LAND BANKS FOR FARMERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1789, 30 June 1913, Page 5

LAND BANKS FOR FARMERS.

SUGGESTIONS FROM MARLBOROUGH.

This interesting letter comes from a settler at Ward, in the Marlborough district:— , 1. No. The school lifo of to-<laY and for many years past has been teaching the children to look on the farming life i as degrading, and were it not that in many cases lads and lassies are needed at home urgently, the flow to the city would be much greater. It is only sixteen years since X left school myself, and out of perhaps sixty upper-room boys 1 can't think of ono other besides myself who is on the land (X, also, started as a clerk.) All of these boys were eons ot country or semi-country parents. 2. On. the whole the returns for farm products are not satisfactory. It is difficult to remedy, but if marked rates for general products in the various centres were promptly ascertained by the. Agricultural Department weekly and sent to tie various local papers as a guide, it might assist the farmer. 3. Rail and road communication ,is fairly good, but the eternal shortage of rolling stock is a great bug-bear. I. The postal and telephono service is not now efficient, but promises to bo better in the near future. 5. No visible benefit frotn shows, but mainly through local jealousies, which, I hope, will soon disappear. 6. No results visible from the Department of Agriculture's work, but this is in a great measure not the Department's fault. Being a comparatively new settlement, few are in the position to experiment. However, I would like to say that in respect to the Agricultural "Journal," articles are to bo seen on many fodders and grasses, which seem suitable for my purposes, • but it is impossible to get the seed, or only at a prohibitive rate. It is' ifiy opinion the Department would do better to select certain grasses and' fodders to suit the staple industries, and write them up in every phase, and r.ot jump about month after month from ono to another, which only confuses the farmer, and when ho does try to do something definite he finds the seed unprocurable in New Zealand. 7. No organisation for buying and selling, and, Oh Lord! Aren't we robbed! 8. Being a young settlement the majority of renters of,farms have to put the best leg foremost, but the conditions are improving. 9. Labour supply fair. 10. I heard a man on the train this morning ask if a certain settler had any accommodation for a labourer. He was told that he would be all right (at that time he was on his way to the "pub."). H« caught the train to-night, but was fired off at a siding. J think the sattiers' accommodation will be bettor than what ho has to-night. 11. Some may say facilities for going to and from the oentres in the evenings, for amusement and instruction; but I would say a "better system of farmers' finance." This is a subject of all importance, and I could write all night on tho great drawbacks of the present system. I will endeavour to bo brief and will take it as a truism that "this Government have a fixed desire to plac« every man on the land who is physically fit and willing to play his part when he gots there irrespective of whether he has capital or not." It may be questioned whether any Government is able to accomplish tho last portion of the above, but we will tako the man who draws,say, 2(30 to 300 acres of mixed land, and has, say, <£150 to .£3OO cash (and hundreds have not that much). Now, first of all, he pays a half-year's rent, say, JEiO, and living in a tent, ring-fences, and, say, cuts off two paddocks, absorbing practically all his onsh. He wants then, the following:—House (4 rooms), J0350; team anl plough, harrows, dray, etc. (borrows drill and binder), and seed. First he must have tho house, if married; Government advance, sa», three-quarters, leaving debit of .£9O, and take first mortgage. Then off he goes to a stock agent and, if lucky, gets a team and plough, dray, and perhaps worth of stock, for which they tako second mortgage at 8 to 10 per cent, and bind him to deal through no one else, and everything ho buys or sells, whether privately or at public auction, carries a commission, and it is safe to, say that 8 or 10 per cent grows Annually to 20 or 25 per cent. Now, the remedy: Create farmers' land banks, supervised and audited by tho Government' with Government subsidy to start in every district or group of "districts,'as is done.in Germany and Eastern Russia, with a local directorate, who, being in adsoluto touch with the borrower, being themselves settlers, know exactly what, sort of man they are dealing with and therefore how to' handle him and assist him. THE HANDICAP OF BAD ROADS. ASSISTANCE NEEDED IN SOUTH TABANAKI. Mr. E. F. Lifnton, 5f Ngamatapouri, in the Patea district, puts the case of the settlers "out-back" in South Taranaki:— I.