THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 3rd NOVEMBER, 1932. LAND SETTLEMENT.

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3250, 3 November 1932, Page 4

THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 3rd NOVEMBER, 1932. LAND SETTLEMENT.

LAND administration is of necessity a somewhat thankless task in a time of economic stress, and the annual report for 1931-32 on the settlement of Crown lands in New Zealand reflects the difficulties with which the settlers and the Department have had to contend. But if the conditions of the day have added greatly to the responsibility of the Department, it would appear that its work has been carried out with due appreciation of the peculiarly harassing circumstances of the primary producer. The fall in receipts from rents of Crown lands (exclusive of those that are payable under, the discharged soldiers’ settlement scheme) has been most substantial—from £1,271,821 in 1928, and just over £1,000,000 last year, to £776,489 for 1931-32. Arrears in rent on 31st March anfounted to £807,311, and the Department had agreed to rent postponements of £182,045, and to remissions of £43,500. The financial position is disturbingly emphasised in these figures, but there can scarcely be any quarrel with the intimation in the report that no action is being taken to deprive settlers of their holdings for failure to pay their rent. As it is desirable that all land should be kept in production, it would not be in the public interest if settlers who have been conscientiously doing their best were permitted to walk off their holdings, even though returns from their operations may not, at present prices for primary products, enable them to fulfil their obligations to the Government. On the other hand, it is not reasonable to expect that the State should not share in the disposal of the proceeds of the working of its Crown lands, and the Department, having become aware that “in many cases payment of private changes has been given precedence over payments to the State,” is remedying this inequitable position by arranging for the distribution of what it calls “ profits ” between the landlord, the mortgagee, and the farmer. W'hat “ profits ” may be expected from the holdings to which this reference in the departmental report applies it is difficult to conceive, but the Department certainly has a duty to the taxpayers to ensure that it receives a fair share of any available moneys. It is at least encouraging to learn that more than 15,000 Crown tenants paid their rent in time to profit by the rebate, thus saving themselves a total of £34,330. As might be expected, the demand for land for settlement has declined sensibly during the past 18 months, the concern of the Government being rather to keep on the land the people who are already there than to effect fresh settlement. The selections, however, on permanent tenures of rural lands during the past financial year numbered 456, the total area involved being 142,666 acres, but of this land only 45,000 acres were taken up for the first time by 216 settlers, the greater portion of the selected area apparently consisting of land thau had come back on the Department’s hands. Land development under the authorisations of the Land Laws Amendment Act that was passed two years ago has been pushed ahead vigorously in the period under review, the total expenditure to 31st March last being £172,342, of which £122,533 was expended in the past 12 months. In view of the strictures that were passed by the National Expenditure Commission on the activities of another Department in land development, it is to be hoped that this work will be closely controlled. That it has a considerable value in providing employment and in permanently improving the land will be freely admitted I