CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19844, 17 July 1926, Page 12

CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

REFERENCE IN PARLTAMENT. STATEMENT BY HON. A. D. M‘LEOD. (Feom Oob Own Cobbespondent.) WELLINGTON, July 16. Complaint was made by Mr E. A. Ransom (Pahiatua) in the House to-mght that the Minster of Lands had not taken advantage of the Empire Settlement Scheme. Something like 10,000 immigrants per year were being brought into this country. They gradually drifted to the towns and largely constituted our unemployment Pr°Wom. At the present time there were 4000 to 5090 men in Now Zealand waiting to go on the land if the Government could bring down some land settlement scheme satisfactory to them, If we wore to continue to absorb 10.000 a year wo were going to create a serious problem for ourselves, unless these migrants were employed to increase the production, of the country. The present nomination system was not Retting us anywhere and was only another means of the Government relieving itself or a responsibility by shifting it on to private D M<Leo< j said that the subject of closer settlement of the land was of great importance and ho could assure the House that no man could have given greater attention to it in the last 12 months than he • Mr Fraser: You altered your opinion of the amount of settlement land avai able ? Mr M'Leod: No, not as to land that anyone is likely to niako a unless hoavly subsidsed by the State.. Xnat N the whole point: What subsidy « the State willing to give to the people on the W. E. Parry: Have you got no land aP Mr f M-Lwdf ’ Not worth ni c nUonm|. There is some on tno border line, 1 adm. , which in capable hands might.bo e , v f but the fluctuations of the m ho last few years have scared cven tfio man with a.couple of thousand pounds out ot tll Mr i rarry: How much do you think a “MrTl'SoJSihat te did not think there 'res a possibility • ■ dm g nuv cood with less than £2500. Mr Fraser remarked that it was that the group settlement scheme was now working well in Australia. , . , Mr M'Leod said he did not think the evidence was sufficiently definite yet. He was quite sure that the Empire loan basis of £SOO was worthless Everyone who lived in a town knew that it cost £IOOO or so to build a house decent enough to ask a family to live in, and the tact was that the cost was greater in Lie country. He would not, as Munster, offer any encouragement to people overseas to come here unless he, with his experience as a practical farmer, was absolutely certain that by hard work over a period of years thev would have something more than a competency and that they would do better than they would as wage earners, ihe country had to face the question as it had at Rangitaiki. The question was one of subsidy by the, general community. They had no hesitation m calling on the state to subsidise secondary industries, but it a subsidy for a land scheme were asked for there would be criticism against himself as Minister and against the Governm°Mr Fraser: It would depend on the scheme. ~ . “Well,” concluded Mr M Leod, no matter has been given more consideration bjr the Government and by myself, and we •are not going to throw it up merely because it is difficult.”