VILLAGE SETTLEMENT SCHEME. PUBLIC MEETING AT THE CITY HALL. A VOTE OF £10,000 RECOMMENDED.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 284, 25 July 1888, Page 5

VILLAGE SETTLEMENT SCHEME. PUBLIC MEETING AT THE CITY HALL. A VOTE OF £10,000 RECOMMENDED.

Auckland, July 19. A public meeting, convened by the Mayor j with the view of considering the advia. ability of recommending the Government to continue the Village Settlement Scheme, was held in the City Hall last evening. His Worship the Mayor occupied the chair, and there was a very largejattendance. The Chairman, in opening the meeting, said he did not think that in the many public meetings held lately any of greater importance had been held than this. (Applause.) It was felt that something should be done to prevent the exodus from the colony that was now going on, but he did not wish to give his opinion on the merits of the scheme generally, except to fay that he thought the system of freehold was the best. The Chairman then stated that there was a petition in his possession which would be signed at the close of the meeting. Mr W. Duncan moved : " That seeing the great success which has uttended the system of special village settlements in this district in at once solving the question of the unemployed, and in promoting sound isduslrial settlement of our rural lands, this meeting desires to express its regret that the system has been suspended by the Government." Mr Duncan referred to the history of the village settlement scheme, and mentioned the names of Messrs Ballance and Lundon (cheers) as those who had been mainly instrumental in introducing the scheme. In Aueklar.J Provincial Diotrict there were 496 holdings occupied by 436 people, 404 of whom were male adults. It this male population were no'j on the land they would probably be swelling the ranks of the unemployed, and he found that only ten people had returned from the settlements dibcontentcd. Whilst we were agitating for retrenchment, it was a fact that the village tetHement scheme practically benefited the colony by settlement of the land. The money spent on the scheme had been more profitably invested than some money spent by the Legislature (applause), and it was their privilege as electors to let their legislators know that it was their duty to do the best they could to bring about the settlement of the land. Mr Ewington said that this was a matter in which everyone was interested. Every person who loved his fellow man was in duty bound to take some interest in this problem of the eettlement of the land and the utilisation of .surplus labour. It was the duty of all who were well-to-do to see that all who were out of work had means to live. All had a right to live, and there was no greater trial than for a man to have to go home to his \vife and children unable to gi\e them bread, when he was willing to work if he could get it. The system of village settlements had given good results. The 575 men who had gone to the country had built 316 houses and whaies, and had 40 more in couise of erection, btsides planting tiees, &c Therefore, the unemployed, or the superfluous labour system, was practically settled. All honour was due to those men who had taken advantage of the village settlement scheme, for they were accountants, ruined shopkeepers, and others not accustomed to manual labour, who resolved to earn their living- by the sweat of their brow rather than live on public chaiity. They had to be assisted by gifts of picks and shovels, and their passages* paid ; and it required men of the greatest determination and fortitude to encounter the hardships and privations that they laced. These men deserved to be suppoited, and they ought to urge upon the Go\ernment to foster and continue this sybtem. (Applause. ) Mr O. Mays said that he suppoited the lesolution with much pleasure. He lwl been nstonished to learn, as lie had done recently, that theic was so much pauperism in this young country. The public of Auck land actually had to give ,C 5,000 a year to charitable aid, and any system which would allow us to economise our money in thai direction must be a boon to the community. He thought it far better to make men self-relying and independent than to pauperise them, and he knew of sevc al cases in which the village settle ments had kept men from becoming paupeison the country. He thought that the Government should relieve the unemployed in the most natural way possible. We wanted to keep our people in the colony. Latterly the Charitabl6 Aid Board had actually been paying part of the passage money required to send families to their fathers at the other side of the water, and it was better, he maintained, to pay additional taxation in order to put these people on the land where they would be free and independent for life. Mr Cherry said he had been in Auckland many years, and he had been one of the few who opposed Sir Julins Vogel's public works policy. Now they were talking about the success of a certain village settlement scheme, and the success of that, scheme had not been proved yet. The te^t was when the village settlements had to rely on themselves. (Applause and dissent.) He would be glad to see the scheme successful, but in the Jesolution they were assuming a success which had not been proved. Mr McManus said the question was whether the banks were going to be the landowners or not He maintained that the land belonged to the people, and that the people ought to be settled on the land. Mr H. R. Jury spoke in support of the village settlement scheme, and another speaker .stated he knew there \vero3o settlcis on the land at Hukerenui, where the scheme had proved a great success.

