"NO OTHER SOLUTION"

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 588, 14 February 1929, Page 16

"NO OTHER SOLUTION"

MR. FORBES OUT FOR LAND SETTLEMENT MORE DAIRY FARMS Press Association DANNEVIRKE, Wednesday. There is no other solution to our diffculty and there is no other solution to our unemployment than that of increasing the number of people on the land and increasing

production. I On these lines the Hon. G. "W. Forbes, j i Minister of Lands, reviewed the prob- j ! lem of land settlement when speaking j to a deputation here to-day. j “One has only to travel to know that there is a considerable amount of land that is capable of improvement I and of settlement,” said Mr. Forbes. ; "One is struck by what can be done jin the Auckland district. There are ' enormous tracts of land that need de- | veloping. With the increased knowI ledge of what can be done with fertilisers, it is now a question of dealing i with that undeveloped land. I have I seen what can be done with top- ' dressing. I believe that one of the I great faults in New Zealand to-day is I that people have too much land, not > too little, and I believe our troubles ' and weaknesses are due to that. “We have come to see that where j we have areas of land that can be cut j up into smaller farms of reasonable ! | size better results are being obtained, t have been farming for 36 years, and I admit that to-day I am beginning to learn something new about farming through the work of the Department of Agriculture. I am certain that the country can carry from two to three ! times as many people on its farm lands if they are properly used. “There is no doubt that in regard to closer settlement we have to tackle the problem and deal with it as expeditiously as we can,” continued the Minister.

At present tne Government is lookj ins for good land, because we are out , for closer settlement. We are not going to buy big: sheep lands and cut them up into smaller sheep farms. [ Dairying will give the best results. What I am aiming at in regard to j settlement is to increase the number jof men on the land and along with I that to increase production. Any property you may know of where the j owner is willing to submit it to the I Government should be put before the i Land Purchase Board. I hav e told ! them that it is the desire of the Govj ernment to go on with settlement as t expeditiously as we can.” The Minister said the Government J did not want to apply harsh measures jin getting land. He believed that it was better for the Government to give. I under conditions of amicable bargain, a little more than the market value I of land than to have to take it under ' the compulsory clause of the Act. The | Government would endeavour to do its ! best along the tines of friendly coI operation, but if the necessity arose it j would have to take other means.