MINISTER OF LANDS REPLIES TO MR POLSON

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 63, 24 October 1928, Page 5

MINISTER OF LANDS REPLIES TO MR POLSON

STATEMENTS DENIED.

THE UNION ORGANISERS.

DETERIORATED LAND

Press Association —Copyright CARTERTON, This Day. The Hon. A. D. McLeod, speaking at Pirinoa last night, made the following reply to Mr W. J. Poison, Independent candidate for the Stratford seat:— Mr Poison returns to tfyei attack with his usual adroitness in avoiding the issues. Since speaking in the Waikato some time ago I have stated time and time again that 1? will withdraw unreservedly everything I have said regarding the Farmers’ Union participating as a union in party polities provided I have his assurance that certain organisers of the Union mentioned, by Die are not and have not been in receipt of payments from the Dominion organisation during say, the a past twelve months, when they have hee.n actively working / against Reform candidates in different parts of the Dominion . Furthpr, he persists in his stupid statement that four million acres of land have gone back into fern, scrub and second growth during Reform’s term of office and now endeavours to wriggle out of his untruthful, creditdestroying assertion by quoting the “Lyttelton Times,” the “Christchurch Press,” or the Auckland “Herald.’ I have quoted figures from official sources on several occasions which prove his statement to be absolutely incorrect, and he now aggravates the position by making the bald and ridi-

oulous assertion that one million acres have been reverting annually. Since 1912 three million acres of unoccupied land have been added to the occupied lands of th,e Dominion, and of this 875,000 acres have been selected since 1917. Mr Poison knows, perhaps better than anyone else, that this accretion was not made from cleared country or from land capable of carrying stock, but from, land almost entirely in fern scrub or Bush, and the fact that the area of this class of land Iras not materially increased shows' that instead of holding back, the position, taking the Dominion as a, whole, has been well maintained. Yet MV Poison blindly persists in a statement which has had n vow detrimental effect hy causing the withdrawal of investment money from rural credit securities .