The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1930 “ENGLAND VERSUS NEW ZEALAND”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 912, 4 March 1930, Page 8

The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1930 “ENGLAND VERSUS NEW ZEALAND ”

C-AN it be really true that good, farm-land close to London is worth a great deal less than a tenth of the price of no better land in New Zealand? It is perfectly true, and so remarkable in its truth that British observers look upon the fact as a sort of agricultural phenomenon. The question has been raised and discussed in the London Spectator” by Sir Yv. Beach Thomas, who contributes to that journal weekly notes on country life. No answer was given to his readers, because the former war correspondent (who, incidentally, now takes more interest in the ploughshare than in the sword) was overwhelmed by the amazing difference between land values in this Dominion and those in rural England. Indeed, he could only express in wonderment the hope that Lord Bledisloe, the Qovernor-General-designate of New Zealand, would be able to explain the contrast after acquiring sufficient experience of “the land that is most widely removed in distance and the nearest in affection.” Since Lord Bledisloe is an acknowledged expert on the subject, many people in New Zealand also would like to hear his explanation of the reasons why land is so much dearer here than almost anywhere else on the face of the whole earth. And so much the better for the Government which persists in buying estates at high prices for extravagant subdivision, if the noble lord can show the way to lower land values. Sir William Beach Thomas was attracted to the subject (to which he gave the sporting caption, “England versus New Zealand”) by an exuberant account of the comparatively good fortune of a young British settler who had bought a farm of some two hundred acres in the North Island. The land cost the immigrant just over £3O an acre, and this price was regarded as moderate, as undoubtedly it was in relation to the inflated value of what English yeomen call “goodish land.” The area, at the time of purchase, was unfenced internally and partly unfenced externally. And it had neither house nor any other kind of buildings upon it. Moreover, as noted with astonishment in England, the production of the farm would in part have to be marketed twelve thousand miles away. All these facts and conditions of farming may be taken as a fairly common experience in this country. One might go farther and assert without any prospect of shattering contradiction that the eager immigrant was lucky in his selection. But contrast his experience with that of many recent experiences in England. Of these, one in particular may he cited. “A small farm, of fairly good soil, equipped with a house, situated within thirty miles of London, failed to fetch £27 an acre.” It may add to the surprise of Sir W. Beach. Thomas if he learns that a similar farm within the same distance of Auckland, wotxld be offered dirt cheap-at probably not less than £IOO an acre, together with an assurance that the bargain represented a potential fortune as a cutting-up proposition. Then there is another English example of cheap land that cannot attract a purchaser. This is an estate within sixty miles of London, containing farm houses and cottages, accommodating a population of about one hundred and thirty persons, good farm buildings and roughly two thousand acres of land, valued at £6,ooo—a smaller sum than that paid happily for the young settler’s unfenced, houseless farm in New Zealand. Imagine the joy of the Hon. George E’orbes and the United Party if they could get hold of similar bargains as a means of ending unemployment and solving tbe problem of what to do with our w T ell-educated boys! Perhaps it is not surprising that stay-at-home Englishmen refuse to believe that, “when all is said in favour of the climate and soil of New Zealand, and its smaller burden of taxes, this degree of superiority over English farm-lands is inherently justified.” Of course, it isn’t justified in any way. It may be possible that Lord Bledisloe will explain the difference, but English commentators do not know that here iu New Zealand, sunshine and rain, plenty of both, the advantage of Government loans, cheap railway transport of fertilisers, and all other benefits and bounties have been capitalised by commercial farmers. These reasons and the worship of false economic g'ods explain why the price of land in this country has been hoisted to the peak of stupidity. FIREMEN IN CONFERENCE NOT many of the regular annual conferences have a greater interest for the public than the gathering of tlie United Fire Brigades’ Association, now being- held at Whangarel. Firemen, like the representatives of other and usually less arduous and exciting professions, find that there is benefit to be gained from an exchange of views in conference, and from the pleasant social contacts made when men from Invercargill or somewhere else in the far South discuss their common problems with brigadesmen from Onehunga, or places even farther north. In the case of the conference at Whangarei, the fact that there Is an attendance of 111 delegates, representing practically every fire brigade in the Dominion, reflects the interest New Zealand firemen have in their work or strenuous avocation, whichever it happens to be. This is the 51st conference of New Zealand fire brigades, yet even before the first conference was held there were organised brigades trained in the specialised art of subduing fire or protecting property from its ravages. The little bands of men who formed the first embryo fire-fighting corps in Wellington and Auckland built well for a strong organisation which was to come, perhaps later than their own day, welding the brigades from one end of tbe country to the other in a powerful unit which dedicates its purpose primarily to the service of the public, and as well to the welfare of the firemen whose membership supports it. Not once or twice, but many times, the association has assisted the dependants of firemen killed or injured in the course of their dangerous work. It maintains a benevolent fund of great value to the members of the organisation, and on the business side it arranges for the sale of supplies at a figure considerably less than individual brigades, some of them of small membership and struggling finances, could possibly purchase at. Equipment is becoming a question of increasing Importance in fire-fighting. Here as elsewhere the hand of the scientist and mechanic has introduced valuable innovations, with which the progressive fire brigade wishes to keep pace. As industrial and mechanical development takes place, and the increasing use of motor-cars involves the distribution of greater quantities of highly inflammable fuel, new chemical accessories are demanded, and wherever possible fire brigades should be helped in the purchase of such equipment. Although it is actively served by such a fine body of men, the Dominion’s fire losses are still too high. It can assist firemen by greater care in the use of dangerous devices, and by a spirit of fire-consciousness which will deny to no fire brigade any plant or accessories necessary for the success of its operations.