—The school at Taumatatahi has recently been erected by the Department, and is quite up-to-date, and the training of the children for life on the farm is helpful, I think, to a certain extent, in that tliey are taught gardening, and how to grow vegetables. At Maratenia the number of children is too small to justify replacing the present building, which has been in an unsatisfactory condition. 2.—The farmers send their producewool chiefly—to the London market, as & rule, and get market value. For the last two years sales have been held at llakakahi) by a local firm of auctioneers for the disposal of the annual drafts of sheep, and seeing that we are 25 to 30 miles away from a railway station or tho nearest outside market, we can't complain. 3.—Koads are much in need of metal, but,when the Government push on with the construction of the proposed road through the Rangititau to the newly-open-ed block Yvhnkapuaka, it will greatly facilitate communication by lessening the distance at present travelled, and also greatly aid settlement on the Whakapu-' aka Block, and lessen the heavy charges of freight at present rendered necessary by ascending aud descending the big hill locally known as the "Saddle." ,j._We have a bi-weekly postal and coach service, and the telephone line and • various bureaux all along the road to Ivapara, a distance of 31 miles inland i from Waverley. The district is quite i well-off in the matter of telephones, and

most of the settlers are iu touch with Ngamatapouri. o.—District is too far away to get direct benefit from agricultural shows. 6.—To a certain extent. 7—No organisation. B—Farmers nearly ail freeholders, a few Government leaseholders. 9.—No. In spite of a village settlement scheme, which appeared to work satisfactorily for some years, but eventually the land was by one of the uei'ghboars, and the small settlers drilled away. The young men of to-day prefer to be in proximity to tho larger centres, where there are greater facilities for 1 amusement, and consequently labour of the right class is scarce, in spite of the general rise in wages. 10.—Yes. as far as I can judge, except for the lack of facilities for amusements and sports. 11.—la our case, undoubtedly the need of metal, and the road which 1 understand the Government contemplate doing. ■ It seems hard that settlers should have lived in the district over twenty years, and the writer was one of them till recently, and still have bad roads and mud to contend with. To satisfactorily settle the back-blocks, 'good metalled roads arc a sine qua non, and only those who have been through it can realise tho risks and worry attached to bad communication with tho outsido world. In tho years to come, no doubt light railways will bo built, but in the present state of our finances it is only too evident they will have to wait. Where metal is ecarco and the country is already heavily rated, then, I think, the Government should step in, and aid the struggling settlers, as they are, without a doubt, entitled to much more consideration than they have received in the past. Good roads and bridges will help to develop tho country, and enable it to carry a much greater population, and make rural lifo more attractive, and tend to prevent tho present tendency of crowding into the towns. AKITIO NEEDS. BETTER ACCESS TO THE RAILWAY. Mr. R. B. Robertson, of RaSiunui, in the Akitio - district, sends the following interesting letter:— 1. The schools in the neighbourhood do not give any special training to boys and girls for lite on the tarm. 2. The farmers in this neighbourhood do not get the return from the sale of . their products they should reasonably expect, owing to the lack of decent transport facilities. Dairying is not sufficiently profitablp to induce iarmers to pursue it, and thv. production of fat lamos is not seriously entered into for the above-men-tioned reason, though this district is eminently suited to that class of farming. , 3. The railway is too distant from this district for the farmers to receive tho benefits they should from the railway service, especially when they have annually to contribute large sums out of the, local rates to assist other local bodies more fortunately situated with a railway in their midst, to maintain the main anterial roads that give access from ths railw>v 'to this district. They do notj theiY'vore, receive the benefits cither from the »sads they should expect for the, sante reason, it being a long, heavy haul through a country badly supplied with road metal. They are impoverished by making contributions to outsido bodies, and the cost of maintaining the mam roads is too great a problem under existing conditions to be satisfactorily solved. We are hoping for some relief from a Local Government Bill that will take over the control of the main roads giving access to the railways. 