LAND BALLOTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 898, 18 August 1910, Page 6

LAND BALLOTS.

MR. HINE IN.REPLY. The resolution of tho TaranaM Land BoaTd denying r the statement of Mr. Hine, M.P., that applicants, in Taranaki' had been refused admission to tho. land ballots because they -were, not in possession of .£SOO was brought under the notice of Mr. Hine by a .Dominion reporter 1 yesterday. . Mr. Hine said that perhaps the sequel would cause a back-Uown on the part of tho board members who had supported the resolution. Tho facts were these:—

"Two neighbours of mine at Tokowero in .possession of .£SOO betireeu them and when the Huinga Estate, near Toko, was opened for selection, these worthy sefc'tlers' decided to enter an application for ono section. 'Having.,made up their minds the next move was to obtain maps and conditions, the. latter being in pamphlet form; but upon perusal.they indignantly declined to submit.to tho searching inquiries demanded. They had to satisfy tho Land Hoard that they wore financial, and their interpretation, although iii possession 0f..£500,' was that they were ineligible under the conditions imposed." ■: i-

This, continued Mr. Hine, was not the only singular case in which applir cants had been refused the ballot. When the Mata-Mata Estate, in Auckland, was being settled there were nine applicants for the homestead, but eight-of these were not allowed to go to the ballot, although one was in possession of \ J51500 and had six sons to help him iii farming operations. The remaining applicant, who was in possession of .€2OOO, was accepted by tho board. This proved conclusively that the land for settlement system was of no use to,the poor man as he (Mr. Hine) bad already placed on record in Hansard. • .;i