PLANS FOR SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20255, 15 May 1929, Page 12

PLANS FOR SETTLEMENT.

One or two features, significant as well as interesting, are noticeable in the reported proceedings of the conference on land settlement held yesterday. The members of Parliament present discussed the main question in an absolutely nonparty spirit, a welcomo phase of the event. There was unanimity on all sides that New Zealand, in particular the Auckland Province, contained large areas of unimproved land awaiting attention. This view was advanced by men who must be presumed to know the facts. It makes it very necessary to ask why, this being so, the need for more settlement being universally admitted, the presence in the country of much money awaiting useful employment having been proved by recent banking statistics, the forward move is still delayed. When the complete answer to that question has been found the settlement problem will have been more than half solved. The general agreement that such a reservoir of unoccupied land exists, establishes, as a - corollary, that there should be 110 need to purchase improved and occupied holdings at high prices for subdivision and settlement. It sounds well to talk of bursting up the big estates, as was done so freely before the last election, but there is no virtue in subdivision, either voluntary or compulsory, unless the results are to be economically justifiable. Recent experiences suggest that this process, as an extensive policy, is a very dangerous venture, and there is no magic in the words "compulsory acquisition" to remove the dangers. The fact that the conference confined its attention to discussing the settlement of unimproved land was one of its best features. A final point is the suggestion of an advisorv board to assist in the work of putting people on the land. The idea was only lightly sketched, but there is already this to be said in its support. If the problems of transport are sufficient to justify setting up an advisory board recruited from outside official circles, the claims of settlement to similar assistance demand consideration, ( at the veiy least. These, then, arc the outstanding features of yesterday's conference.