The Waipa Post. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1912. CROWN LANDS ADMINISTRATION.

Waipa Post, Volume II, Issue 96, 22 March 1912, Page 2

The Waipa Post. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1912. CROWN LANDS ADMINISTRATION.

FARMERS generally, bid* more particularly the holders of Crown sections, will we feel si.re, fully appreciate the desire of the Auckland Land Board to do its utmost for the settlement of the Crown Lands of the Auckland Province. That the Board is most desirous of attaining this end is fully evidenced by the frequent journeys oftentimes in the face of considerable personal inconvenience, into the back blocks in order that the local conditions and urgent requirements may be better understood by the Board. Placed as it is, the Board's position is an unenviable one. On the one hand is its desire to help by every possible means the genuine settler, and on the other hand are the somewhat stringent conditions of the Land Act which regulates its movements. Speaking at Te Awamutu last week the Commissioner summarised the Board's position to a nicety when he said, ''The Land Act was framed to benefit the community, and the Land Board holds office to administer the Act." Thus it is that the Board is often capped in its endeavour to further the interests of the genuine settler who is rightly deserving

of all possible assistance from both community and State. In the Commissioner's speech he referred to the good settler as being a benefit to the community and a valuable asset to the State, which is indisputable. The good settler who, in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties and ofttimes with no recognised means of communication with the outer world takes up virgin country, and by dogged persistency and a fixed determination to overcome all temporary setbacks establishes for himself a home, is truly worthy of the support of any public body responsible to a very large measure for the conditions under which he works. The Land Board of this province seems to have thoroughly grasped its true mission and is determined to do much good work for the country as a whole, and for the good settler individually. Were it not hampered by what in many instances is a misfitting Land Act, then most assuredly would much better results be gained. We say —and without fear of contradiction —that the land laws of this Dominion,whilst containing much that is of benefit to the community, embody manyanomalies which hamper and harrass both the Board of Control and the hard-working settlerThat the ballot system is more or less a failure cannot be gainsaid. That so many men should have to waste months of valuable time and money which-they can ill afford in their endeavours to acquire a section of Crown land, clearly shows the ballot does not meet requirements. It has broken the heart of all too many promising settlers, and it has robbed many a district of the genuine type of farmer who was capable of utilising the land to the best advantage, while the speculator or the indifferent farmer who is fortunate at the ballot only 1 awaits the opportunity of exploiting his less fortunate rivals at the ballot, and later unloading the holding at a largely-enhanced price. It is in cases such as these —and there are too many of them -where the land laws fall far short of doing that for which they were framed. How often is the Board directly responsible, and whose duty it is to administer the Act, called to task by the settler, for the many glaring instances that do exist ? As we said before, the Land Board—desirous of fulfilling its true mission—is in an unenviable position. If it is not particularly anxious to further the interests of settlement its position is entirely reversed, as it has only to rigidly hold to the stringent laws to save itself endless worry and much inconvenience. That the Auckland province is most fortunate in possessing an energetic and practical Land Board' will be proved as time enables the results of its labours to become known. A member of the Board, speaking at Te Awamutu, .considered that the number of homes in the Waikato could be doubled. We feel sure this applies to our immediate district, .and hope that the Board will strain every endeavour to settle as much as possible of the waste lands of the lower Waikato. It is a worthy undertaking, and one which we feel sure will not escape the notice of the Auckland Land Board for any great length of time.