LAND SETTLEMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17942, 22 May 1920, Page 7

LAND SETTLEMENT

STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF LANDS. LAND FOR 1200 TO 1400 MEN AVAILABLE. QUESTION OF AGGREGATION. (Pub United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, May 2L A etatemenrt about land settlement, in special relation to the settlement of soldiers, was given by the Minister of Lands to-day "What we are ooming down to now in the way of land settlement," said the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, "is the settlement of the purchased lauds we have on hand, and the Crown lands whioh we have not been able to bring under settlement owing to the absence of surveyors and engineers. We have a number of blocks that are all ready for settlement, excopt for roacLng. We cannot give them to soldiers until roading has been done, and we have not been able to get the roading done, because of the shortage of tho ofbeers I, have mentioned, also to lack of publio works men. We have at the present time available for settlement about 70,000 acres. This land will carry from 1200 to 1400 men. The land is of varying descriptions, and Will be suitablo tor all kinds of farming. It is distributed practically over the whole of both islands. A large area of bush land is in the North of Auokland, and it is of such a character that it is well worth the attention of tho Government and returned soldier. Ihese figures do not take into account any of the 80-called pumice lands in the interior of the North Island, for whioh special provision was made in the legislation of last session. Nothing definite has been done about Uie eettlement of this land. We are now raising the reservations from a large number ot blocks, with the object of throwing them open for settlement under the homestead tenure, which -was revived in a more attractive form by the legislation of last session. One great bar to the opening of this land is that a large, quantity of it is national endowment land! and it will have to be dealt with by Parliament before we can engage in any large scale on schemes for the development of it" , Mr Guthrie made reference also to the operation of clauses of the_ Acts of the last two sessions, dealing with aggregation. "There has been," said the Minister, an evident unloading of land from large properties, and there have been but few oases brought to tho notice of the Government where there nave been increases of areas. Iu these cases increases are always arranged bo as not to come within the soope of the aggregation clauses. Commonly this is done by the purchase being made in the name of another member of the family. Ihis device, however will not in ali the circumstances, prove to be a complete escape from the operation of the law. I am convinced, indeed I have evidence, that the cutting up of estates that has been going on recently can be attributed to the effect of the aggregation olause now on the Statute Book, but it is fair to aay that some of the sales may also be attributed to the high prices now ruling for land. I am glad to say that tho experience of the Government has been happy in respect to these offers of land for sale, for we have had land offered to ns by large landowners for returned soldiers at prioes which, in some instances, were £10 per acre less than private buyers ded subsequently pay for the land. The Government had deoided against placing soldiers, upon land at such excessively high values."