LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15821, 21 July 1913, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

PASTORAL LEASES AND LAND SETTLEMENT. Sin,—The recent happenings in this district iave made it very apparent that-a mistake has been made by including land fit [or ckee settlement in the pastoral leases. We have in this district thousands of acres of land along the foothills and on the fiats suitable for small settlement This land has been included in a 21 years' renewable lease, thereby making it impossible to obtain even a small area except with the runholders' consent. Now, in the interest of the landless residents of the district, this pernicious privilege should be abolished. Surely it never was intended to vest the administration of the land in the temporary occupier of a pastoral run. It is quite natural that his consent would only be given to his friends, or those whom.he was dieposed to favour. This is a very partial way of disposing of the land, and must be galling to those .who are obliged to. leave for want of opportunity of acquiring a home in the district where they were born. The cry is often raised about interfering with the working of the run when an application is made; but I am certain that a great deal of the land which is' locked up in pastoral leases could bo taken with very little loss to the runholder, the land being either overgrown with fern, or so denuded of vegetation by rabbits, that very little benefit is derived from a pastoral point of view. Therefore I think, in the best • interests of the country, all lands fit for close settlement should be resumed except such as i 6 absolutely necessary for the working; of the mn, even if the' lessee should bo liberally compensated. If the Government should deem this course impracticable. I

hope that in futuro dealings with land of this description all land suitable for small settlement will be reserved, and that it be dealt with by the Land Board systematically and impartially.—l am etc., Cromwell, July 16. G. C. C. INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS. Sir,—Mr W. Strachan asserts that men who assemble in tcjwns are not capable farm hands, and that thero is no need to induce thorn to leave the towns. Is it not a fact that the city labourer of to-day is the farm labourer of yesterday, who would by' far rather run the risk of getting only casual employment in the tow-ng than submit to the humdrum and montonoite life of a labourer on 6ome. of the isolated farms in this country? I arrived in this country about two years ago, and have nothing but praise for Now Zealand as regards better conditions'for the workers, on the whole, but I certainly think from ray' experience that there will have to be greater inducements than exist at present to keep the people on the land after they have been imported from the Old Country as assisted farm hands. Mr Str.acb.an does not seem to understand that conditions which were tolerated in 1864 would not be accepted in 1913. He deplored the fact that two-roomen cottages at a rental of 5s to 6s per week for the- workers would be despised and laughed at, and seems, amused that the common worker should aspiro to take unto himself some of the better things of life and cultivate a higher standard of living.. I should like to ask your correspondent what constitutes in his opinion a fair day's wag€ 6? and also to inform him that as long as men have to sell their labour in an open market, he will always havo tho problem of unemployment in a more or less aciito form. I would inform him also that tho means of transport and cheap fares have made Canada in respect of population what it is to-day; but God forbid that New Zealand should ever be confronted with some of the evils which exist in Canada to-dav,—l am, etc., E. J- Taylor. Dunedin, July 17. WARSHIPS FOR THE NEW ZEALAND STATION. ' Sin- In one of your late issues a list of warships appointed to New Zealand water* was printed. The following clipping taken from the Times of India, of May 14 last, proves interesting reading, especially when it comments on the condition of sonic of tho warships included in the above list-.—l am, etc., Thomas Miller. July 14. Writing to the Morning Poet, Captain E. C. Carver (retired), late in command of his Majesty's ship Torch, says:— It is more than two years since hw Majesty's ship Torch sailed from Sydney in a condition which would have rendered private owners liable to legal penalties, No inauiry has been held, anil, although

£12,000 has now boon spent on the ehip, 6he still leaked in Deoember, 1912, and was limited to four-fifths of her full power. Since the Torch commissioned, the condition of affairs on the Australian station has boon gradually revealing itself. Thn6o whose memories arc a littlo longer than the ordinary will recall the state of our foreign relations in September, 1911. What was tho condition of the ships serving in the Australian squadron at that time?' Powerful (flag), possibly capable of steaming twelve knots for _ a moderate period; Challenger, undergoing a somewhat extensive refit; Encounter in good condition; Cambrian, in fair condition; Pioneer in good condition; Pyramus, too bad to bo sent to China; Prometheus, presumably better than Pyramus, but took three and a-half months to get to China, when it was found that her bottom was rusted through; Psyche, capable of steaming eight knot 6, funnels and upper deck decayed by rust (her bottom has now been found to be dangerously thin); Torch, absolutely hopeless. Thus out of a squadron of nine ships three wore in dangerously unscaworthy condition, two in very bad condition, one in fair condition, two in .good condition, and ono refitting.