LAND SETTLEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20690, 12 April 1929, Page 8

LAND SETTLEMENT.

The Minister of Lands has issued a warning to the owners of large blocks of land that are suitable for close settlement hut are being privately held. The prices that are being asked for the properties, none of them of very considerable size, which have been placed under offer to the Government are so high that the Minister, desirous as he is to identify his department during his regime with a vigorous policy of settlement, is apparently unable even to contemplate the idea of effecting a purchase. Plainly, landowners who are asking for their properties double the amount of the valuation that is placed on them —this being alleged in certain casts — are seeking a price which would impose upon the occupiers of the subdivided land an intolerable burden and involve the State in a sea of fresh troubles. Either that or else the the valuation of the land 'errs very greatly on the side of leniency, and that is a suggestion which the owners would probably resist if the effect of a revaluation would merely be to increase their liability in respect of taxation. It is to be gathered, however, that there has been an-indisposi-tion on the part of the majority of the owners of land of large area that is particularly suitable for subdivision to make any approach at all to the Government. It is to these owners that the warning which Mr Forbes has issued is specially addressed. He says that the Government will not shrink from exercising, where necessary, the powers which it possesses to acquire lands compulsorily. He has been authorised by the Government to make.this statement. It may be presumed, therefore, that it is no idle warning which Mr Forbes has uttered. This presumption is reinforced by the fact that the Government is staking a very great deal on its policy of closer settlement of the land. The Prime Minister indicated a few days ago that it is through the prosecution of a policy of this kind that the Government hopes to fulfil its promise to abolish the evil of unemployment in the country. It is not very clear how the closer settlement of the land will bring about the absorption of the labour of the ten thousand unemployed for whom, according to Sir Joseph Ward’s reckoning, the Government must make provision during the ensuing winter. But, whatever measure of success or failure may attend the Government’s efforts to cope with unemployment and however much its schemes of relief may cost the country, its policy of closer settlement of the land must be steadily prosecuted if it is to justify the support that was given to it, in particular by rural constituencies, at the general election. The land policy of the Reform Government had come in the end to be a policy of inertia. The hands of the Minister had apparently become paralysed. So much land had been acquired, in perfectly good faith, at prices that did not afford to the small selector a reasonable chance of profitable occupation that, as the Minister of the day admitted, his energies had to be applied more largely to the task of preventing settlers from going off the land than to that of placing fresh settlers on the land. Mr Forbes has undertaken to give a new life to a policy of closer settlement. It is probable that he will experience difficulties of the existence of which he was unaware before the responsibilities of office were assumed by him and that he will meet with numerous-disappointments. There will, however, be no public sympathy with active obstructiveness of the. Government policy on the part of holders of large estates which, while suited for small. settlement, are not being farmed to the best advantage,

At the meeting of the trustees of the Dunedin (Savings Bank yesterday, it was decided to make a donation of £SOO to the Flood Relief Fund, the Prime-Minis-ter having agreed to ratify the bank’s action in that respect. This amount will be paid over at once to the executive. The following motion was also carried:— “The trustees of this board desire to record their deep regret at the death of their friend and colleague, Mr C. W. S. Chamberlain. During the 15 years Mr Chamberlain sat at this board be earned the affection and esteem of his fellowtrustees by his devotion to work and his consideration and courtesy to his colleagues.’.’ The work of laying down a bitumen surface on the lower road between Dunedin and Portobello was put in hand this week. Operations were commenced at Macandrew Bay, and are being carried' on in the' direction of the city. Only half of the road is being treated at a time, and at present the work is being done on the harbour side, this portion of the thoroughfare being closed to traffic. Good progress has been made so far, the weather having enabled operations to be carried on to the best advantage. A Southland sportsman who was deer stalking in the Wanaka district recently was fortunate enough to secure a 16pointer, while one of his companions returned with a magnificent royal. Deer are by no means plentiful in the Wanaka district, he states, but the advantage of this is that the stags that are shot have splendid heads. The Dunedin Choral Society has arrangements in hand for the formation of one or more sub-choirs to give concerts at our public institutions. It is felt that by giving its services in this way it will help to bring a little pleasure to others. At this week’s committee meeting this and other matters were discussed. There is every reason to believe that the finances will soon be .on a better footing. The weekly practices are well attended, and everything promises that the first concert of the season, at which “Hiawatha” will be rendered, will be a success. At the City Police Court yesterday, Elsie Clara Babich, who was previously remanded on a charge of drunkenness and one of. being' an idle and disorderly person, appeared before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., for sentence. Mr C. J. L. White, who appeared for the accused, intimated that she had received from an uncle sufficient money to pay her fare, to Auckland, and he had discussed the position with Ensign Glover, who agreed that it would be in the accused’s best interests to get away from the town. Sub-inspector 'Cummings had no objection to this course being adopted, but suggested that if the accused went to Auckland she should be put under the care of Major Gordon, the female probation officer there, otherwise she would probably go back to her old method of living. His Worship agreed with the sub-inspector’s suggestion, and entered a conviction on the charge of drunkenness. On the other charge he admitted the accused to probation for 12 months, conditional on her leaving Dunedin forthwith and remaining under the control of the probation officer in Auckland during that period.

