MINISTER OF LANDS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1928, Page 2

MINISTER OF LANDS

REPLY TO CRITICS. ; MASTEIITON, June 16. The Minister of Lands, the Hon A. D. McLeod, opened a new bridge Sjt Knituna near Masterton on Saturday. There teas a representative attendance of settlers and the Minister was enthusiastically received. Air McLeod gave a spirited address in defence of the Government and went on to refer to some statements made within the last few days, tow which he took exception. The Alinister said that no man resented less than himself fair criticism, and hewas always prepared to hit back as good as lie got, but lie did not twist figures for the sake of scoring rounds. It was due to the press and to tlie people to consider the statements made for themselves. At the annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealand, apparently without consideration in way of examining figures, Sir Robert Stout, who was Alinister of Lands when tlie speaker was only six years A of age, re-quoted figures used by -m Yankee visitor to this country, who probably did not stop more than twenty-four hours. He was not' criticising tlie Right Hon. Gentleman, who made the statement, hut he wanted the people of New Zealand to examine the figures for themselves. Tlie statement was that “the Government had quite enough to do with tlie work it had on hand. For instance, tlioro were now some 82,000 people employed by tlie New Zealand Government.” That was a bald statement, said the Alinister. A total of 22,224 of the number, be said, are employed by the local bodies of New Zealand, and if the. Hospital Boards were included, the total was 25,969. The Government had no control in the employment in the Railway Department. 10.384 in the Post Office, 9.845 in the Education Department and 6,583 in the Public Works Department making a total of 44,000 out of the 56,000 directly employed by the State. Air McLeod asked the critics where they could reduce these figures'. They had not the courage to do so. Another critic, the Alinister said in an Auckland publication, “Farming First” after a scathing condemnation of the Government, went on to state that 5,000,000 acres of. land had gone back to its virgin state during recent years. The official figures were available to all those seeking information, and they showed that even since tlie slump of 1921, although progress has been slow, the average area of occupied lands had steadily increased

Another point he wished to clear up was. in reference to .a 'statement attributed to him which has had a misleading effect. The statement in question was published in the press report of proceedings at the annual Conference of the New Zealand Returned when it was asserted that he had said in an interview, at;which the press were not present, that there was a large number of unoccupied soldiers’ blocks available for settlements. That statement he said, had brought him showers of applications for these secSoldiers’* Association at Wellington, tions, but as a in after of fact, there were not many attractive areas available as most of tbe abandoned tions were in difficult locations, and were largely unsuited for men with young families, and it required considerable capital and experience to occupy them successfully. It was the policy of the Government to give preference to returned soldiers, when soldiers* lands and houses became vacant. . p .< ;■. . ■ ■ *•