LAND PROBLEMS.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 289, 23 May 1929, Page 8

LAND PROBLEMS.

MATAMATA INSTANCES. Farmers Who Cannot Sell. New Machinery Wanted. The following article, which- appeared in the Matamata Record, applies with equal revelancy to the Larin lands surrounding Putaruru: — A Tapapa farmer recently cited to a representative of the Record the action of several farmers in Lower Waikato who became convinced, as a result of their own observations that they were holding too much land. They agreed to subdivide and jointly sell the balance of' their holdings. At that time each settler was struggling, and their farms averaged in the region of 200' acres. After divesting themselves of their surplus land they forged ahead. Slaying for Others. Whereas previously'they had been struggling along under a heavy load of morijjgagfis, and slaying for the mortgagees, ; relieved of .the dead "weight 'which was . keeping them poor, tHßy«were able to reinvest the moneys previously paid away in their smaller areas, so that to-day, they yean boast of high-grade cattle showing big profits, and ride about in limousines. So struck was the local farmer referred to with the changed fortunes of his quondam friends, that he immediately followed suit, and though his own holding was a much smaller one, he got rid of a large proportion •of it some six or seven months ago.

Faces Matamata Farmers. This is the problem which is feeing 'many Matamata farmers to-day. It is safe to say that could the examples quoted be followed throughout the Matamata district, progress would be made in leaps and bounds. Easily five, times as many settlers could be carried on local land within a radius of ten or twelve miles of this town, and the altered conditions this would bring about can scarcely he imagined. Instead of boasting of the biggest dairy factory under one roof in the world the district could hoast of five of them. It is not that local farmers do not ■wish to bring this condition of affairs about. The position actually is that the bulk of them though keenly desirous of cutting up their farms, are prevented from doing so by various reasons beyond their control. A Councillor’s View. A few days ago a well-known county councillor remarked, when discussing this question, that he could run all his stock on a quarter «f' the area he held and would be pleased to sell the balance—all good settlement country—if he could only do so. This settler’s handicap was access—a problem which even a county councillor could not solve. ' ' As has been already stated in these columns the position is that our present land settlement machinery is well out of date and needs remodelling. When first introduced it was the last word in land legislation, and worked efficiently and well, hut it has jdayad its part and has now become obsolete. A World Apart. To-day there is. no machinery available to meet to-day’s land problems, and Government Departments are far too removed and out of touch with farms, farmers and farming problems to be cf practical use' on this question. They are in a world apart, dealing with abstract problems,- the while the Dominion as a whole—both town and country cries aloud for progressive practical methcos which can only be solved by de-centralised control.

Machinery Clogged. The whole machinery of land settlement is clogged with a useless mass of statutes and regulations, which, though some are of recent date, are useless for all practical purposes, and it would be no loss to the country if the hulk of them were swept away, and a few simple regulations based on local organisation put in their place. It is idle to say there is no firstclass land remaining for settlement. There are thousands of acres capable of being cut up into small farms in the Matamata district alone, and there would be little difficulty in settling the bulk of it could the problems be but understood in Wellington. Pleased to Sell. Many local farmers would be only to pleased to sell portions of their holdings, either privately or to the Government, at a reasonable figure, but, as they have advised the Rcccrdv -there is one difficulty after (Continued In Next Column)

another which they cannot possibly surmount.'’ Survey fees, roading, mortgages, and other factors, all combine to present problems, which are, to the individual, unsolvable, hut, with Government co-operation, present practically no difficulties. A few heads in Wellington or Auckland will get the country nowhere. What is wanted is local advisory committees, with large powers, composed of practical business men with knowledge of farming operations, who would deal with these problems on the spot. Local Knowledge Essential. If a Development Fund is to be created, such men are the best possible means of providing for its wise expenditure, and one of the finest districts in New Zealand for any experiments in this direction is that between Morrinsville and Tokoroa. Alreadv Matamata boasts, as we have said, of the largest dairy factory in the world. The district mentioned is capable of supporting ten more. The Government may not he in a position to bargain with farmers; it is, however, the only body in a position to act, and others can bargain for it, if bargaining is necessary. Our view is that little bargaining —at least of the haggling kind—will ba found necessary.