A special meeting of the Otago Hospital Board was held yesterday afternoon, when approval of the proposed capital expenditure being included in the estimates for the financial year 1929-1930 was received from the Health Department. It was pointed out that before any capital work costing over £250 could be proceeded with the sanction of the Minister would have to be obtained. The business was of a formal nature and the estimates for the year were confirmed. Under the heading maintenance, the receipts totalled £37,716, levies on local authorities £39,832, and subsidy £40,664; a total of £124,213. Under capital the estimated total was £29,150, levies on local authorities £IO,OOO, and subsidy £10,000; a total of £49,150. The secretary mentioned that the levy on local bodies was £53 less than it was last year.

A matter of importance is the decision of the New Zealand Society of Accountants to discontinue the book-keepers’ examination, on the grounds that the society considers that its energies are better directed towards the perfecting of the higher grades of accounting, rather than mere tuition in .book-keeping, said Mr E. W. Hunt at the annual meeting of the Wellington Accountant Students’ Society. “In a previous address I advocated that instruction in book-keeping would be better dealt with under, the organisations of the various chambers of commerce throughout the Dominion,” said Mr Hunt. “InEngland the chambers of commerce hold special examinations in book-keeping, and the London chambers grant certificates in this subject, which have a recognised value. I believe that such a course, if considered and subsequently adopted by the chambers of commerce, would have a very far-reaching effect upon the improvement in book-keeping and accounting. The London Chamber of Commerce examinations have a standing which is well recognised in various parts of the world, and as book-keepers’examinations carry a considerable amount of weight, I hope that this course will be considered by the chambers of commerce at no distant date.”

At a sitting of the Cromwell Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, before Mr H. J. Dixon, S.M., Jessie M. Bradley was fined £5 and costs for failing to destroy rabbits' on her property. For a similar offence, James Templeton, of Albert Town, was fined £1 and costs. An application by the Mount Aspiring’ Company (Mr Parcell) for the rehearing of a case in which the applicants were fined £5 and costs for failing to dip 400 sheep, was refused.

Reports have appeared in southern papers to the effect that the Carnegie Corporation had made a grant of £2OOO a year for five years to a southern university. Inquiries from officials of the New Zealand University last night (reports our special correspondent in Wellington) elicited the fact that no pronouncement on the subject had yet been made by the Carnegie Corporation. The reports which had appeared in the southern papers, it was stated, were all hearsay up to the present. About two years ago the Carnegie Corporation had made a capital grant of 5000 dollars for the Workers’ Education Association’s Library, to be split up between-the University of Otago and the university colleges of the other three centres.

Our special correspondent in Wellington states that Cabinet yesterday decided to re-elect the cairn to the memory of Sir John M'Kenzie, which, on account of climatic changes, had fallen into a state of disrepair. The cairn, will be erected on the top of Puketapu Hill, in the vicinity of Palmerston, provided it can be acquired and adapted for the purpose.

New Zealand possesses four outstanding tourist attractions, according to Colonel W. S. Tupper, of San Francisco, who had been invited by the New Zealand Government and the Union Steam Ship Company to visit the Dominion preparatory to conducting a lecture tour of the United States to advertise the country’s scenic attractions. “In the South Island are great rain forests of a type found nowhere else in the world,” he said. “What the imagination pictures as green, luxuriant, tropical forest is found in temperate New Zealand. I have travelled in 10 or a dozen strictly tropical lands, so I know. Then there are the South Island’s wondrous glaciers, rising right out of the forests. They present ‘ sights which one expects to be found only in the Arctic regions. In the North Island are great thermal regions of unique and amazing variety, and the fourth outstanding attraction is the marvellous glow-worm caves. There are great" caves in the United States, Cuba, and elsewhere, but nowhere else can one find caves painted overhead with a million stars.”

The annual conference of progress leagues of the South Island is to bo opened in Blenheim nest Thursday. Among the remits to be considered with a view to their being sent- on as recommendations to the Government are the following from the Marlborough Progress’ League and the Otago Expansion League: The matter of roads to communicate with Westland; afforestation of head waters of rivers and waste lands; the acquisition of scenic reserves in the South .Island; the introduction of a superior class of fur-bearing opossum into the forest lands of the south and West Coast with a view, to making possible a lucrative local industry at a period of the year when unemployment is most in evidence; the advisability of settling parties upon the land under conditions similar to those of the group settlement scheme which has worked so well in Western Australia. The delegates from the Otago League will be the president (Mr S. B. Macdonald) and the secretary (Mr W. B. Steel). Considerable Improvements will shortly he made in the top portion of Tennyson street, where a number of small cottages are now being demolished in order to provide extensions to the King Edward Technical College. The cottages, about 10 in all, were purchased by the College Board of Managers some time ago. Erected many years ago, the cottages served their purpose, being mostly occupied by small families. -Many of the buildings were sold by auction, and the old timber is being disposed of in many ways. When the block has been entirely cleared and the new extensions made, the Technical College will- occupy a large area, extending from Upper Stuart street right through to Tennyson street.

