SETTLING IDLE LANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20255, 15 May 1929, Page 15

SETTLING IDLE LANDS.

NATIONAL BOARD PROPOSED* NON-POLITICAL PLAN URGED, CONFERENCE IN AGREEMENT. Ten members of Parliament and representatives of the New Zeahmd Land Settlement and Development League, who conferred in Auckland for nearly three hours yesterday, were in general agreement that in New Zealand, and particularly in the Auckland Province, there were ample unoccupied lands awaiting settlement, and that such areas could probably best be brought into production through a national Government scheme providing for local advisory boards. Mr. W. J. Holdsworth, president of the league, presided, and placed before tho conference a lengthy statement of the league's views of settlement possibilities. This emphasised the necessity for co-op-eration between all political groups in the framing of a non-political, national, land settlement policy, to be administered by a land settlement and migration hoard, which would act with the aid of local advisory committees. It stated that finance should bo provided in co-operation with the Imperial Government, while local bodies now paying out large sums, for relief works would probably assist in this manner of easing tho unemployment problem. / It was considered the State should first develop Crown and native lands, while the acquisition of improved land should meantime be conducted under the 1928 amendments to the land laws. A sum of £IOOO would establish a settler; all development could be done cheaply on a large scale; farms could be brought to a self-supporting stage under the guidance of the suggested hoard, and would bo repayable on a rising scale easily met by the new settler. i Agricultural Development Bank. A settlement standard of 2000 new farmers a year for 10 years could be aimecj at, and probably the best financial machinery would be the establishment of an agricultural development bank closely related to the board. Private enterprise, too, might well be given the opportunity to settle some Crown lands in cases where the Government was not prepared ■to move. The following forms of settlement, said the statement, would be suggested to the proposed board:—(a) Settlement camp 3, where large areas would be improved by men who subsequently would have the opportunity of obtaining the farms at cost of production. Men used to hard work but without farm experience could be used for this. , (b) Group settlement, something on ths Western Australian lines, where settlers were placed on their respective holdings, 'given a house, and worked under skilled supervision until the holdings were self-supporting. Preferably for family men with farm experience, (c) Zone settlement, where isolated farms within a given radius were passed over to men with the necessary experience to be improved under close supervision, (d) Cadet group settlement, which was designed on the lines of (a) to meet the requirements of hoys who had some little farm experience. It was considered that the inducement of early proprietorship would start a flow of boys from the schools to a farm life. Encouraging Self-Reliance. These suggestions presumed provision by the State of the necessary land and progressive finance to enable settlers to make a start, but it was intended that eveiy effort should be made to encourage self-reliance, and' to that end bare necessities only should be provided, and all finance should be in relation to the progressive improvements effected.

Addressing the conference the chairman) said no Minister or department could u give to settlement the undivided attention which it would receive from a specially-constituted board. Mr. C. H. Clinkard, M.P. for Jlotorua, said the decision of the Government to proceed with the settlement of 20,000 more acres at Atiamuri was another ex-, ample of belated recognition of land which; had long been "under a cloud." Such country was producing. £IOO an acre a, year net from potato crops. Any land that would do that was worthy of develop-'; rnent, but if its breakingin was left solely-, to departmental men they would '*make> an unholy mess of it." Idle Land North and South. * ■

Mr. N. G. Gribble, secretary of the, league, said there were 380,000 acres; south of Rotorua still unalienated and much of it was suitable for farming, while he knew of at least 28,000 acres in tha Northland which could well be broken in; 1

Mr. Clinkard said it was his intention to ask Parliament to have prepared a re; turn of all Crowu land in the country and then ask the local bodies in whose district it lay to report upon the possi-s bilities of settlement.

"The Minister of Lands, Hon. G. W. Forbes, has been expressing astonishment at the possibilities of new settlement,"?said the chairman. . "We cannot afford to make this a parLy question," said Mr. A. M. Samuel, M.P. for Thames. In areas liko Atiamuri there was room for thousands of new settlers if only a start were made and in many other directions the scope was as great. On the Coromandel Peninsula' were 100,000 acres pf land free of bush ' and awaiting the plough for easy settlement. but part of it had been reserved for afforestation purposes. Example o! the Waibato.

Mr. W. E. Parry, M.P. for Auckland Central, and other speakers agreed that there was ample idle land, even in the Auckland district, suitable for settlement. The point was frequently made during the meeting that much of the Waikato land now under heavy production had once been regarded as worthless. The suggestion of local advisory bards comprising men with experience of local conditions found general favour, but in order that Parliamentary party representatives present should not be pledged no resolution on that point was put. Replying to Mr. Parry, who suggested that even if the State carried manure free it would pay the country, Air. E. Yates said the Government had already greatly reduced freights, while competition was kerning down the price of fertilisers. The chairman expressed pleasure at-Ahe. agreement reached by all present and the meeting carried a resolution expressing depreciation of the spirit of unanimity shown at the conference and pledging to the members of present the support of the leanue in their endeavours to foster land settlement. / :