RIDER HAGGARD REFLECTS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 29, 4 October 1913, Page 4

RIDER HAGGARD REFLECTS.

Speaking at Harleston, in Norfolk recently, Sir Rider Haggard referred to his visit to Australia and New Zealand as a member of the Imperial Trade Commission, and in the'course of his remarks said that when he firstarrived in New Zealand and visited as ho did, many of the farmers, he used to ask what was the price, they paid for their land. •He was told that they paid £3O an acre, up to £7O and £BO, and he even heard instances of £IOO an acre being paid for agricultural land, and that was without many improvements in the shape of buildings. That made him think o ( Norfolk, with a thousand years of history behind it; and that if they got £2O an acre for average land they were pretty well satisfied. He" thought there was something wrong. Why was it? (How was it this price could be- paid for land in New Zealand when land here was so sunk into the depths? He went into the matter to the best o 1 ’ his,.ability, guid he found out one reason was because there were no burdens on the lapd,.practically speaking there was no .tithe, j There iweg'e not those heavy rates and, taxes of which , the - .president, spoke,.- ; • Another: -rear son hej fgnnd. was bpcaps.ei ..there .wa'j no neeid,,for winter, keep. n - The climate was such that cattle remained out even in the South Island all the winter, and with a small ration of haj and perhaps a few swedes, lived through the winter. Here lie farmed 500 or 600 acres, and his cake hill last year was nearly £7OO. Imagine that amount of money in a farmer’s pocket. That was angtheri reason," hut atv-tha same time it-remained inexplicable to .him’ how- such, enormous prices inert paid in New Zealand for land) and still the thing was-made to pay. He confd not help reflecting that a good bit of it must be a bit speculative. i. >