4. The Postal service in this district, iu some instances, gives satisfaction. The reduction in paicel rates has been greatly appreciated, but we are dependent to a great extent upon the courtesy of those in charge of the small offices, and in some cases this is sadly lacking. Especially is this so with the telephone service, tor frequently no effort is made to get messages delivered, and in these cases a telephone message is no better than a letter, as it waits at the office until tho mail is called for, perhaps days. Some improvement in the rural telephone system, bringing telephone facilities within tho reach of those unable to afford them at present, also tho cheapening of private bags upon routes where tho rural boxes cannot be installed, would be an advantage. At present settlers requesting the authorities to instal the telephono in any district have to guarantee any deficiency in the working of tho line and office for five years, or the local body lias to guarantee, though no consideration is given for guaranteed lines that show a profit. 5. Agricultural shows are useful a 9 an education to farmers in the improvement of their stock. 6. No direct benefit has been received from the Agricultural Department in this district. . . 7. There is no organisation to protect farmers or their wives in buying or selling. 8. In cases where the areas are large enough, and tho occupiers are not too heavily handicapped with mortgages, a fairly satisfactory living is made. 9. Farm labour is not in sufficient supply to make agriculture satisfactory, if it was followed to any extent, satisfactory labour being very scarce. 10. Wages for all classes of labour aro high, and the labourer in most cases, except on the large holdings, enjoys almost the «amo conditions as the employers. 11. Better communication is tho one most important thing necessary for the betterment of country life, undoubtedly. More railways and better roads are the things (absolutely necessary to improve, the financial returns from the land, to better the social conditions of country life, and to improve educational facilities of country chldren, FARMERS' UNION DISCUSSION, INTEREST AT WHAKATAKI. Mr. R-. S. Barton, of W 7 hakataki, writes as follows:—Dear sir,—May I heartily commend your effort to meet the requirements of country life—urban education. Tho politician who sees us once in three years, with speculative enthusiasm, has no knowledge of tho Lack country. His heart goes out t? the struggling settler, at nn after-dinner speech, whero ho is feeling at peace witn the world—and 'little Mary.' Possibly he has the best of intentions, but that democratic precept, 'the greatest good for the greatest number,' counts most' where the votes are, and tho town gets its handsome post - office and the country settler rides sixteen miles over rough or bad roads to post or get his letters. Your questions will bo placed before the Whakataki Branch ofl the Farmers' Union, and you may rely upon getting a representative opinion concerning this district." EFFICIENT LABOUR. KIMBOLTON SETTLER'S REPLY. Mr. H. Fowler, of Kimtolton, contributes the following:— ... 1. In my opinion, the schools in my neighbourhood are not training boys and girls satisfactorily for life on tho farm. I consider tho schools are trying to teach, too many subjects. ». Considering the distance we are from the markets, 1 think farmers aro getting reasonable returns for their products. . 3. Roads and railways satisfactory but ono of tho most pressing wants is a light line of railway. 4. Post and telephone services satisfactory, but I think that the distance that country subscribers to the telephone could ring up free should .be extended to tho nearest market town. 5. I cannot say that the farmers have received any direct benefit from shows, but indirectly they have benefited greatly. C. Yes, I think the work of the Department of Agriculture has been of great f»eiietU, but it could be extended. 7. No, I do not think there is any organisation for buying and selling. 8. I think the rents arc getting too high, and consequently the renters are not doing too well. 9. No, the supply of farm labour is not satisfactory. 10. Yes. I am quite sure the conditions ' ef farm" labour are satisfactory to the : labourers. 1 1 11 A sufficiency of efficient farm and domestic labour.