FARM SETTLEMENTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 237, 27 May 1932, Page 4

FARM SETTLEMENTS

At the meeting of the Rotorua County Council on Wednesday, the chairman, Mr H. P. Ford, brought before his eouiicil a new scheme for settling unemployed upon the land. In sevei-al iinportant points Mr. Ford's proposals differ from others which have been advanced, bnt they all have this in common: They spring from an earnest desire on the part of their authors to help their country and their less fortunate f ellow-citizens ; they are evidence of a reacliness to co-operate with the Government and itg officials and they are the fruit of practical experience applied in a sincere spirit of-service in an effort to' solve a problem which though not new, has grown to unprecedented proportions and has therefore acquired a new urgency. -In season and.'out of season the "Morning Post" has for months past emphasised the importance of land settlement as one means of relieving the unemployment situation on sound economie lines and has stressed the great value in this eonnectioii of the co-operation so frequently and so sincerely offered to the Government by men whose ex- - perience entitles them to speajt with authority on the subject. All over the couptry the same plea has been made and the Government has been urged to accept the co-operation offered and to deyise and put into operation a scheme of f arm settlement, not as a palliative, but as part of a permanent eonomic plan of rehabilitation. So far, however, the advocates of land settlement have been eifher ignored entirely or fobbed off with the stock answer of officiuldom when they have not been callously rebuffed. In these circnmstances' it is a remarkable tribute to their earnestness that men like Mr. Ford should still continue their efforts to' get something really practical done. Others, however, are not so patient and there is evident in the country a growing exasperation against the Government for its obvious inclifference, its shameful delays and its eallous adherence to red-tapeism at a time when results are all that matters and form and precedent are of no importane when they are not actively dangerous. Within the areas of which Hamilton, Rotorua ancl Whakatane are the centres no less than six practical farm settlement schemes, all based upon the same principle and differing only in detail have been submitted to the Government, the Minister of Employment or the Unemployment Board during the past few months and in not pne instance have their authors been treated with even reasonable coprtesy. The most any of them have had from authority has been an entirely meaningless stereotyped answer. Meantime, Mr. Coates, after repeated promises that he ■yvould produce a scheme which would quickly place 10,000 families upon the land under conditions which would give a good man an adequate living and the prospect of an assured future, has launched his "Small Farm Plan." So far as it goes, this plan can be made to serve a very useful purpose in suitable districts, but even Mr. Coates himself has been constrained to admit that it is at best largely palliative in nature. In highly developed aud closely settled districts the plan will help a few men to earn a living, supplementing the produce of their allotments by casual iabour for their neighbours — when their neighbours can afford to employ them ! In the less developed districts, such as Rotorua and Taupo, for instance Mr. Coates's plan is of very much less value. ' This is realised by practical farmers in the district and is the reason why Mr. Ford and Mr Jackson and Mr. Yaile and those associated with them, have continued, despite an entire lack of offieial encouragement, to work on the f ormulation of practical schemes designed to meet the local conditions. Mr. Ford has gone further into detail than some of his colleagues and he has also recognised the obvious advantages, from the financial point of view, of using Crown lands for his settlements. He supplies facts and figures based upon something^ more substantial than theory, and he suggests not only a practical means of getting men on to the land, buit also of keeping them there until their farms commence to provide a living for them. Despite the justifiable pessimism of certain members, his council unanimously decided to support his scheme. Mr. Jackson's communal scheme is also strongly supported, as is the Whakatane committee's plan. Perhaps if Mr. Ford, Mr. Jackson and the Whakatane people will get together and make a united drive, they would succeed in doing what so far has apparently been impossible and make a breach in the wall of offieial inertia which would force those who are sheltering behind it to bestir themselves and get something done.