LAND AGGREGATION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15972, 14 November 1919, Page 4

LAND AGGREGATION.

Mb Cuttle's laudation last night at Aramoho of Mr Massey's enactment, passed dorring the dying hours of the aessdoni 1 to stop land aggregation is rather amusing, especially when it is lemeinbered that the measure was only introduced as the result of the pressure of public opinion. Mr Cuttle knows perfectly -well that the Hon. Mr Guthrie, Eeform's Minister of l&aiids, had the cool effrontery to state in Wanganui—and lie repeated the statement wi ether parte of the Dominion—that there was no aggregation, whereas the evil was rampant in his own district as elsewhere, and some of his own particular friends and supporters were amongst the worst of the aggregators. . The evil lias been increasing, until it has become a crying scandal, and lieform journals have teen compelled to take the matter up. Thus we find "A Traveller" writing to the Dominion as follows: At the meeting at which the Dannovirke branch of the Farmers' Onion was formed ,one of the speakers took credit to the Farmers' Unions for defeating Mr MeNab's Land Bill. If that gentleman could get the Minister to go through the coast from Dannevirke, lie would be delighted with what is permitted and k being done under the present Act. Prom the Manawatu bridge to Waipatiki there is a. large block of land in very few hands, and getting fewer. Two emali schools, usually closed. At Waipatiki, store closed, school removed, several houses empty. At Weber, where there used to be two clergymen, four blacksmiths, several stores, 85 on the school roll, good hotel, billiard-room, cricket club, .the position now is half of the houses are empty, no clergymen, no blacksmith, no bootmaker, one store, a hotel, even the lock-up has not been used for over ten years; butter factory closed down; 45 on the school roll. At Waiono, ! the same story. Pongaroa, the same, only more so. To Mount Williams from Weber, three or four names dominate the landscape. On to Wimbledon two names. From Wimbledon to the coast, about four cover almost all the land. I was informed' that the land was falling into groups. One consists of about twenty original holdings, another of about fifteen, and so on. All land, remember, suitable for moderatesized farms—homes that sent out plenty of the very best ''cannon fodder" are now standing deserted. Churches closed, schools languishing—even the M.P. has not bothered to show up for live years. And similar scandalous conditions exist all over the Dominion—vacant homesteads, empty shops and schools in tho townships, and butter factories closed down. Mr Massey and his Reform Government have had eight years to remedy the evil, =nd what have they done? Mr Cuttle supplies the answer. When they could no longer resist iJie clamant demand for putting a stop to tho disgraceful state of affairs they pasted a'Bill. That was a couple of weeks ago. What a magnificent result for eight yea.rs' work! MR. MASSEY'S "ENDEAVOUR"! Anothke amusing statement made by Mr Cuttle last evening was that when Mr Massey took office in 1911 hev "endeavoured" to put enactments on the Statute Book which were the most democratic New Zealand had seen! The "endeavour," evidently, was about as successful as iis effort to stop the democratic legislation which WAS placed on the Statute Book by his Liberal predecessors—Mr Ballance, Mr Seddon, and Sir Joseph Ward. How determined was Mr Massey's "endeavour" to block this legislation is evidenced by the fact that in 100 divisions during tho period that the Old Age Pensions Bill was before Parliament he voted against the measure 87 times. And amongst those who were associated with him in bis efforts to block the industrial measures were three

other members of the 'Reform Cabinet— Sir James Allen, and Messrs Henries and Fraser. Mr Berries was almost ajyielivo in opposition as his chief, as lie vmed 83 times against the Old Age Pensions Bill, Sir James Allen 79 times, and Mr Fraser 57. Similarly when the Bill for the compulsory acquisition of the big estates to L provide land for the landless was the House, Sir James Allen voted against it on 42 occasions, Mr Massey on 37, Mr Fraser on 24, and Mr Berries on 23. And the "endeavour’' to block progressive legislation was maintained when the measure to provide money for settlers—■ the Advances to Settlers Bill—was being put through by the Liberals. Sir James Allen was again a virulent opponent, voting against it on 35 occasions, Mr Massey on 34, Mr Fraser on 31, and Mr Hemes on 14. These were but a few of the democratic measures which Sir Joseph Ward was associated with, and which were opposed with the utmost bitterness by the men whom Mr Cuttle is anxious to support in Parliament. And yet he calmly claimed last night tlrat immediately Mr Massey got into power he ‘‘endeavoured” to pass the moat democratic enactments l\cw Zealand had seen! Surely Mr Cuttle must think the electors of Wanganui have short memories and little judgment, if they are to be gulled by such absurd statements ae he' made last night. Sir Joseph Ward’s acts and those of the Reformers are recorded in State papers, and no amount of camouflage by Mr Cuttie can hide them.