PROGRESS OF SOUTH ISLAND

Otago Witness, Issue 3418, 19 September 1919, Page 7

PROGRESS OF SOUTH ISLAND

GREATER DEVELOPMENT WANTED. DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS. SYMPATHETIC RECEPTION. (Pee United Press Association.) WELLIN i ON, September 11. A deputation lit Am coniorenco of progress leagues heici recently in the South Island met tho Prime Minister, other members of the Cabinet, and the southern members of Parliament to-day. Mr Craigic said they thought in the South Island that there was need for measures to bring about greater progress. There was a large area held by a few men. Reaggregation was going on, and largo landholders were permitted to acquire Government leaseholds by outbidding the smaller settlers. They thought that should stop. They wished to see returned soldiers settled in the district from which they came . Mr A. W. Rogers (Southland) emphasised the necessity for hydro-electric development being continued in the South Island side by side with the work in the North Island. In Southland they were handicapped by having no through train from Christchurch to Invercargill. Mr Wdson (Otago) asked that Otago should bo given an opportunity of having its hydro-electric system. .. Otner speakers emphasised the need for hydro-electric development, through trains to invercargili, the encouragement of boys' agricultural clubs, consumptive sanatoria, und the extension of hydro-electric power to Timaru.

The .f rime Minister, in replying-, said the deputation asked for progress. Ihe motto of the Government was progress and prosperity, and it was going to act up to it. He agreed, with what had .been said as to the necessity for subdivision, but eaid a great deal had been done. He quoted figures to show the increase in the number of settlers. There had been a drift of population from the South to the North Island, but this" was accounted for by some natural conditions. The North Island was glad to welcome South Islanders. Personally he wished to see an increase in the population, and when they got tho soldiers back they would have to go into a policy of immigration. There were numbers .of soldiers looking forward to coming here after the war; and New Zealand must get them. Tho more people they had the more opportunity there would be for the individual. The Defence Department was making arrangements which would increase the accomntodauon for consumptives all over New Zealand. He -igreed" that there was a necessity for scientific research in agriculture, such as seed selection. It would not be long, he hoped, before liwercargill would be able to get through trains. Mr Massey stated some of the difficulties in the way of stopping reaggregation, ond said there would be some legislation this session which, he thought, would be more elective than anything they had yet had. . Sir William Fraser /Minister of Public Works) replied in detail to the representations regarding hydro-electricity. There was no intention of waiting for tho completion, of the Auckland and Wellington scheme* before starting other works. There was no reason why works in other parts should not proceed simultaneously, but limitations were imposed by tho shortage of labour and engineers. To meet this there must be an immigration policy. The survey of the transmission lines to Timaru nad been completed, and the_ erection of the lines would be proceeded with as soon as the poles were obtained from Australia. Surveys were now to bo carried on- to Waimatc and Oamaru, but he doubted if he would have power for more than South Canterbury. The contract for material for pipe.s to increase the ? from Lake Coleridge had been renewed, and Mr Parry was undertaking to see the manufacturers and hurry up the delivery of the material. He had authorised an engineer to investigate the power possibilities in North and Central Ota go.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS. (Fboh Our Own Corbespondent.) WELLINGTON. September 12. In introducing the deputation from I he Progress Leagues of the South Island to Mr Massey yesterday, Mr Craigie stated that the South'lsland wanted experimental farms. There were four of these in the North Island and not yet one in the Soush Island, although one would shortly be established, he understood, on the West Coast. An experimental farm in Southland would not help the wheat-growing farmers of Canterbury The request was that in every district a farm should !>p established The whole of the South Island was interested in hydro-eleoiric power. This power was needed to increase the production of the country as well as to conserve the convenience of the people in the towns. The availability of electro power would make life in the country easier, and this would tend to increase the population in the country, which was a condition very much to be desired. Another request was that the Government should subsidise the- Progress Leagues, which we e doing good patriotic work for their districts. Some of the local bodies had sub sidised the leagues Jn their districts, and they would like the Government to subsi dise the contributions of the local bodies. In the course of his reply Mr Massov said he remembered that when he visited Timaru some time ago Mr Craigie remarked that the Government which increased the exports of the country to £30,000,000 would be worthy of support. The exports for the Inst 12 months had been worth £40.000.000. What about supporting the Government now ? Mr Craigie: The volume is not increasing; it is only the price. Mr Massey: No; that is not the whnKfactor, and I adnvt that we were very suoceesrul in obtaining shipping during the period, but the volume has increased, and is Increasing. I hope you will act up to your promises as I act up to mine.—(Laughter.) Dealing with the subdivision of land he stated lhai a return for the seven years ended March 31, 1919. showed that the number of private freeholds subdivided during the period had been 13,419. with an area of 2,£99.194 acres. The number of sections of ordinary Crown land selected un;ler settlement conditions had been 5534. with an area of 1.203,034 acres. The- number of sections of Native land disposed of for settlement had been 375, with an area of 152,618 acres. The grand total for the seven years was 19.382 subdivisions, covering an area of 3,754,946 acres. There was more land available for

