THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 7245, 28 August 1902, Page 2

THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Re-settlement Required

Castlcpoint and the Bast Coast.

During tho debate on tho motion to go into Coimriittco of Supply on Friday, Mr Hogg, tho Member for Mastorton, said: —Kir, I. am not going to apply for railway or wharfage concessions. My district is not afllictcd with eithor tho ono or tho other. What wo roquiro is good roads. Wo have very few railways, and tho few wo possess, unl'ko tho railways in tho northern part of tho Colony, do not occasion much anxiety. Thcro is ono tiling we want very' badly, and which would bo a great advantage to this part of tho Colony, and that is that the Land Purehaso Board under tho Land for Settlements Act should bo instructed to acquire sonio of the Jand about our townships for settlement purposes. An Hon. Member.—lt is too dear. Mr Hogg.—lt will never bo much cheaper than it is at the present time, because from month to month it is increasing enormously in value. I think tho sooner the Government sot to work and acqui.ro some of that land for workmen's homes, for residences for those in the townships, and for dairy farms the better it will be for that part of the colony. You have only to go a very short distance away from Wellington, and you will find some splendid land lying almost idle and unoccupied. Undeniably, a good deal of the country is exceedingly poor; only fit to bo hold in large areas, as sheep farms; and not very good even for that. But, from the tops of tho ranges, you can see numbers of fertile valleys, with rivers running through them to tho ocean, and on that country there ought to be settled a largo population. This country ought to bo properly settled, and yet it remains almost in tho same condition as that in which it was originally found by the pioneer settlers. I maintain it is a scandal that close to tho metropolitan city of New Zealand land in huge areas should remain in its primitive condition. Those who have taken up the country that I speak of have not properly improved it, yet they cling desperately to it. My contention is that the portions that are lit for close settlement ought to ] be taken up by the Government and disposed of under the Land for Settlements Act. The towns in the Wairarapa have grown, but the population in the country districts have not increased as it should have done, because the land has not been properly settled. Take tho land at Castle Point, Tend, and all tho way down the East Coast to Wellington, and contrast that country with the West Coast of this island. On the West Coast there is a fair amount of settlement; but I on the East Coast there is practically no settlement. Tho sooner a change is made in that respect tho better it will bo for the Colony. The Government, lam j afraid, are not doing their duty. Wo were promised some years ago that land would be acquired in the neighbourhood of Masterton, Carterton, Greytown, and other places, but that promise has not yet been given effect to. The process going on in some places in this Colony corresponds with what is going on to tho detriment of the people in older countries—the people are crowding into tho towns instead of settling in the country. Some of the huge estates on the East Coast must eventually bo acquired, and I believe the sooner they arc acquired the better it will be for the people. This is a far more important question than some of the matters that have been occupying the time of the House. We want to encourage the settlement of a larger population in tho neighbourhood of our agricultural and pastoral districts. People who are well acquainted with farming and dairying pursuits are anxious to find land on which to settle so that they may contribute by their exertions to tho expansion of our export trade. We want fair play for these people. They arc not allowed fair play at present. No one can contend wo are acting fairly with our population in our townships, as long as land is allowed to be locked up in the hands of a few in the way it is. I trust the Government will do its duty in this matter, and bring influence to bear on the Land Purchase Board, so that it may take advantage of its opportunities and see that more land of a suitable character is applied to its proper use, and placed at the disposal of the people who require it.