LAND SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1199, 22 February 1895, Page 13

LAND SETTLEMENT.

By Telegraph. — Press Association. Chbistchurcii", February 18. The Minister for Lands arrived from Wellington this morning and left for the South by express train. While in Christchurch he was waited on by Mr W. W. Collins, M.H.R., who represented the desirableness of a block of land at Woolston, which had been purchased for settlement purposes, being thrown open for'selection as early as possible, and also the advisableness of other blocks near town being 1 obtained for the same purpose. The Minister said that a block already secured would be opened for application in July, and the Land Purchase Commissioners would visit . r Canterbury in about a week's time to make selections from other blocks under offer. The Government would be quite willing to go to the extent of acquiring .300" acres in: the vicinity of Christchurch, and if those were advantageously taken up the Government would be encouraged' to make still further purchases of land f or, settlement in the neighbourhood. v "'- v*" l '.'

Mr J. McKerrow, Government Land" Purchase Inspector, left, this week, for Greymouth in order to visit and report upon no less than 23 estates of an aggregate area of 150,000 acres, which are under offer to the Board of Land Purchase Commissioners under the Land for Settlements Act. Two of these properties are situated in Westland, 16 in Canterbury, four in Otago, and one (is at Kaikoura (Marlborough).