Mr W. Duncan contended fchafc the village settlement scheme had solved the unemployed difficulty, and had proved a great success. The motion was pub and carried almost unanimously. Mr Theo. Cooper said he was present to move a resolution in the place of one who was truly a friend 01 the people — Mr J. C. Firth (applause)— and he read the letter written by Mr Firth, as published in last night's Stak. He moved, "That in the interests of true economy this meeting strongly urges on the Government the propriety of placing £10,000 on the supplementary estimates for the financial year, so as to make provision in fchie district on the same lines as heretofore in order to meet the requirements of those who are desirous of settling in the country, and as a means of stopping the exodus now proceeding from the colony." In these modern times it was a spectacle at which angels might weep to see a country like New Zealand with people willing to go upon the land, and unable to go upon it. This village settlement scheme was an excellent one, and he was in favour of the leasehold, because it prevented the land, getting into the hands of Shylocks. It seemed to himfromthereportthatthescheme so far had returned 7 per cent, on the actual outlay. Some £11,000 was spent in actual advances on the land, and £789 had been returned to the Government in the shape of interest and rents. He showed that it was a payable scheme, and money safely and soundly invested for the good of the people and of the country. These were times of retrenchment, it Mas true, but he maintained that the Government would, be •aving money by placing settlers on the land north of Auckland. Mr John Buchanan seconded the motion. He had the pleasure of travelling in Australia recently, and he knew that we were far ahead in the possession of a rich and fertile land. He was an advocate of retrenchment, but he thought the £10,000 asked to prosecute the work of village settlement was a wise economy. Considering the number of men out of employment in the colony, it would be a great pity if the Government would not do what it could to place some of them on the land. He thought immigration was one of the most important things we could turn our attention to, and that it was a great pity the present Government did not give more attention to it. It might bring competitors, bub it also brought customers. (Dissent.) At the same time it was the duty of the Government to meets the wants of the people in the country. (Applause.) He was very glad to see his ; friend Mr Hurst come on the platform — a gentleman, who was a storekeeper (laughter, and a voice : "I told you so"), from Hukerenui, who knew the settlers up there, and assured the meeting of their success. Mr Kelly also spoke in support of the village settlement scheme, and suggested the advisability of free selection before survey, without which he was convinced our waste lands would never be thoroughly settled. In answer to a question, the Chairman said there wa« a system of free selection before survey in existence now. Mr Cooper's resolution was then put and cairisd. Mr T. B. Hill moved, " That the Government be requested to bring in a bill to encourage and allow Maoris to dispose of their lands to Europeans under the village settlement; and perpetual lease systems." The advantage of this would be that it would give the Maoris a yearly income and pi event them becoming paupers upon us. Mr Maxwell seconded the proposition. He said the newspapers did all they could, to condem the scheme (cries of "No, no," and " It'rt a lie"'), and now turned round and called the men who had established the scheme public benefactors.. (Laughter.) He believed that nothing but our produce would rid us of our public debt. (Loud laughter.) He then went on bo charge the Government with Ufing the waste lands to reward their friends and bribe their enemies. He was afraid that the best lands had been picked out of the country. (Applause.) Mr Hill's resolution was then pub and carried unanimously. Mr M. Niccol moved : " That the members of this district be called upon by this meeting to use all the influence they possess in pressing on the Government and Legislature the necessity of giving effect to the previous resolutions. ' He did nob know whether it was true, as had been stated, that the newspapers formerly wrote against this scheme (cries of "No"'), but it was now admitted on all hands that village settlement was the only statesmanlike method for the settlement of the country. He thought it was becoming every day more clear that it was the tiller of the soil that must be looked to to make this country prosperous. (Applause.) Mr John Lamb seconded the resolution, which was put to the meeting and carried unanimously. Mr G. M. Reed proposed, " That copies of these resolutions be forwarded to the Government and the members for this district." AVith reference to the statement made as to the action of the Auckland press in relation to village settlements, he was in a position to state that there was not, and never had been, a paper in Auckland that had not supported the scheme from the first. He also explained that the petition before the meeting was to be signed only by those wishing to join the village settlements. Mi Jury seconded the resolution, which was carried. Proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chairman.