Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1890. Land Settlement.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 6 November 1890, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1890. Land Settlement.

To secure the settlement of the land, other laws besides those directly relatins? to the disposal of the land, need improvement. To our mind one of the most important duties of the Slate is for it to arrive at a knowledge of what it really roqniir;, whether it is the settlement of the

country or the town. Year by yaav t'i.- .»■■ xpaytu's are treated to the und ., r n..L",l g mi. 1 of "piil de.l, puL b.iAJi'," ln.lulgjd in by tho« wh> d,'.iiie Fiwijivd.', and those who d> iiii'e to secure the protection of loca, induit/i.'s so as to improve the lab jiv inuliot .-if th;^ townspeople. Until thj Gjve.n.uint have docided, who jUji shall? Tao advan.a^es of a h£j in town art), to tlu K'nn -in* ciass, far gL-eater than th:>;- a a I'l.in tli3 coanfcry, and when offers are so liba.aiiy mad 3 on either hand, Iwa If; is thnt which will 1)j jhjjjn. Labour in tii3 count yinu.it naturally be isolated, the work hard, the amusements few and expensive. The country settler has to bear equally with the townsman his burden of taxation to provide the machinery of government., the payment of interest, the customs duties for protection, and the cost of primary and secondary education, and how little does he reap of the advantages conferred by this expenditure ? He will be isolated by bad roads from railway or market, his living will cost more on this account, he will be for years without the advantage of even a primary school for his children, and utterly unable to avail himself of the secondary teaching. He will have, in addition, the cost of opening up all by-roads to communicate with his neighbours. He will also have no opportunity of putting his children in profitable employment except away from the paternal roof. Who then can wonder that so few are inclined to leave the towns ? Then again the voice of the votes in the towns are louder and more compact as against the votes in the country, and thus the Government spend more largely in the improvement or beautitying than their actual taxpaying value sanctions, so that the country is shorn of this inducement in attracting settlement. If the towns are really feeling the burden of an unemployed population, they will have for some years to forego any claims on the public purse, and assist further in so reducing the cost of education and the Customs duties, so that those who go upon the land may be relieved from paying for that which they have no opportunity of profiting by.