LAND SETTLEMENT. .

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4817, 4 December 1893, Page 1

LAND SETTLEMENT. .

. ■» THE VICTORIAN MINISTER. The Hon J. M'lntyre, Minister for Lands in the Victorian Ministry, accompanied by his Private Secretary, Mr G. Aytoun, arrived in Christchurch by the express train from Dunedin on Saturday evening. The object of Mr M'lntyre'a visit is to Bee for himself tho result of the efforts of the New Zealand Government in settling the people on the land, and also to acquire information regarding the finance of the Colony and our banking laws. He is specially inquiring into the subject of land settlement, particularly as regards villoge settlements -and homestead associations; the resumption of large estates for viliage settlements and small farms; and how the small landholders are utilising the land on which they have bean placed. Mr M'lntyre also intends to make inquiries into the productive powers of this Colony and its export trade, paying particular attention to the frozen meat and dairy industries, and also to ascertain the markets to which New Zealand ia exporting. Mr J. E. March, Superintendent of Settlements, has been requested by the Minister for Lauds to accompany Mr M'lntyre on his tour through the Colony, and to give him all the assistance in his power to obtain Ihe required information. an' interview. A representative of this journal waited on Mr M'lntyre, and in the course of a conversation, gleaned that that gentleman was very pleased with what he had seen so far. The New Zealand climate he considers very fine', and the country south of and about Dunedin, he says, reminds him very much of Ihb native place in Scotland. The trains, though slow compared with those running on the Victorian linee, are well equipped, and the composite carriages especially pleased him so much that he intends taking back with him full particulars as to their construction, with the object of having them introduced on the Victorian railways. The country he has passed through he considers eminently suitable for supporting a very large number of people, and so far as he has seen, those who havo been placed on the land by the present Government are all doing well and are thoroughly satisfied. The circumstances which led to THE PRESENT VISIT were that during the passage through Parliament of Mr M'lntyre's Village Communities, Homestead Associations and Labour Colonies Act, the working of the New Zealand Homesteads and Village Settlement schemes was frequently referred to, and the Minister therefore thought it was better for him to see for himself the exact result of what had been done in this Colony. With this object in view Mr M'lntyre has visited the village settle- • ments along the railway line and appears highly pleased with all he has seen. The settlement founded at Waimate some two years ago, he describes as a thriving little colony, and so far as he could gather, all the members of it appeared satisfied with their lots. The only complaint the settlers had to make was that they thought the rent they were paying was rather • on the high side, viz., from 12s 6d to 18s' per acre. Hut, as the settlers had only had the opportunity to get one crop oS their holdings, he Buppcse3 that now the worst part of the work iv connection with preparing the land for the first crop has been got over,- they will begin to reap . their reward, and will find no difficulty in meeting the rent. ° Mr M'lntyre paid a visit to the village founded at Temuka in 1874, and was delighted with what he saw. Although the areas only range from half-an-acre to one acre, he found the people happy and quite contented. The cottages and gardens were neatly kept, and there was an air of comfort about the settlement which pleased him greatly. From conversation with the Eettlers he found that with the employment they had been able to obtain within easy distance of the village, and the produce from their land, many of them had been enabled to bring up large families Comfortably, and enquiries elicited the fact that they were quite contented. Nearly every section had agood crop of vegetables, and many of them possessed fine orchards. The fact tbat out of the large number who had been placed on this settlement only two or three had given up their sections, he regards as proving conclusively that those who say it is no use putting a man on less than fifty acres are entirely mistaken. He points out that the object of the State should not be to create large landholders, but to put the people in the way of GETTING A LIVING away from the towns aud centres of population, and he contends that, by settling them on Email areas of land in positions where employment can be obtained within easy rea h, the State is doing the bast work of which it is capable. By doing -this he maintains that a spirit of independence is encouraged, and any deßire to drift back into the town is counteracted. He was convinced from what he bad seen so far that all the people who had been placed on small areas were doing well, and that the work of settlement which had been done in this island was bearing good fruits, a preliminary* knowledge of farming he did not consider abaolutely necessary, as the men would learn by experience. As a proof of this he mentioned that not ten out of every hundred who had been placed on the land in Victoria knew anything of agricultural pursuits when they commenced operations, but now they all had a fair knowledge of farming and were doing well. In the matter of settlement, although Victoria and New Zealand were not running on exactly the same lines, they both had the same end in view, and he considered they were boih on the right track. He considered Mr John M'Keczie an enthusiast in the matter of settlement, and it was with such men at the helm that the system must be brought to a successful issue. There was no doubt that a large number of those who had been placed on the land would remain there, and if only one half remained the Minister must be looked upon as having done good work. It was

