LAND SETTLEMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 271, 11 July 1932, Page 4

LAND SETTLEMENT

There is a call to action in the land settlement proposals advanced by the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, and as his Worship pointed out, it will require something more than departmental complacency to convince the people that they do not, at least, justify a trial. When Mr. Jackson embarked upon his agitation for settlement in the district as the only enduring means of meeting the unemployment position, he was concerned more with the explanatioh of the first principles of his scheme. Since then, however, he has been finalising matters of detail, investigating various alternatives which were offered, and ascertaining the extent of the support which was likely to be forthcoming from the unemployed themselves. As a result, Mr. Jackson has now been able to place concrete and detailed proposals before the Unemployment Board and has made suggestions which

require the most serious and urgent attention. The unemployed of the district have been fully informed of the proposals and are plainly eager to secure the opportunity which the Mayor' s scheme would alford them. The co-operation and support of the men is assured, not by any electioneering methods, but after a careful explanation and analysis of the possibilities. Not only that, but.Mr. Jackson has been able to point out to the board, a suitable and extensive area of Crown land which could immediately be profitably utilised for settlement along the lines proposed. When Mr. Jackson first enunciated his proposals, he mentioned the Wharepaina block near Reporoa, more as an example than as a definite possibility, "but it has now been discovered that complications of title and tenure will make it difficult to secure this land. In the meantime, the Mayor has investigated the possibilities of two other blocks, at Te Hoi and Pouakani and these appear to offer considerably better prospects than any which have so far been mentioned. In the first place, there is the obvious advantage that State funds would not be used to purchase private holdings. We have previously expressed the opinion that with the large areas of Crown land available in this and other districts, the Government would not be justified in expending money by way of purchase, and Mr.

Jackson has been well advised in applying his suggestions to Crown lands already vested in the State. The two blocks mentioned provide at least 30,000 acres which are capable of subdivision and profitable development. We understand that soil surveys and other necessary investigations have already been carried out with entirely satisfactory results, while reports upon the quality of the land indicate most encouraging prospects. As we have already pointed out, the prospects of any considerable benefit from the small farm scheme, in this district at least, are remote, and it is therefore more than ever necessary that the Government should assist any alternative scheme adapted to local circumstances. This contention does not apply alone0 to Rotorua, but to any district where the measure of relief likely to be afforded under the small farm scheme is small If the country is ever to be relieved of this Old Man of the Sea which is clinging to its shoulders, the Government must leave nothing undone which will returmen into employment and production. We do not suggest that land settlement alone can relieve unemployment, but it is undoubtedly the chief means to that end, and schenles such as that which have been aclvanced by the Mayor of Rotorua, demand the most sympathetic consideration. Mr. Jackson has

shown tHe Government how in this partieular instance, it can bring the ttien and the land together, and some very cogent reason must be advanced before his proposals are passed over. We have land lying unproductive, laboiir largely unproductive, and a fund provided by the taxpayers for turning these unproductive fijrces into productive channels. It is for the Unemployment Board and the Government to do its part. In many parts of the country private citizens have shown a live and practical appreciation of the urgency of the position and by their individual enterprise and enthusiasm have given a lead which would serve as a useful exatnple to some of our politicians. The Government will be judged by its performdnces iu this problem of unemployment, and the measure of its sineerity will be guaged from its attitude towards practical proposals such as those advanced by Mr. Jacksou.