 50 per cent., though there was no slump and no boom. Successful Repatriation.

So far as repatriation was concerned, Nov/ Zealand was in a very happy position. In -Great Britain doles amounting to £7 or £3 a head of the population had been paid out to ex-soldiers, and the problem had not been solved even then. New Zealand had repatriated 100,000 men, and fche losses, he would rather say the cost, had been less in proportion than in any other country. The member for Hurunui, Mr. G. W. Forbes,, had urged that the Government should make larger advances to small settlers, in order to help them out of their difficulties. As a matter of fact, the present Government, had done much more for the farmer than the Liberal Government had done in troubled times. Last year the State advances amounted to £6.205,000 or more than three times as much, and the country's debt had trebled also. He intended, said the Minister, to give the House a full statement on soldier settlement in due course. Position of the Immigrant. The member for Wanganui, Mr. W. A. Veitch, had complained of a want of settlement lands and had cited an opinion expressed by the English Overseas Settlement Delegation about opportunities to acquire land in* New Zealand as compared with Australia- It was worthy of note that recently a meeting of -immigrants in Sydney had sent a cablegram to the British Prime Minister asking for help for 1000 immigrants who were said to be destitute. ,It was probably true that few immigrants in New Zealand went on to the land at once, but all experience showed that it was not desirable that they should do so. ' "We are told," said Mr. McLeod, "that the country has no policy of settlement, but the fact is that we are receiving a large immigrant population and that there is practically no unemployment." The Revaluation Board. The Minister then referred to the Dominion Revaluation. Board, which, he said, was carrying out its work apart from any kind of Government interference. He believed that when the board had completed its work the result would give general satisfaction to the soldier settlers. As he had said before, he was convinced that private lands acquired under the Act would present the greatest difficulty. "Where a second mortgagee sat firm and refused to make a reduction it was impossible to do very much for the settler. Undoubtedly in some cases of this kind hardship would be inflicted.

Speaking of settlement ,on difficult classes of country Mr. McLeod said that the rates for the earlier portion of the drainage works had been capitalised and the works had not yet reached a stage at which they could benefit the settlers. He was quite sure that many of the latter would have to walk off their properties. However, ha had resolved that, as Minister for Lands, he would do his very best for them. Tihe Large Sheep Runs.

There was another hard problem in dealing with high country sheep runs in the South Island."' It was difficult to cut up these properties without loss, for to do so in many cases meant breaking up flocks of sheep which probably would never be restored. Whether the runs would be subdivided or whether the present occupiers would be allowed to carry them on at a higher rental was uncertain at present.

So far as aggregate land settlement was concerned the number of sections selected since 1919 was 10,620, and the total area was 3,579,000 acres. In his view it would simply be, courting disaster to hurry the selection of lands suitable for closer settlement so long as values continued at their present high level. A great deal of departmental machinery was needed to carry on a policy of this sort and very careful consideration would have to be given to chattels, mortgages, stock securities, the improvement > of flooded and low-lying lands, and other problems before the Government could be assured of success.. Suggested Speculation Tax. At a later stage Mr. A. Bell (Bay of Islands), said the land question was fundamental in New Zealand. " For years." he said, " f have made money out of hand speculation but I say that until the Government stops it there will bo no peace in this country. (Hear, hear.) Such a tax should be placed on land sales as to make it not worth while to deal in land. Until that is done we are wasting time talking about housing, cost of living, etc. Nor am I satisfied with the Government's laud settlement policy. When I read the Speech-from-the-Throne I was surprised to find no policy for the effective settlement of the idle lands of'this country." Mr. Bell drew attention to the capable settlement in the Far North and the Far South, in his own and the Awarua electorate. His final point %vas that the Government should select immigrants more carefully as to their suitability as prospective settlers.