to the land that New Zealand, and, in fact, Australasia generally, must look for | their future welfare, and he was sure, if the right class of men were induced to take up the land, an immense amount of good must be done to all the Colonies. He had been quite astonished by what he had seen of the productions of some of the small areas, and anyone who had not seen it would, scarcely credit what had been done on some of the acre and half-acre sections along the southern railway line. By giving men opportunities of making homes for themselves, however small, in the country districts, they bad something to look forward to when they were out of work, and instead of drifting back into the towns they would return to their sections and cultivate them until other work turned up. This, he maintained, made them independent, and wa3 also conducive to the production of a BETTER CLASS OP COLONISTS. To allow them to hang about the street corners of the various cities had a demoralising tendency, and created an undesirable class of paupers, whereas giving men a stake m the country, as it wero, fostered a spirit of Belf-reliance. Mr M'lntyre painted out that in Victoria there was no difficulty in getting land for settlement, as there was plenty at the disposal of the State. He considers that the New Zealand Government is acting wisely in resuming possession of large estates wherever possible and cutting them up, and this is a policy it should follow whenever oppor-

tunity offered. He explained the working of tho Labour Colonies which his Government had established in Victoria. On that Government coming into office it had at once done away with the existing Labour Bureaux, as it found they encouraged an undesirable class of men to congregate in the towns, and were also attracting men from the neighbouring Colonies. Instead of the Bureaux the Government waß establishing LABOUB COLONIES, one of which was already in operation about eighty-five miles from Melbourne. Here the men were sent, free railway passes being provided for them from all parts. The work wa3 mostly heavy bush clearing, while lighter work in the shape of gathering scrub, &c, was provided for those who were not fitted for the heavier toil. These Colonies were managed by trustees, and the Government contributed £2 for every £1 raised by the trustees. The men were provided with food and shelter, and although only small wages were paid, it was sufficient to give them 5s or 6s per week above the cost of their keep. Thesa Colonies were only intended as relief works, and the men only remained there until they could find more suitable employment. A register of names was kept by the trustees, and as men were required by private employers they were drafted away to whatever work might be offered. The work done by them was at the same time reproductive, as the land was worth absolutely nothing with the timber on, but when clewed could be readily sold at .£2O per acre. These labour colonies had been very succeseful, and had been the means of taking a large number of men out of Melbourne who otherwise would have starved, and while such institutions were in existence there was no need for any men to hang about the towns and become destitute. Good work had been done iv this way, and a large number of . men who would otherwise have never left the towns, had been given a taste for country life, and many of them were now anxious to get land of their own. The encouragement of this taste, Mr M'lntyre considered would do more towards ENDING THE UNEMPLOYED DIFFICULTY than anything else that could be devised. Queensland has now adopted the Victorian Act without alteration. Whilst the object of Mr M'lntyre's visit to this Colony is to gain information, he expresses himßelf as most ready to afford any particulars that may be sought as to the Colony he represents. Yesterday he drove round the suburbs, and was very pleased with what he saw. To-day he purposes visiting the public buildings and the railway workshops. He leaves here on Wednesday for Wellington, going thence overland to Napier and Auckland, and returning to Australia about Dec. 16. j