LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1860, 20 September 1913, Page 4

LANDS.

ONE CAUSE OF "LAflb HUNCER."

The next class was Lands and Survey, £288,627. Sir Joseph Ward asked the; Prime Minister jvhat would bo tho total'cost of tho roading of all tho lands opened for selection during the last year. This was important becauso if tho cost of roading was beyond tho country's resources tho use of tho land would bo delayed for somo timo.

Sir Walter Buchanan said he hoped tho Government would correct the mistakes made by previous Administrations in laying olf roads in opened lands. Usually this work had been left to ordinary surveyors and the lilies of roads chosen wero often impracticable. Ho hoped l tho Minister would givo this matter serious consideration, and see that tho mot-hods of the Lands Department wore changed.

Mr. C. K. Wilson* said that tho roads were often shown pn tho siwvoy maps, but thero woro hundreds of settlers in the back-blocks who had no road access at all. Ho know men who had felled 600 acres of bush' who had never had .any road access yet. Ho woiuld urge upon tho Minister to boo that settlers had proper road' access to their holdings, which access they had a right to claim in view of the fact that they were required to pay rates and,taxes. Mr. J. G. Coates said that great mistakes had been mado in tho past in roading. blocks of land', owing to surveyors laying off roads instead of engineers. Ho thought that tho first man who should go on to a block to be subdivided should bo an engineer. Sir Walter Buchanan said that surveyors had too often been employed in the past to value land, and the valuations had been very often defectivo in that they wero too low. This had encouraged gambling at tho ballots. It should never happen that a man should have tho chanco of making a big profit ,at onco if lie should happen to bo successful at tho ballot. This accounted for the "land hunger," as it was called, for many of tho applicants going to tho ballot had no intention of tettling on tho section for which they were competing. Mistakes Being Corrected. - Tho Hon. W. F. Massey, replying to Sir Joseph Ward, said that JlO could not givo tho exact cost of roading. He could not even givo tho approximate cost, because tho Estimates were now boing prepared. Kvciy member know that tho roading of Crown lands was a difficult matter, and that in tho past settlement had gone a,head of tho roading. The Government woro endeavouring to overtake settlement now with tho necessary roading, and wero making, a new departure in that all payments mado by' settlers would go towards the cost of roading uiitil tho roads wero made. This session he proposed to,ask for an appropriation or £100,000 for roading blocks opened, and ho thought that would lie sufficient for this year, but at all costs tho roading of settle*!' lands must go on. Ho agreed with Sir Walter Buchanan that yory serious mistakes had been made in laying off roads in tho wrong places. It ought always to bo arranged that an engineer should be associated with tho surveyor of a block, to eusuro that ■ tho roads were laid on tho best routes. Mr. Massoy said that Sir Walter Buchanan had expressed tho opinion that tho valuation -upon Crown lands had been in somo cases too low. This might bo true in somo instances, but in others tho valuations wore too high, and tho matter required looking into The question was ono of policy, and could not well be discussed upon tho Estimates. There wero some difficulties in connection with the roading of tho Hillersden Estate, but they could be overcome. Hillersden could bo successfully settled. As a matter of fact, he had several applications in hand already from settlers who wished to take up holdings on the estate. Back-blacks' Boundaries. Sir Walter Buchanan said that tho method of fixing boundary lines on lands cut up for settlement required attention. Theso lands wero often very rough and broken, and considerable difficulties wero experienced in laying out boundaries, particularly in bush country. Expense and trouble would bo saved, however, if instructions were issued by tho Lands Department that boundaries should not bo on steep hillsides and similar placcs, where fences were liable to bo carried away by slips. Mr. F. H. Smith said that the fence lines should be carried along tho ridges. Mr. G. W. Forbes urged that tho son-ices of local pcoplo should be enlisted in conncction wftli fixing tho boundary lines when hack-country lands were being cut up. Tho Prime Minister promised to bear in mind tho suggestions regarding tho fixing of boundaries. I Survey Fees—A New Scale. Mr. W. D. S. Mac Donald said that thero had been no revision of the rates charged for survoyiug Native lands for tho past thirty years. This was one Croat reason for tho delay in survoyiug

and sottling theso lands. Surveyors outside of tlio Departmont charged various rates. Under propor rognlations, surveys that now tool: thrco years would be completed in three months. Tho Prime Minister said that within the last two months a new scalo of fees had been arranged, and it was now in operation. The old scale had been in operation for thirty or forty years, and was very unsatisfactory. Valuors' Salarios. Replying to Mr. Forbes, tho Primo IHinister said that ho agreed that higher salaries should be paid to Government V aiders. The men employed by tho Departmont in this capacity wore of a very class. If tlio Public Service Commissioner consulted him 011 tho subject ho would have pleasure in recommending that increased salaries should be paid to valuers. 1 iio last item in tho class was passed at 11.65 p.m. Tlio next class was: Department of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce, £185,441. Tho class was passed at. 1.20 a.m. STATE FORESTS. The Now Zealand State Forests Account, £28,738, was passed in two minutes. Tho Primo Minister said that 110 hoped to sot aside a day for tho discussion of tho report of tlio Forestry Commission within a fortnight. SCENERY PRESERVATION. jTlia Scenery Preservation Account, £7185, was passed after a brief discussion. OTHER CLASSES. Tho Lands for Settlement Account, £10,673; tho Government Insurance Account, £69,605; tho Government Accident Insurance Account, £7860; and tho Native Land Settlement Account, £1250, wore passed without, discussion. The House roso at 1.39 a.m.