SETTLEMENT PROBLEMS.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 44, 21 August 1924, Page 3

SETTLEMENT PROBLEMS.

THE FREEHOLD TENURE. Strong Plea by Mr. Hockly. Bush Sickness Trouble. During the debate on the Budget in the House of Representatives, Mr. F. F. Hockly, M.F.' for Rotorua, made a strong plea for sympathetic and practical help by the Government in the solution of problems, which confront settlers in these parts. Inter alia, he said:— “ So far as a bold and progressive land policy is concerned, I point out to the Minister that the first hurdle he has to overcome in order to initiate a successful land policy is that of tenure. Unfortunately, Sir, a great hrea of Crown land in this country has been placed under what we know as national endowment. It was done very speciously: it was done ostensibly with the idea of providing funds for old age pensions, education and charitable aid. As a matter of fact, the real reason was that the leaseholders in the House at that time wanted to lock up this large area, amounting to about 9,000,000 acres, on the leasehold tenure. It has been proved time and time again that the tenure is practically responsible for the failure of a large number of the men who have gone on to that country. The tenure is not acceptable, because the settlors cannot finance. They get to the end of their capital all too soon, and the tenure is such that even the State Departments will not advance money on it. The consequence is that these men have been driven to the wall, and I was very much cheered by the last few remarks in the speech of the Minister of Lands on Friday night, when he said he believed that by giving the freehold to the national endowment tenants we should aid production. I am looking forward with very strong hope to the day when the privilege I have fought for for the national endowment tenants year after year since coming into the House will come to fruition. I have strong hopes that the commonsense of the Minister, his knowledge of the position, his knowledge of the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of acres of land locked up under the national endowment tenure that no one will take up—land that is gradually deteriorating that is breeding rabbits, that is growing weeds, and that no settler with commonsense will look at—will lead Him to take action in the matter. The National Endowment Fund is losing money steadily year by year simply because of this fact, and if we are going to put this land on the best footing, as we ought to do, we must give not only the settlers on the national endowment lands at the present time, but those who would settle on them if the tenure was right, the option of the freehold. We are not asking that the national endowment funds should be interfered with. We are suggesting that they should be better invested, with the result that the various funds would materially benefit.

SETTLEMENT THIS YEAR REQUESTED.

“ in the interests of the settlers, in the interests of the State, and of everybody concerned, 1 appeal to the Minister to tackle this question this year and settle it once and for all. The House is so composed that the interests of the men who have put the best years of their lives on their holdings, who have reared families and put up with all the difficulties of pioneer settlement, and who to-day are finding themselves faced with serious difficulties, and who will have to go out unless something is done for them will not be left to their fate. I am quite satisfied that the good sense of this House is not going to allow those men to whom this country owes so much to be driven to the wall, but is going to help them to obtain a solution of their difficulties by giving to them the option of obtaining the freehold of their holdings. A BOLD SUGGESTION. “ There is another matter in connection with settlers in my district to which I want to draw the attention of the Government, and particularly the Minister of Agriculture. There is a large area—it is not only in my district but is in other districts—amounting to practically one million acres which is affected by what is termed ‘ bush sickness.’ Most of the country that is affected is of excellent quality. Years ago, when it was in standing bush, it attracted the attention of some of the most practical bush farmers in New Zealand, many of them coming from Taranaki men who had spent long years of their life breaking in bush country there. They came on to this particular area. They were attracted' by the country. It was not only good in quality, but it was extremely easy as far as the confoimation of the country was concerned, and everything pointed to ideal farm-

ing iand had been broken in—it was not done by this Government, and 1 am not blaming the previous Government; no Government is to blame for it, because it was not known—but it was only after the land had been broken in that it became known that the stock on this land will not do if it is left there much longer than about six months. I think that with a large area of one million acres it would pay the Government very handsomely indeed to offer an attractive bonus to the chemists of the world to find a solution for bush sickness. So far as our own chemists here are concerned they have gone into the question very deeply. They have analysed practically everything, but all they can tell us is that there is a want of iron in the soil, and have given us no prac- ! tical solution. Considering the interests involved it would pay this country handsomely—on the grounds, of course, no success, no pay. It would pay to offer a sum of anything from £25,000 to £50,000 to the chemists of the world to induce them to endeavour to find a remedy for this bush sickness. It is one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend with;

I have personally tried to get to the bottom of it. We find that the stock on this ground do very well indeed up to a certain point, when suddenly, on the same feed, they get a setback, and if not removed, die in a very short period. Under conditions such as those I appeal to the Government to lend a helping hand. It is true that the Government went -some distance before the war, and I appeal again to Cabinet to take this subject most seriously into consideration. 1 urge the Government to adopt my suggestion, namely, to offer a satisfactory bonus to the chemists of the world in the hope that they may be induced to find the solution of this problem.”