THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. SATURDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1933. PROGRESS REPORTED.

Waipa Post, Volume 47, Issue 3386, 28 October 1933, Page 6

THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. SATURDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1933. PROGRESS REPORTED.

IN Parliamentary language we are enabled at last to report progress. The announcement from Wellington that Cabinet has authorised the acquisition of certain lands in this district for closer settlement is the realisation of a hope that has been cherished during recent months. It is, let it be hoped, hut an instalment of considerable similar activity in the future. The negotiations have been tedious and, to those accustomed to quick decisions, exasperating!y slow; but now the period of seeming inaction has drawn to a close we may anticipate that other negotiations in progress will soon reach the stage of action. Necessarily there is a degree of caution in Government land settlement programmes, since experience in the past has not encouraged hasty decisions. Under conditions which make prudence something more than a virtue, risks cannot .be admitted into the scheme of things. The problem of settlement is attended with certain natural hazards, and these are magnified somewhat when the State is in the market. Evidently the Government is probing very deeply to find a basis on which ultimate success can be assured, and risks are being set as far as humanly possible on one side. From that standpoint much of the delay mA'y be warranted. Successful settlement, even if it comes slowly, is .better than a risky adventure without care in planning. Yet, at the same time, caution can be overdone, and there is a suspicion that the costs of inquiry more than offset the value of judicious examination of the projects which have now had official acceptance, and of others which are still in prospect. Nevertheless it is good to witness this first instalment of official action. It marks achievement for the Parliamentary member for the district, since it is quite an open secret that Mr Broadfoot has applied himself assiduously to the' development of closer settlement schemes. It brings the knowledge of fulfilment to many estimable farmers who have given so freely «f their time and service to aid the settlement proposals of the Government, and as members of advisory committees have forwarded the official inquiry that necessari'y preceded action. Signs of some positive results will serve as an incentive Ijor further endeavour, and there is scope in this locality for vastly greater development than .has yet been attempted. When the Chamber of Commerce promoted supplementary organisation an objective was set for one hundred new farms hereabout, and that was a conservative demand on the latent opportunity that exists. There is cause for gratification that a start | has been made, and we may no|w j await progressive expansion.