LAND SETTLEMENT

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 52, 25 November 1926, Page 15

LAND SETTLEMENT

THE CONFERENCE AT AUCKLAND

REVIEW BY THE MINISTER The Minister of Lands (Hon. A. D. McLeod) yesterday gave a review of the conference on laud settlement held at Auckland last week. “About 250 people were present at the meeting,” said the Minister, “and not fewer than fifteen took an active part in the discussion, the majority of the speakers expressing the opinion that, unless means could be devised for greatly reducing the cost of production, it would be worse than useless to attempt to bring in any considerable proportion of the unoccupied Crown lands. The general trend of the discussion showed that, while inflated values caused by the war boom had plaved their full part in to-day’s problems in respect of settled lands, it was far from being the only cause, as less than 25 per cent, of the occupied holdings of tlie Dominion changed hands during the boom for other than non-speculative reasons. Present Problems. "What is alarming so many of our practical farmers,. who have been in occupation of second and third-grade lands for twenty years and longer, said Hr. McLeod, "is the fact that, while in pre-war days they could comfortably meet the expense required to check reversion to manuka and other second growths', which are recognised as an ever-recurring charge on such lands, they find that to-day the increase in labour and other costings is retarding improvements, preventing maintenance, and in some cases rasulting in, abandonment of holdings. Consequently any commission of inquiry competent to advise on this phase of an economic problem, winch is seriously affecting other countries as well as our own, will be welcomed, not only by the settlers, but also by the Government, both of whom are equally anxious to find a solution. On the one hand the settlers are receiving a bare pre-war return for their produce, while on the other the cost of practically every farm necessity has increased not less than 100 per cent. All these points were strongly stressed by every pfactical farmer who spoke at the conference, but, apparently, it did not strike the attention of the Press representatives present, as those opinions were not featured in the report of the proceedings. Farmers’ Queries. “While city agents and such boosters are urging men to go out and be the •backbone’ of the country, the farmer is inquiring why' it is necessary for the city newspapers to maintain an increase of 100 per cent, in the price of their papers; why it is that, althouirh the farmer receives about Bs. for the raw wool required to make a suit, when he goes along to his tailor for the finished article the price is ten guineas; why it is that, although he sells his fruit on the farm at less than a penny per pound, when he goes to tbe shop to buy it back again it costs him anything up to sixpence, why it is, when he seeks to obtain

some control of what he produces, he is called, a Bolshevik, and is informed that no Britisher will stand for price-fixing, while at the same time he knows that everything he needs is as effectually controlled as if fixed bv the laws of the Medes and Persians? These are the things the farmer wants to have answered by his city critics, who tell him to be a good boy, go out back, and don’t ask inconvenient questions. "Up Against It." “Here is a letter which, I am sorry to say, is tvpical of many I receive. Although short, it speaks volumes:— ‘I have been sixteen years on this place, carving a home out of the bush Until 1921, although we often went short, we managed to battle through, but since then things have got steadily worse. This year, lam sorry to sav we are right up against it; the wife had another little one (making five now), and the doctor’s bill tor this, and the dentist’s charges for seeing to the other children’s teeth ran into £33. Our rent comes to £3B a year, and we were wondering whether you could see j’our way, sir,, to remit it or postpone it for this year.