King Country Chronicle Saturday, October 1, 1910. TOPICS OF THE DAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 299, 1 October 1910, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, October 1, 1910. TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A number of Orders-in-Council, incorporating Land Settlement Associations, are gazetted in the last issue of the "Gazette," under the Land Settlement Finance Act of 1909. Two of these are in Waikato, where at Matangi Mr Win. Ranstead, as vendor, sells his estate to his family, and Mr George Howie, at Eureka, sella his estate to the Messrs Casey and Clarkin. The Act should prove of considerable value in cases where a number of would-be purchasers agree to form themselves into an Association. The estate to be purchased must be in one block and is to be cut up into not less than 50, or more than 200 acre allotments. The purchasers are to be not less than five in number. On completion of the necessary formalities the Government guarantees the debentures issued by the association for the purchase of the estate. The interest payable to the vendor may vary in rate and the interest payable by each separate member of the association on the value of his holding, is to be at a rate greater by one fourth per cent. per annum than the rate at which the debentures have been issued by the association. Thus, if that interest is four per cent., interest payable by the settlers individually would be 4j per cent. The Act is proving of value. It was intended to facilitate closer settlement, and in cases where a number of settlers, without having much capital, are able to agree to cooperate in the purchase of estates, it gives them every reasonable aid. They have the advantage, on the one part, of purchasing a large estate in one lump sum, and on the other hand, after providing for roading, get their individual allotments at the actual cost price. If a company bought the land and roaded it the rate per acre would be a vastly different one when it came to sell. In some cases the purchased estates are sufficiently roaded and no further outlay than the cost of survey is needed. There are many districts in Waitomo county where dairying will develop during the coming years, and the facilities such as are offered under this Act may prove useful in subdividing larger estates for the purposes mentioned.