GOVERNMENT’S BAND POEICY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3781, 7 January 1908, Page 2

GOVERNMENT’S BAND POEICY.

The Minister of Lands, interviewed by a press representative recently, at Wellington, regarding the Government lands for settlement policy, said several estates in the North and South Islands would be made available for settlement during January, February and March. “These happen to come together,” said Mr McNab, “ from the fact that they had to wait until the new regulations were drafted, gazetted, and advertised. You -will remember that some, members would not accept ~the, stateme»g£?foe fin the our Lands*,

flor Settlement policy. The figures fjbr the first year’s operations of »the new administration appeared to support members in that view. This was, however, due to the fact that on taking office we found that scarcely anything was "under way, and we had practically to start with a clean sheet. Here are the figures up to the end of December, which bear out the statement that the acquisition of land was going on vigorously up to Decem16th last The payments were— Cash, ,£247,646 ;payments in transit, /35»896 ; total, In addition to that there were a number of properties purchased for which payment is expected to be made before March 31,. 1908, totab ing £388,663 or a grand total of ,£690,205. Besides, we have properties purchased which Will fall in after the 31st March next, and the properties under negotiation, so that you can see we were not then Working inside the granted us annually by Parliament under the Dand for Settlement Act. The new provisions in regard to the compulsory acquisition under the graduated tax come into force at the end of March next. I have met some of the owners of excess lauds, who have consulted me as to the provisions of the subsidiary roll to get land put on the subsidiary roll at a special valuation (if they are dissatisfied with the unimproved value fixed as being too low they can state a figure to which it should be raised, and raised it is accordingly on the subsidiary roll, but not on the general roll). The valuers will not seethe the subsidiary roll; it will remain here in Wellington, and will not be available to the valuer, but kept only under the control of the Valuer-General.”