LAND SETTLEMENT.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3495, 25 May 1920, Page 3

LAND SETTLEMENT.

V (;7ROWN LANDS AVAILABLE. WELLINGTON", May 22. A statement concerning land settlemrgent in special relation to the settlement of soldiers was made by the Minister for Lands, the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, to-day,

“It. is generally known,’-’ -he said, “that the Government has had to slow up orrthe soldiers’ land" §ettTelnent scheme owing to hai'ing spent all but a c:onlparatively small amount of the money authorised by Parliament. It will surprise most people to learn that the Govergnnlenr. has spent on the sL~ttlelnent and repatriation of soldiers in New Zealand no less 21 sum than 1-219,000,000. Settlement has not absolutely ceased, but, as has been stated‘. the speed has had to be slackened. ”

Mr Guthrie made some reference also to the operation of the clauses of the ‘riots of tll“é"’past two'§‘essions realing with aggregation. “iflat, we are coming down to now in the way of land settlement,” said Mr Guthrie, “is the settlement of’fhe purchased lands we have on I:a'lid,-’an"rl the Crown lands which we have not been ab'le’to ‘bring umlef settlement, ‘owing to the iabsence of"sul‘ve}/'ol's and engineers. We have number of blocks that are all ready for settlement except for roading. We cann’ot give them to soldiers until the‘:-oading has, been done. and we have not been able tof get the ronding dome because of the; sh.o-rtage of the officers I have men-‘ tioned, also the lack, of public works! men. 3 ABOUT 7.00.000 ‘ACRE-S AVAILABLE. “We have at the present time avail- { able for settlement about. 700,000; acres. This land will carry from 1200} to .1400 men. The land is of varying; descriptions-, and will be suitable fori all kinds of l'z:rlning'. It is spread over-' practically the whole of both “islaiidsm of New Zealand_ A large area of] ‘bush land is in the north oi‘ Auc'l£l_aii'd,§ and ‘.‘t is of such a c.h‘ar:lcter that it! is well‘”\\'ol't}l the attention 6f the, Government and the returned soldieizl

“These figures (lo not take into ac-1 count‘ any of the so-callerdv V fiumicel lands in the ‘interior of the ‘North Is-E land. for which special provision was} made in the legislation of last‘. ses-1; sion. Nothing definite has beeh donel about the settlement of this land. We are now raising the r'eservatiaons from a large number of blocks of land, with the object of throwing t:;1en1 often for settement under the hoillestead tenure, which was revi\'eCl in :1 Inor_e' attract‘ive form by the legislation" of last sessicixi. One great bar to the opening uc7t“‘ this land is that a large Quantity of it is national endowment. land. and it will have to be dealt with by Parliament: before we can engage in -‘any large scale on schemes for the development of it!’ I ' A CHECK ON AGGREG'L{TIbN. Mr Guthrie was emphatic in his statement that the effect o't“'tlle antiaggregation clauses’ of his 7‘-;\’ct:s of 1918 and 1919, had been iniportant. “There has heen,” said the "Minister “‘an evident ttnloading of. lhhdi froin 3large properties, and there have been lbut t'ew cases brought to the notice of lthe Government where there have been ‘tinci-eases of areas. In ‘these’ cases‘.‘ the 'in(:reases are always arranged so as not to come within the scope of the [aggl'eg?.tiOn clauses. Comnfonlyl. this {lg done by the purchases being made ‘in the name of anotzlier ITlG111l)€l'|Of the lfainily. This device, however, will ,not, in all circumstances prove to ‘be ‘:1 Coniplete escape from then l)pel'ation of the law. I am convinced,’ indeed I have evidence, that the cutting up of estates that has"heen going on recently can be attributable to the effect. of the aggregation clauses now on the Statute Book. but it is fair to say that some of the sales may also be :Ith-iliutetl o the high prices now 1-111-ing for lnntl. I am glad to say that the exnerietico of the Govei-nln(_=nt has been l1:1p;»'_\' in respect‘ to thel"e ofifeijs of land to-r sale. for we have had land oeretl to as by large lan<l»oWners for retnrnecl soldiers at prices which in some instances were £lO per’ acre lt-Mas than pi-i\~'ate buyers (litl. subs-e. qttcinlly pay t'or the land. EV€‘ll'2Lt the lll‘lCPS ofl"(v‘.reu_l the Gm't>‘l'lil]l’@llt‘had to (leci(l«-- against placing sol(lie'rs upon land at such excessi\'el_v high values.”