DISTRESS IN NORTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19412, 21 August 1926, Page 13

DISTRESS IN NORTH.

POVERTY OF THE DIGGERS. NO ALTERNATIVE OFFERED. SLUMP IN GUM PRICES. UNABLE TO GO FARMING. The present distress in the Far North, which has lately become so acute, has not descended upon the people suddenly, for, during the past two or three years, poverty has almost daily threatened the many families who live upon the arid gum lands. Since the bottom fell out of the kauri gum market some tim», ago, conditions have gone from bad to worse, and as early as the beginning of this year the diggers feared that unless assistance could be secured from the Government the winter would find them in seriously straitened circumstances.

The position of the gumdigger is a difficult one. Until the present time his whole existence has depended on the successful sale of his gum. Huge areas of country have been d"g assiduously, and in some parts it is a matter for wonder that one man could turn over such areas in a lifetime as are searched inch by inch in a year. However, although many thousands of pounds have been taken from the soil in the shape of the precious gum, the industry must peter out in time. No one understands this better than the digger himself, but he is in such a position that he cannot turn to other things for ft living. His barren surroundings offer no solution to the problem of keeping himself and his family fed and clothed. The vast majority of the thousands of acres will not support a living animal, and to place the land under cultivation and reap some profit from it would take experienced agriculturists with & huge capital. Eecent Visit of Minister. At the present time the digger is checkmated. He cannot sell his gum, except at profitless prices, and he cannot turn to the land for his bread. The unstable position of the people's finance has not been realised fully throughout the Dominion. The Minister of Lands, the Hon. A. D. McLeod, admitted some time Bgo, when he visited the gum lands, that there were only three or four members of Parliament interested in the gum-land question, while even the Ministers did not receive enough information to enable good laws to be passed. Conditions are equally as bad for the Maori and European diggers, and it was made pluin by Mr. McLeod during his tour that, unless they immediately decided to convert gumdigging into a commercial side-line, they would gradually become poorer and poorer. With the absence of ready money among the people it is almost impossible for them to consider agriculture as an alternative. To make this successful, State aid on a large scale would have to be inaugurated, and in any case it would perhaps be years before some of the land even started to show some return.

Realising that the position demanded attention the Government stepped in when the prices for gum fell, and took over stocks valued at about £75,000. This was about £15,000 more than it was intended should be committed, and as no sale could be found the money virtually amounted to grants to the diggers, ■who would otherwise have obtained no return at all. In addition Government grants were made in several districts, but the position became 'so bad that further sums were asked for to provide the very necessities of life. However it cannot be expected that the Government' will provide endless funds, although at present the digger is unable to realise enough on Ills gum to make ends meet. Almost Valueless Barter. For a considerable time storekeepers in the North were forced to accept kauri gum as barter for goods, but when it was realised that they 1 ® were loading • themselves with practically valueless stock, this method of exchange ceased. About 150 diggers in the Houhora district alone have received grants, but it was estimated that at least £SOO a month was needed there to keep the impoverished poopis from starvation. The Minister stated, however, that the Government was not in a position to prolong the grants indefinitely, and they did not want the failure of the gum industry to be used as an excase for the dyle. t Even when digging, for gum on Crown land, a man must pay royalty on the land, which continues for the whole area when the gum has been taken out of a part. With the present decreased prices the digger has found that he has not been able to pay his land royalty, let alone secure any profit. Consequently gum digging has been abandoned altogether over wide areas for months oast, and the suffering among families has increased more than considerably. Only Form of Belief. The only form of relief appears to be the inauguration of Government _ work in roading and various other directions, but here again; the Minister of Lands stated that it could not be -expected that the Government would undertake large works to no purpose. Certain relief works have given employment to a few men, but only in restricted areas. It was explained to the diggers by the Minister that it was nseless trying to put men on the land capital, however small. The difficulties to be surmounted were enormous, and it would take veors of hard to have anv effect. Then the encroachment of sand, a very serious problem all over the Far North, combined with the poor nature of the soil, would probably prove too much for the farmer.

RESPONSE TO APPEAL. DONATIONS IN THE CITY. CLOTHING, FOOD AND CASH, Clothing, food and cash have begun to reach the offices of the City Missioner, Rev. Jasper Calder, and Sister Esther, as a result of the appeal on behalf of the children in the Far North. Several schools have already started to make up parcels, and more are promised before the boat leaves for the North next week

Over £4O in cash tias already been handed to the Rev. Jasper Calder, one person alone donating £25. This money will be spent in purchasing groceries, while in addition a city firm has promised to donate £lO worth of foodstuffs. The children of the Normal School contributed to a parcel of clothing. Sister Esther stated she had received several parcels, and about £1 in money, but it was expected the appeal would be widely responded to in the course of a few days.