A . comparison of the rolls used in the 1927 mayoral and council elections and those for use at the elections on May 1 of this year show that there are 3471 more * electors on this occasion. The figures for the main roll are:—1929, 26,757; 1927, 25,183; supplementary roll — 1929, 2750; 1927, 853—making a total of 29,507 for 1929, as against 26,036 for 1927.

The president of the New Zealand Law Society states (says a Press Association telegram from Wellington) that the announcement recently made by special correspondents of several newspapers that representations will shortly be made by th.e society to the Prime Minister concerning the Public Trust Office, consequent upon an investigation undertaken by a committee of the society, was not madh with the authority of the society. The announcement, he says, is in several respects misleading and inaccurate. No accountant has been engaged by the society to dissect the 1 Public Trust statements as alleged, and no report has been received from the committee. Until it has been received and considered by the council o’f the society no course of action can be determined. ’

Following the trend of modern sea travel, the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company has decided to carry out certain alterations on its steamers Corinthic, lonic, and Tainui. The company will introduce what is known as the cabin class of passengers on these vessels. This class is well established in the Atlantic trade, and has proved a great success. The system should be popular in the New Zea--land-England trade. The first of the three steamers to be converted to carry cabin and third- class passengers will be the Tainui, which is scheduled to leave Southampton on July 12 for New Zealand ports. It is claimed that the cabin class is an ideal mode of sea travel for parents with young families. Improvements have been made in the speed of the Shaw, Savill liners Mataroa and Tamaroa. These two ships now accomplish the voyage from England to New Zealand in. 32 days, while the journey to the Homeland, via Panama and Curacoa, is made in 33 days.

A nice point in connection with municipal rating is likely to engage the attention of ‘the" Supreme Court.- Recently an Auckland legal firm informed the Northcote Borough Council that action would be taken to test the validity of its refusal to accept half rates in respect to a property where the dwelling house had been vacant for 12 months. The council contended that section 69 of the Rating Act applied to rates levied on capital and annual values, but as Northcote is rated on the unimproved value, the land valuation only being rated, no remission conld be made in the ease of unoccupied buildings. In view of the importance of the matter to all rating authorities throughout the Dominion, the council referred the case to the Municipal Association of New Zealand. The executive of the association has approved the case as one of general interest to local bodies, and haa accordingly agreed that the association should take up the matter for the purpose of obtaining a declaratory, judgment of the Supreme Court.

Two hoys, supposed to have absconded from the Takapuna Orphans’ Home, scantily clad, were discovered on board the Auckland-Tanranga express train on Tuesday (says the Auckland Star). When the train was pulled up at Pnkekohe, the boys made au attempt to get away by disembarking on the off side of the train. The guard captured them and brought them back to the station. The bqys, it is said, informed the guard that they were going to Frankton, that their mother was on the train, and that she had their tickets. They also said they had boarded the train at Papakura. The guard got busy, and, after questioning passengers on the train, concluded that the boys were runaways. The police were informed, and' it was then learned that two boys had absconded from the home'. They were duly handed over by railway officials to the police. The boys presented a pitiful picture. They were scantily clad, barefooted and hatlcss. In the course of the first of a series of addresses on local government which he is delivering in Auckland, Professor Belshaw said that the finance of local bodies had now approached the magnitude of national finance. I-n 1918 State expenditure, including that on railways, was £15,000,000, and in 1926 £23,500,000. In that period local body expenditure rose from £7,000,000 to £21,000,000. It was now almost as great as national expenditure and was increasing far more rapidly. In the same way taxation increased by 40 per cent, between 1917 and 1926, whereas rates increased by over 100 per cent. State indebtedness was £151,000,000 in 1918 and £246,000,000 in 1926. Local body indebtedness rose from £27,500,000 to '£59,500,000 in that period, the percentage increases here being, roughly, 60 and 100 respectively.

The old-established firm of F. and F. Martin, music dealers in the Octagon, and Tip till a few years ago furniture manufacturers and retailers, has been absorbed By Messrs Butterfield (Ltd.), which company has taken over the premises of .the old firm and combined them in one warehouse and showroom. The new business will be under the direction of Mr M. C. Butterfield. W. V," Stunner. G.A.0.C.. D.S.O.L, optician. Consulting room, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. Most modern scientific equipment for sight testing.—Advt. A. E. J. Blakeley and W. E. Bagley, dentists, Bank of Australasia, corner ox Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 12-359.—Advt. Diamond Engagement Rings,—Before purchasing compare our values; large selection; superior quality.—Peter Dick, the most reliable jewellers, watchmakers, and opticians, 490 Moray place, Dunedin. Advt.