TOO MUCH IDLE LAND

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 319, 5 September 1932, Page 4

TOO MUCH IDLE LAND

It is a pity, we think, that more sustained criticism of the land question as it affect s New Zealand is not maintained. We hear a great deal about matters of routine and are supposed to be impressed with Ministerial stateI ments which are either vague or manifestly worthless, bnt 011 this sivbject which merits discussion every hour of the day and every day of the week until practical measures have been taken to improve existing conditions, we hear nothing from the places of influenee. A Christchurch authority interviewed by the Sun has spoken his mind to such purpose as to alford encouragement to those who have been endeavouring. to pave the way for a settlement scheme that would eventually remove all our financial difficulties. He is convinced that in many instances the l amount of land held is responsible for slaek farming and declares that "the time is not far distant when the whole question of large holdings will have to be reviewed. To-day it is the small farm, well-tillecl and well-man-ured that is producing crops and hu^ter-fat." It is not a new story. For many years now land re- : formers have advocated inten- , sive cultivation, and it will be Irecalled that even the Massey | Government was induced to inj clude a clause in its legislation j demanding efficient use of the j land. That is as far as the matter went, however, and instead of smaller holdings we have had re-aggregation of a most flagrant kind. The authority to which we have referred told the Sun representative that one man who has a farm of 550 acres admitted that his neighbour, who owns 95 acres of similar country, made £200 more than he did in one year. That is the effect of skilled farming, but there is still a tendency for owners of broad acres to adopt the sentimental outlook to the disadvantage of the country. The time has come, we think, when the first thought of any Government worth the name should be to ensure that the farm lands of the Dominion shall be used to the best purpose, and no question of privilege shouid be permitted to prevent any such action. If a farmer can operate 1000 acres to its fullest capacity, by all means let him hold it, but, if a large proportion is to renaain idle while thousands of men are looking for sections, it is time to interfere. A great deal of the trouble that prevails to-day is attributable to the deadweight of interest. It is useless for anyone to suppose that a large area of land is any use if money is not available to work the farm, and it is true that 100 acres put to the best use is infinitely better than 500 acres which is being merely scratched, as so much of the first-class land is being to-day. If the men who are burdened with mortgages had been satisfied with half the land they possess they could conceivably have made a success of their enterprise, and the country as a whole would have benefited; but, they were either too ambitious, or were persuaded to take risks which have proved disastrous. The time has passed when it suffices to simply talk of the advantage of settlement. H people were alive to the promptings of their own minds they would demand immediate action ou the part of the Government.. It is ridiculous to say that adequate

settlement is being carried out. Nothing short of a scheme that will absorb the thousands of unemployed can be considered satisfactory. New Zealand is dependent on the fruits of the soil for her very existence, and it is a sad commentary on our methods of government that the whole of Ministers' time is devoted to patchwork measures, instead of the broader outlook being adopted and something heroic being done to overcome the condition of lethargy which appears to have settled on the people. Before reeovery is possible the matter of land occupa- j tion will have to be investigated from top to bottom. Adjustments will have to be made between the parties to mortgage transactions, some whose condition is hopeless will have to be sacrificed, and the many who are seeking a footing on the land will have to be given their opportunity. We do not mean that there should be a repetition of the promiscuous settlement that took piace when the returned soldiers were victimised, but that the available afeas should be offered to suitable men in small or moderate sized lots on terms which make failure virtually impossible.