AGRICULTURE

Hokitika Guardian, 8 July 1932, Page 2

AGRICULTURE

ITS DEVELOPMENT VITAL. TO PROGRESS OF DOMINION. CHRISTCHURCH, July 7. A. vigorous plea- for the encouragement of agriculture in New- Zealand was made by his Lordship Bishop Rrodi-e, at a meeting which last even-ing-discussed the problem of unemployment among boys. Bishop Brodie congratulated the Go-verriment on sending,Mr Ansell to seek information- He said lie thought the agricultural side in New Zealand should be given every attention- One of the saddest lexperiences lie had had as a bishop had been to sec, how people,, had gone off the land. The population was leaving tile country districts. He regard’d that as the greatest calamity that was besetting this little country. He- thought the ten-nere farm scheme was a very important one. New Zealand was naturally- an agricultural country. • The industries in the cities must be encouraged', of course, but the. would grow naturally with the growth of population. CREATING SERIOUS PROBLEM. Unless in New Zealand we gave education an agricultural bias we would be creating a very serious problem for the future. If New Zealand had been developed on agricultural lines thin depression' would not have been felt so badly. For that reason the schools should encourage agriculture. It- was an encouraging feature that numbers of the hoys were availing themselves of the opportunities presented by the technical schools, and another encouraging thing was that these- boys were readily getting positions in the country. The technical schools, the thought, were, to be highly complimented on what they -were doing. They might go further 5 and establish agricultural camps. He had seen such a camp where there were some , four or five hundred boys taking a post-school course in agriculture. What they learned there was very valuable indeefi. “I -am a New Zealander,” proceeded Bishop Brodie, “and I am intensely fond of mv litt-l'e country. Nothing saddens me so much as to see our countryside deserted. I say/: Hats off to the country and to, the pioneers who made it. They deserve every honour.” In, the other lands, he said, landlordism was blamed for devastating the countryside. “Here,” he said, “we are devastating it ...ourselves by a life of. ease. The country people come into town and . see our theatres crowded, and say fife is too slow in .the; country,, Zealand, should develop as far as possible the agricultural bias in education, and the technical schools should he- given every facility to do the work,

Mr A, 35,. Ansell agreed with Rlshep Brodie. “I believe,” he said, “that the present t-inie is opportune for N-ew Zealand to develop ' scientifically intensive farming. It would be a. very great pity if, as a result, of present conditions, we failed to encourage scientific farming.”