LANDS READY FOR FARMERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1743, 7 May 1913, Page 8

LANDS READY FOR FARMERS.

■ * BIG AREA IN NORTH ISLANIX ACTIVITY IN ROADMAKING. THE STRATFORD-ONGARUE RAILWAY. Tho progress mado by the present Gov. eminent in preparing land for settlement' was referred to by tlie Primo Minister (Hon. .W. F. Massey). in tho course of an interview with a "Kew Zealand Herald'' representative. Mr. Massey said that as Minister for Lands he had just teen informed by the Surveyor-General (Mr. J. Mackenzie) that tho total area, in tho North Island in preparation for settlement was now 241,000 acres. The statement ho had received from the Surveyor-General showed that ill the Auckland province, in addition to about 44,000 aarcs of land surveyed, about 08,000 acres of additional land could bo got ready for offering during the present l)ush-falling season, or a total of about 112,000 acrcs. In Taranaki, in addition to 52.33G ocrea of land surveyed, about 27,500 acres of new land couJd be got re&dy, giving a total for the province of <9,836 acres. There was a. block of 11,000 acrcs over tho Taranaki. boundary (in Wellington), near Patea, and this, with the Taranaki and Auckland laud, made a total of 203,000 acres. Land in other places brought the grand total up to 211,000 acres. Of tho Taranaki and Auckland areas about 50,000 acres were located in the Ohura. portion of the King Country, that is, land near Ongaiue, Mongapehu, Upper Mokau Valley, and Ohura proper. Most of it was available for sulxlivision into areas under, say, 400 acres. Most of this was really good land, and he believed it would be readily taken up. In the South Island (tho Prime Minister oontinucd) there was not a great deal of Crown land left suitable for settlement, and there the Government had to purchase blocks under the Lands for Settlement Act. Only last ■week it had secured two blocks suitable for sulxlivision, one in South Canterbury and tho other in North Otago. Now that tho financial position had improved (tho Prime Minister proceeded) he hoped to be able to do a great deal more iu tho way of land settlement and roadmaking than had been done during the first two or three months of his adminis* tration. A great deal of road-making was going, on in tho newly-settled districts, and although the Government had been, short of money for other purposes ho thought that when tho details of the Public Accounts were published it would bo seen that tho Government 'had spent more monev on road-making than had been the case for a number of years. If land settlement was to bo successful it must go along with road-making, and the Government intended to submit to Parliament during tho coming session very important proposals ifor'reading tho out-distnets. ' Mr. Massey hero produced a statement showing the" amounts authorised end expended on road works and other objects in tho King Country during the past two years, tho principal items lieiug 6liowu in the following table:— • 1911-12. Autho- ExTised. p'nd'd. • £ £ Main roads, etc. ... 32,623 10,750 Eack-block roads 14,503 6,Goi' Opening Crown lands for settlement ... 31,282 29,324 < 1912-13 Autho- Ex- Liobi- \ rised. p'nd'd. litiea \ Mar. 31, 1913. £ ■ £ £.-. Main rbadsl etc. ... 4-1,812' 1 2G,3GB' Back-block roads 45,151 30,301 14,847 Opening Crown Wis 11',268 5,173 G,OS9 Figures quoted by tho Primo Minister relating to expenditure upon railway construction in the King Country showed that the expenditure upon the Stratford-Main Trunk railway had been in 1911-12, on the east end, J82,'910; west end, <£76,896: total, ,£BI,BOO i in 1912-13, oast end, .£22,617; west end, .£74,675; total, JC97,292. Tho total votes for theso works in- the respective years had been ,£IOO,OOO and ,£90,000.