VILLAGS SETTLEMENTS.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 1, Issue 27, 7 September 1886, Page 3

VILLAGS SETTLEMENTS.

V' liv*%e w#ot* uti Uw above subject w <»**jfi suit ■•’ary that the question l.ai )>•»■ discussed «■ Uk House, but hi thu U>l Hansard received. containing of d*-l»at»» iw X’etannttee of .Supply«ntliu vote of £U*th to Village •S* itU iUttUS, we notice that »orne of tlm -petsdiv* made more than Iwar •out on* arguments. We will quote two or* fierce In this issue and if possible gitw rite remainder on Friday: Mr ddahUa would like to «eu this system * •Mw'wxs ; lan, unless the jwopW who settled ou this land were and lnul some sniall capital In enable them to live upon the land diiriug the time tliey were clear mg it. »t was like(y t« be a failure. Me km-w lliat already some of these people Wire inquiring if Umi Govern ninut se»k provide tlieui with " tucker. The lVeinwr talked about putting the unemployed sin these holding*; hut those who knew .anything alsnit tlie facts knew tba£ at present, with the low prices prevailing, those who owned small homesteads near towns had tlie greatest difficulty mi getting a living. Unless the men g"t iris si land, and had some capital, s.r g<* work, and knew what they were •doing. Chi' 'result would be disastrous failure fhn Munster also proposed to allow Natives to select. That was a very big question, and tlie House should be candid about it. Failure would hr a weay emeus thing, and the (maple would be put hi a most awkward jontem. aud the charitableaid fund of the district would lie kvruaisly taxed. Mr k«i said tlial when the Mew /ralaisd UoMpauy failed and the Cohaty was ta a vary a aumls r ef uieu were put on pieces of Uad. They w* re good iweu. the tiling was •c iriddly worked, and they came out iasrlj well; to suooeud, naew must be avail y pootl, end there must be good land giweiu it was also necessary that tie r alwuld be able to get souse work ae tin neighbourhood in the suiuiaww. said be abte to clear their laud in w utter. If the Government thought that tliey were gosag to get men haphazard, and put them oil laud and give them £2 IDs. pec acre to dear it, and charge a rent fur tlie land aud inter ml ou the £2 10a. bunnies, in his sipiaiou there should he a great mauy failures. It would take every farthing tliay could earn and more, unless they vr. twi apecially good men, to uuprove the land aitd keep them. I u Nelsmi ' iiy-acre ar-clions of laud were cut up into from five-acre to twenty-acre I l.s-ka. These were taken up by meu wlei luwl to pay up to £4 an acre for ilartv. aud all tlie assistance tlwy got was three days' labour a week from llw vseupany. They succeeded very well, lieoauss they were really good ism. The (iiWorniunut would regrvt Us'ir nuntake if tliey did not get ouiy the h sort of men ; hut. if they did get '< ulna, the thing might work out vcVy well, and tlie men Imcnnic

valuabUi wttlnrs to Um country aud id gnat benefit to it. This system wrorknd really wll m NVlsou. aud not / one taw of failure did Iw ever hour of in lit* way 1<« liad induaXod. * Mr Iturhaiuui Mini, uiilms Uw GoTwrununl were very careful as to w hat tuev ii*J about tin a* village settlements a groat many people would be put in a most unfortunate positnui. There v ere sums place., wlum village altki■mints would sunwed admirable. At Woodend, in Cimterbttrjr, forinstance, a lot tif small settlers, having* tie- very l~..» laid almi'dib a mam iWd. and

with a market clo.-e by for all they could possibly grow, hud done verywell in the great majority of cases; but the circumstances there were entirely exceptional. Hut at Paliialtiu the circumstances were altogether different. There, tlm people might full the bush, but there would lie no guarantee as to their lining able to bum. Thun, tiieir range of production was very linnied, because it was impossible to plough the land. Unless the settlers were an exceptionally good class of people, and had sonic means, or were able to get work in the neighbourhood. they would in a few years he landed in grert difficulties. The Government should go to work with great caution regarding these village settlements. Mistakes were very easily made. In the growth of produce m New Zeulund, under tho most favourable circumstances, tile growers had very formidable competitors in supplying the Knglish market ; and unluss viu grew and exported produce under the most favourable conditions we were bound to find ourselves worsted by competitors from other parts of the world. Through tlie auction system of buying Crown land no doubt many people had been led into great difficulties, owing to overcompetition. It was difficult, however, for the Legislature to protect a man from tin- consequences of his own foolishness. He would again urge that the utmost care should be taken in regard to these village settlements, to prevent disaster and disappointment to muny.