REVISED LAND LAWS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16474, 19 October 1927, Page 4

REVISED LAND LAWS

PROTECTION FOR SETTLERS

POOR LANDS PROBLEM

(Per Tress Association.)

WELLINGTON, last night

In moving the second reading of the Land Laws Amendment Bill, the Hon. A. I). McLood, Minister of Lands, said the proposals in the Bill had been deemed necessary to preserve the interests of those on the land rather than to promote new settlements. There wore other clauses of importance. Where a Laud Board had to administer certain endowments it was proposed that; the Department should receive payment for its services. The office of*'Crown Lands Ranger" had been abolished and the office of "Fields Inspector of Crown Lands" substituted.

Mr. M. T. Savage commented on clause 18 giving authority for the "remission of rent in the case of land disposed of to a discharged soldier, but not now held by a discharged soldier." He said many returned soldiers *had walked off their farms, because the land had been bought at too high a price. There could now bo )io remission of rent '.o them, because they had gone, but his interpretation of clause 18 was that it was now proposed to make this remission to the succeeding settler, who was not a returned soldier. He did not complain at this, but he regretted this step had not been taken earlier so that the soldiers might have got the benefit of it. Many good men had lost their farms because of this delay. So far as the Bill was progressive he complimented the Government on the fact, but he feared it was not going to stray very far from the policy which the Reform party had laid down.

Mr. G. W. Forbes criticised the policy of settling poor gum lauds by giving such lands away. That was not, going to get them very far. The Government must get behind the settlement of farm lands, because more capital was required to work them than was the caso with rich lands, and only poor men would take them up. The trouble with our land 'settlement work was that we were retreating, not advancing, and the policy of the Minister evidently was to keep what settlers he had. There was, however, a good deal of leeway to make up, because there were many abandoned farms still empty. To have them reoccupied should be the first duty of the Minister, since the longer they were unoccupied the more they deteriorated and the more difficult it would be to again bring them into profit. e The Hon. D. Buddo deprecated any attempt to settle poor settlers on poor land.

Mr. A. Bell defended t}ie proposals to settle the gum lands'of the Far North, which, he said, were being rapidly changed from gum to dairying lands.

Mr. J. Bitchcner congratulated the Minister upon his effort to make settlement easy and permanent. After the Minister had briefly replied the Bill was read a second time.