EXTRACTS FROM HANSARD LABOR SETTLEMENTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1934, 3 September 1888, Page 3

EXTRACTS FROM HANSARD LABOR SETTLEMENTS.

In the House on 27th Auguit m th< debate which took place upon the eineideration of tho vote for £10,000 passed m Committee of Supply for the purpose ol acquiring land for labor settlements and which was unfortunately rejected by i majority of two, on a vote of 30 to 32, Major Steward said : — I desire very cordially to thank the Government for having at thiß stage of tho session,' brought down a question which I conceive to be of the largest possible importance to the colony, although they have nothing to gain, so far as 1 know, m a purty point of view, by bringing down this vote. Bir, I am aware, and numbers of honorable members of this House are aware, thot m various parts of this colony — there are good, steady men — good colonist,s who, owing to local circumstances over which they personally have no control, are unable to find sufficient employment for the whole year and maintain themselves and their families They oan obtain employment, not from the large landowners, but from the small landowners, the working farmers of their dletriot, during the busy times of the farming season. But the employment they can so obtain is not sufficient to maintain them all the year round. What follows, Sir ? That during the time of their distress they, session after session, petition this House te undertake public works — what are called " unemployed " relief works. I should like to bee the necessity for any such expenditure altogether disappear ; and, Sir, I expreea tbe opinion that, if the uraall experiment which tbe House is now asked to try turns out satisfactorily, it will pave the wej to the Boluiion of the " unemployed " difficulty m various parts of the country where it now exists. Honorable gtntlemen atk why it is that such a matter as this is proposed at this stage of the session. The honorable m mber for Auckland Central just now refered to the difficulties that honorable members m the House had to contend with. He referred ia perfeotly truthful terms to the impoßoibtlUy of bringing forward notices of motion In this Wouse. I have had twice on the Order Paper, from the beginning of the setsion, a proposal to deal with this question, and twice It has passed from the Order Paper without an opportunity of my sayiDg » word upon it, What has happened? That myself a' d other honorable members — some of them Government supporters and some of them belonging to the other side of the House, some of them from the North and some from the South— 'have waited upon the gentleman at the head of the Government and told him the olroumstanoes I am now telling the House, and asked if It were not possible to place some small sum on the estimates for the purpose of trying this experiment m such localities as the Government might fiad best to give it a trial m. I think the district I represent m»y bo one of them, and that Oamaru may happen to be another, but I do not say that any particular case should be sanctioned. I want simply that the Government have tbe opportunity during the recess of reoelvlng representations from any part of New Zealand; If they find bonajide men willing to take up the land and pay a fair rental for It— it they find land oan be obtained m the open market by fair tender at reasonable price*, they can come down next session and say, II Wo have definitely arranged these matters now ; we ask you to pass a Bill." That ia what the Government want to do. Is thero anything wrong m that t I aok honorable members to turn to legislation passed m tho Old Country. It shows us an example of liberalism In many things. If honorable members will turn to tho Imperial Statutes of last year they will find there an Act Intituled, "An Aot to facilitate the Provision of Allotment! for the Laboring daises." They will see that under the 2nd clause of that Aot, on a reprentation m writing to the sanitary authority of any urban or rural district, by any six registered parliamentary electors or ratepayers resident, (n the oase of an urban district, m that district, and m the caeo of a rural district, m come parish m that distriot, that the circumstances of -the urban district or parish are such that it is the duty of the sanitary authority to take proceedings under this Act therein, the sanitary authority shall take such representation into consideration, and can proceed to acquire land by voluntary agreement, to be divided and leased as laborers' allotments. Nay, more. By clause 3, subsection (2), they can compulßorily take land for thar. parpose. We do not ask anything of that kind hero. We are simply asking that when land is required for a like purpose it shall bo acquired by purchase upon voluntary agreement, I admit that there is a certain amount of force m the contention of the honorable member for Nelson. The honorable gentleman says that a dishonest Government would be able to do improper things under a vote of this kind. Ido not desire that to be done. The Premier has given me hja ideas on the matter, and I have no doubt he will give thorn to the House. He has stored that he would ppenly, m the face of the country, wheneyor it was nepes&ary, and where suitable land was available for the purpose, purchase land at a reasonable and fair price, and provision would be made for getting people on that land under f&ir and proper conditions. It waß ° n *y * few da y s °8° i wrote to C 2? afl representing a large body of laboring nieil wbo bad sent a petition to the House about the subject — and that petition was recommended by a Select Committee to tbe favorable consideration of the Govotn ment. The peop'e I now rpfer to represent 258 souls. I wrote to thorn l*at Sunday ana. said that I was m hope the Government would succeed m carrying a vote which might enable them to deal with their case. I said that they wore not to look forward to any Government assistance towards raising their houses or anything of that kind ; but if they were willing to do as men did m the old days — put up a sod but on their holdings — and pay a fair rental, then they would be able to keep a couple of cows and some poultry and pigs, and would become landowners. If we turn to the case of Franoo we see how that country has progressed under a system of that sort, though I think the subdivision system has been thoro carried too far. An Hon Member : Not under a system of pauper settlements. Major Steward —Nor ia this a system of pauper settlements. An Hon Member— What Is it then ? Major Steward— l contend that any man who Is willing to pay a fair rent is not a pauper. More than that, I would give » right of acquiring the freehold. An Hon Member— Why does not be acquire It. blajor Steward — A question Is asked, why do not some of the farmers out up' their farms — those, say, owning % couple of hundred acres— lnto seotiona of ten or fifteen acres. I say that Is not at all likely. Even supposing there happened to be an estate thrown on the market say, by the death of an owner, I do not think the truatees would be willing to sell In that way. Ido honestly believe that if we take this departure It will be the means of showing the way to a solution of a very great difficulty, and I do earnestly hope the House will pause before it throws out this vote. There Is one other word I would say m oonneotlon with tbe subject, •nd it li this : Not long ago we passed a vote of £15,000 f«r the purpose of extending the village-homeßtead settlements. Under that vote sums of money will be advanced,' and there is a further vote of £6000 for this purpose. As « matter of (tot both tbent lum will, I biltore, be

wholly, or mainly, expended In the North Island, and it doos seem to me unfair that the requirements of settlemont should be provided for, as has been done In one part of the colony, and that they should not be o provided for m other parts of the olony. - I oould speak for two or three hours on d this sohjaot, bat at this period of the f session Ido not deaire to detain the House d longer ; but I believe that what the a Government now propose ia a wise and !, a right thing to do, and I could not entirely >• hold my peace while this matter waa being g disoussod.' . , Q . .' . . -■■