MORE FARM LAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 662, 14 May 1929, Page 14

MORE FARM LAND

DOMINION’S NEEDS PRIME MINISTER’S REVIEW Press Association DUNEDIN, Monday. Speaking at the reception tendered to him this evening by Southern branches of the United Party the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, traversed some of the more outstanding problems facing the country today. He said the position was a peculiar one in that history had repeated itself. The Government was faced with the task of educating certain sections of the community to the importance of securing more land for settlement. However, they were determined to do it. More land for the people was a necessity. To restore the balance between town and country another 50,000 people had to be put on the land, and at the same time the present depletion of the population on the land had to be arrested. The reduction of 15,060 in five years was far too heavy. The lack of progress in the country to-day was due to the fact that the banks were overflowing with money and people from end to end of the country had money to invest and yet the money was not being distributed owing to insufficiency of land for settlement. After referring to what the Government had done in relieving unemployment, Sir Joseph mentioned the deficit of £579,000 on last year’s working, and said it was very unsatisfactory, but it was not the fault of the present Government. It would probably be found to he considerably greater when the Audit Department had gone into all accounts, but he would make a public statement regarding the finances of the country at a later date. So far the Government had not used any portion of the £7,000,000 raised since December. It was still intact, hut would be spent during the next year on railways and roads and the completion of hydro-electric works.