RHODESIA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2136, 30 April 1914, Page 8

RHODESIA.

Bid SETfLNUENT SCHEME.

rOWIftSIONFR lIERU

■ '."■■■ ■ij'Hs w.-.3; ,-?;v.-.*i , :«;. , .>i , .v.-'*v ! 'S' T "' - ;; ■■ Mr." .ComHiissionor' , ' for""tho:' British-Spiilh Africa Compaiiy/aisd wlin j;nni<!s fsccrcdiioiT by the Colonial Ilio p.as»fiiip;ers .froiiV S.vflif('.\v.f)y.. the-.Uliniarna. .yesterday: , ' On ' behail' : of. tin. , powerful company which lie- '.renn-so^its— il practically, controls . Keinpster has been entrusted' with a commission to inquire into the systems of l,iii.<] siatlcment which aro.in.force in various parts of the Dritisli, Dominions, and also to jjlcan knowlwlgß concoriiing trade conditions Ih>Uvwh the Oversea Dnmiti* ions and the Old Country. , . This information is being cnllntetl in view of a li/'il forwanl land settEoux'iit sciicmr , that bus hcpii propounded.for Rhodesia, by ; the president of 'company, Dr. Leoudcr Stair J:imo.s»ii and others'.-'

Mr. Kc'iHiwU'r informed a Dominion representative that in seeking to open up (his vast country thoro «■ could he iw.s »u<;|.;e.st,ion ai trade rivalry,' an the prwlticts of Mhndfsia (tiffercd materially from the njaple ■nxporls of both Australia,, ami NV\v Zealatdl; Tlw position was that tlu'v hiid a country consisting of 450,000 titinaiv wiles with a whitn populntioli of only 32,0f)0, and it wos desiwel to frame n s«limiio by which men of limited (■lipital would bo induced to settle, in lh« countrv and develop its vant resotrreos. Mo had been in Australia for four mouths, during which time lie. tnirelled 18,000 miles, and greatly reerpttod tlial.lip could nojv devote niore than a limited time to New Zealand, Siitt lift liftcl made arrangemonts to kav6 Aucklmid for Vancouver on May 8 by tlii> Mflrniiiii, and so would have to get tin , bulk of his information here from oßicml sources, which had been advised !i) his coming..

Inducing SWllomont.. "What I v,*a»it t-o do," • said 31'r. KompstcT. "is to ascertain what Hie How Zealand land settlement system is, and then personally interview the man on tho land to ascertain how the system works out in practice. I fol!<Avod thnt plan in Australia, and actually spent very little time in the cities. We want to induce a good tyjip. of sftttler, and will be prepared to help him materially, -but we do not want- tho inaii who 13-altogether without capital, because the conditions in Khoelftsia are entirely' different from what they are ritJte** 1 hi. Australia 'or Now Zc-iland. That is to saj'i a man going on the land ii! Rhodesia , would not' rcqnire to do the -slogging work that he may have to do Itore.. for there the native takes tliq pliiee of nnskitlcd labour. We want the man with small capital—a minimum, say, -of £oflo. Most of the won who .liavo alroadv ponb nut there and rlono well have had canitnl varying from ■ClflOO to £2000. If settlers' oome with ft small amount of capital, the company will lie- prepared (tmder the now ?clipimo) to offer f**o(lilies to- take tip hind on osccptiopojly easv' terras, and also to grant, a?sistar!i*-o' ; by means of an.Agricultural'Banlv." •

What the Country Is Like.. "The country," said Mr. Kempster, in reply to a question, consists in. tho main of rolling plains, , - with patches of native bush here nhd there. This liusl.t largely consists of maponi, a hardwood that can be usnd for sitfeners, fencing, and even tor milking furniture. It is a cuttle-raising rather than a sheep-grow-j'tig country and as such is said by experts to bp equal to any in.tlve world. Another staple- pr-odvwo is tho maize— mealies, to quote the local nafnc —and at present our maize- is strongly in favour on tho London market, has also been proved to be admirably adapted for growing tobacco and citrous fruits.

A Well-ratted Land. "Wo have two ports with direct railway access— Cupot-own and. Jk'ira. The latter, which is in Portuguese Kast Africa, is actually only fifty i-uiies away from our border. The company owns 2300 miles of railway line, and this, I think; compares wry favourably with tho Australian railway systems. Take West Australia, for example, with its 950,000 square . miles of territory. , I think that I am right in saying that, comparatively, oiiv mileage is much greater. On the whole tho railways pay, too. Therp are, of course, sections that do not pay, as there are in ail new countries, but with tlio growth of closer sotttaent, which we anticipate, even thoso sections may show a profit. The debentures are at present . returning from 4 to 3 per cent, interest in London. I ro£ani railways as so valuable a factor thai they should precede settlement in every new country. Money spent on railways can only be regarded as en insurance, and, after all, it- is the only way of opening up a country.

! what Cfimatd? "The climate of Rhodesia is extremely good, thanks to its altitude, which had a mean elevation of about 4300 ft. High temperatures ara .occasionally experienced in the summer- months, but they I'a re neither frequent- nor oppressive. I would say that, in respect to climate-, the country compared very favourably [ with Australia- ' Our rainy season bei sins at the end of November, and lasts until tho end of April. Wo do Mot look for a drop of rain in the winter— jit all comics iu the. growing season, which is perhaps fortunate." ■

BeM Trust No Bogy. As proof that Rhodesia was consklerm\ a.n ideal cattle-raising country. Mr. Kum'pstcr stated that Licbig's (roaiiufactiirers of bavril) had taken up a million acres of land. He did «ot think that tho presence.of a big company such as Licbia's would prove a deterrent to ethers wTio might consider cattlo-raisiug as a business. It would rather bo an eiicourriefinient as there was a limitless doinand ior beef, and the more breeders engaged in the- industry the better tho facilities would be. For that reason lie did not see- why tho American Beef Trust should bo regarded as such a tmgy as was tho case in Australia. The United States had ceased to be mi exporter of meat, and, owing to the. rapid growth of population, Canada wris also at the end of her resources in that regard. So it was only natural that the Trust (which was headed by brainy nwn who stood behind a capital of JCI-OO.OCKJ.OOOJ shotild look abroad for sources of supply to satisfy the everinoipaaiiip: demand in tho land of its origin. '"Bnt," Mr. Kc-mpstuii said, "speaking I'.s n» Imperialist, I should like to S'je our own people liang oti to all the sources of supply as far an they are a Me. s«d. if it is good enough for ttio fippf Trust lo oomn to Australia— to that wonderful country Queenslandit should i)f good PHough fof us to try null retain the trade- in our own. hands. There is plenty of monry in London for such a project vere it put forward.

Mr. KompsU'r added th.it he was fniniPltsflv impressed with the polentialities of Australia, and described them as "*imply pxtraordinary."