WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 9 April 1930, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

LAND SETTLEMENT

MINISTER’S ACTIVITIES,

{Special Correspondent.)

, WELLINGTON, April 7

The Eton G. W. Forbes, the Minister or Lands, who himself thirty-five years or tjii;ty-six years ago took up a farm at Cheviot on the acquisition by the Government of the late Hon. William Hpoinson’s broad acres along the East South Island, and made a inarKod success of his venture, has ( spent , muen of las time since his assumption; of offi e in preparing the way for /otjier fenteiprisng people to follow his,example. He announced on Satur- ~ day that since the Government cam© into office, fifteen or sixteen months ago M jSome 955 properties have been .offered by the Land Department and thirty-three of an area of 53,840 acres acquired at a cost of £564,089. This does not suggest as some critics of the Government have implied, that an .orgy., qf ; speculation has been carried on by.the Minister. Seven of the purchases mentioned were arranged under tne group system, the area of these .properties totalling 2,233 acres and the purchase price reaching £66,240 and .the sub-divisions numbering 24. ’ ;m ordinary settlement.

>The Minister reports that the ordinary /settlement activities of the Department have proceeded as usual and that, .the selections have been fairly widelyl'distribu-ed. During: the fifteen monthsi’ended on February 28th, last soma ’470,000 acres of Crown lands, on alb-tenures were selected n 2,212 sub» .divisons. Of these permanent tenures" ■were registered by 1,536 holdings and ! and temporary tenures by 676 holdings and 81,493 acres. During tbe.sarne period 358 tenants occupying Crown sections on lease or license acquired the fee simple of their holdings and were written off the hooks of-.,the k ' v; J)epartment. It would seeui from: these figures that land settlement has been fairly active during the period under review and that an increasng number of occupants are wedding themselves to the land. Mr Forbes,, it may,fie/interesting to relate, started serious,{life., in a commercial capacity, and iwfie.li lie turned to farming, was well, oil in man’s estate. His success was/icliieolto quick apprehension, tire-less-industry, and abiding faith in. the

land.. ;;i

THE PRIME MINISTER.

Thex news from Rotorua to-day concemirag’the health of Sir Joseph Ward encourages the hopes of both political friends and political opponents that uie Prime Minister will be able to ••. • J i f A v takqJ}sisf place in the House of Representatives when Parliament assembles at the end of 'June. His gefr'eraflfealth has gradually improved

singe ';be,/first' bought the relief of the baths, and his return to them afteb his., flying -visit to Wellington on Ufi.geittapublic business last month, has obviously expedited his recovery. All ;a(lpng;4iS,Jias been attending systematically to the business of his various departments,; .and keeping in close touch witJv his/colleagues. What he is missing,. probably without the interests of the Dominion suffering, is the tedium

of deputations and personal interviews. Many,)of those inflictions' could be well spared by any Minister, and when they are imposed upon the head of the Government they become a double obstruction to the progress of business. His.eseape from such ordeals may have materially assisted Sir Joseph’s recov>erya •"

■ HIS'MAJESTY’S OPPOSITION. • r The triumphal tour of the Leader Hi^‘Majesty’s Opposition through the North Island is being conducted with ■becomings enthusiasm and dignity. That rAtrbh is assured by the fact that the’Right Hon. J. G. Coates himself has kept his eye on the details o£ the afraugements and has seen that they are -within the bounds of courtesy and 'gbodAviil-H The gentleman at Marton, who declared, after fifty years of per-sonal-acquaintance with Prime Ministers, that Mr Coates was undoubtedly the beStf ‘of them all, may have gone a little bevond the mark; but he was his- audience plainly was witlr iiiin. The leader of the Opposition,, we all hope, still has time to justify the eulogy of his friend. Meanwhile, howefef “he" seems a little disposed to make 'too‘much of the fact that by the defection of one member of the United Party And the departure of another Re- - form is .numerically the stronger party in the House. But the Opposition after all is in a minority of ; nineteen.