settlement in the north than in the south, and tho climate was milder and more attractive from the point of view of the settlor. Mr Massey said that a good deal of land had recently been subdivided in Otago. and many sections had been made available for the returned soldiers. He had no objection to tho South Island having experimental farms if it wanted them. His impression had been that the southerners wero such good farmers that they did not need assistance of that kind. Mr Talbot (Temuka): Plant breeding and seed selection are what wo want. Mr Anstey (Waitaki) : That is all we want. There are things that individual farmers cannot do. Mr Wilson said tho agricultural instructors in Otago did not agree that there was such high-class farming done there. Mr Sidey: They want to learn moro about the growing of lucerne. The Hon. Mr Nosworthy : We have a man in America now learning all about lucerne. With regard to train services Mr Massey said ho did not think the time was far distant when the full service would be restored. The through train in tho South Island could not be restored till all services were resumed. The services would have been restored in the -very near future but for the fact that there was uncertanuy about the supply of coal from the New Zealand mines. The shipping shortage had been a direct result of the war, and ho believed that New Zealand would have been in a very much worso position than sho actually occupied if the Government had not made the purchasing arrangement with the Imperial authorities, who then took the responsibility for the transport of produce. T'he fact that the Imperial authorities were paying £1,000,000 a year for the storage in New Zealand of produce urgently required on the other side of the world was proof that the shortage of shipping was a reality. The construction of snipping at rjresent, owing to rhe exceedingly high prices, was out of the question'. He was in constant communication with the Imperial authorities regarding shipping, and he hoped that the improvement which was now taking place would continue until all the produce now in store ha'd been lifted. Dealing with the question of hydro-elect-ric schemes, Sir Wm. Eraser said there would be a difficulty about finding the labour for all the works. Just now ho was about 1600 men short of the number he would normally have on roads and bridges, and as there was more than a normal amount of work to be done he could quite easily find work for 2000 more men than the normal number. If he had the men he believed that he would be able to get the works through because he did not think the money would be difficult to get. Owing to the lack of men it would not bo possible to start all the works at once, but this did not mean that until the two North Island schemes were completed all work in other parts of the country would be blocked. He assured the deputation that he was in earnest about the development of water-power resources, and that the delays that bad occurred had not been duo to any fault on his part. Some reference had beep made to the harnessing of the Waitaki. It had been claimed that this river would be a good source of power, but this had not been Mr Parry's opinion. In Danedin, where they had already the hydro-electric scheme, there was a proposal to double the power available. .This would be a good thing, and he could give the assurance that no difficulties would be made by his department. The--, desire of the Government was to get these enterprises established as soon as possible. In Southland, he understood, the people were satisfied to go on with their own scheme. Mr Rodger: So we are. We are going right ahead. We hope the Government will purchase our head works when we have completed them. Sir Wm ; Fraser said he believed it will. He explained the great difficulty under which the department had been working during the war owing to lack of men and lack of skilled engineers. The Government was as fully convinced as anybody in the dominion about the development of hvdro-clectric power. Some people were alarmed because those schemes were going to cost millions. What if they did? The intorost on those' millions would be no burden at all on this dominion. He had a few days ago sianorl an authority for the payment of £25.600 interest on the Lake CoWldae works, but this interest was not costing the' country a single penny. If those- enterprises wore conducted on business linos the interest on the borrowed millions would bo no burden, and the works would be the best asset in tho country, helning the industries, but it was Tv's firm thnt to narrv throurrh this business there should b* a board established t" work with the Ministor, because no Minister o<">i'ld possihlvsufficient t.rm« to it. Of course the' whole business should be under the control of the Minister.