The Dominion. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1913. THE FARMER AND THE NATION

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1776, 14 June 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1913. THE FARMER AND THE NATION

That the man on the land is the backbone of every healthy community is a statement which few people would venture to challenge. Indeed, it might almost be regarded as a truism; and yet one of the most striking features of modern civilisation is the abnormal growth of great cities at the expense of the country districts. This is one of the results of what is kuown as the industrial revolution. The unceasing flow of the rural population to the large centres is steadily lowering the physical standard of nations, and, if allowed to go on unchecked, cannot fail to throw the industrial development and social life of a community out of balance, with disastrous consequences. The evil results of this state of affairs is admitted by all competent authorities, and statesmen and sociologists are giving the problem very careful consideration with the object of stemming the tide of rural depopulation, and restoring the natural balance between town and country. During the last hundred years or so the cities of Great Britain have been swallowing up the people as fast as the rural districts liavo produced them, bo that, notwithstanding the large increase in the total population, there was an actual decrease in the number of males over ten years of age, employed in agriculture, from 1,5-14,087 in 1851 to 1,153,185 in 1901. These and other equally disquieting facte cannot be ignored, and when it is borne in mind that a similar tendency has already made itself felt in New Zealand, it should manifestly be one of the first duties of our public men to find some effectual means, of counteracting the evil. Now is the time to face the question, and to face it resolutely, for the longer action is delayed the more difficult it will become to discover a satisfactory solution of this very serious problem. In a young country like New Zealand a vigorous policy of land settlement is of absolutely vital importance. The prosperity of the whole community, town and country alike, depends upon the prosperity of the farmer and country settler. For a quarter of a century and more Ministers have boasted of the success of their land settlement schemes, and yet, as is pointed out in another part of this issue, the natural increasethat is the excess of births over deaths —is more than sufficient to account for the whole growth of the country population from 1901 to 1911. This fact alone is sufficient to prove how idle such boasting has been, and the urgency of the need ''for really effective methods of putting the people on the land. Country life must be made more attractive to families of the right stamp. It is no' use providing facilities for settling the backblocks, unless the men who take up land are provided with roads and bridges and other requisites for getting their produce _ to market. Even. more than this is necessary. The environment must be improved from a social point of view, by placing within their reach as many of the conveniences of modern civilised life as will enable them to live in ordinary comfort, and to bring up families that will be a credit to their parents and a benefit to the country. If the lure of the city is to bo overcome tho country settler, even in the remoter districts, must be supplied with good schools, postal, telegraph, and telephone facilities, cheap carriage for books, good means of communication, and other advantages of civilisation. _ Public expenditure in these directions is in a very real sense reproductive, for a steady and substantial increase of the country population cannot fail to promote the welfare of the commercial and manufacturing interests of the cities, and to provide more employment for labour both in town and country. It is only necessary to glance at New Zealand's export statistics to realise how greatly the prosperity of the whole community depends on the settlement and the working of the land on the best and most up-to-date methods. It is satisfactory to know that the Government now in power arc fully aware of tho first-rate importance of a sound and efficient policy of developing tho agricultural, pastoral, and dairying resources of the . Dominion. In tho Prime Minister the country settler has one who has been all his life in close contact with the farming interests, and who, from experience and study of the question, should understand what is wanted. His proposal to set up a Board of Agriculture is a wise step, following on his plans for opening up land for settlement, and if practical men with progressive ideas and business capacity aro appointed, the whole farming community will soon feel the benefit. Mr. Massey thinks it is safe to predict that in the present -financial year there will be a record in land settlement. This is satisfactory so far as it goes, but it doe 3 not go far enough.. That the land should be occupied is certainly a good thing; but it is equally important that every acre should be put to the best possible use, and to ensure this, agricultural instruction on modern lines—practical and theoretical—is essential. Scientific methods are producing better results wherever they' aro given a fair chance, and the New Zealand farmer, if he is to keep pace with competition in other lands, must be kept informed of the latest developments in agricultural science. Another matter that must receive better attention is the Native land question; and it is to be hoped that the Minister for Native Affairs (the Hon. W. Hurries) will break through the wretched spirit of procrastination which has become a tradition as regards the opening up of Maori lands. Tho people of New Zealand aro absolutely sick and tired of the old "taihoa" policy, and the need for bringing these lands into effective occupation becomes more urgent every year. The Minister for PublicWorks'can also exercise an important influence in improving the lot of the man on the land, and'it is gratifying to know that the Hon. W 'Phaser is determined to give special attention to the opening up of the country by means of roads and bridges. We have only been able to touch on a few of the principal aspects of tho land settlement problem, but enough has been- said to emphasise its vital importance. In another part of. this issue wo publish a fcrien of articles dealing in some detail

with country life in New Zealand in many of its phases. They are well worthy of the careful attention both of the settler and the cifcy-

dweller, for tho true welfare of the towns is bound up with that of the country, and everything that tends to advance the interests of tho rural districts must, as we have already pointed out, also materially increase the prosperity of the centres of population.