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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 139, 30 October 1912, Page 4

TARANAKI LAND VALUES.

Thus the Hawera Star on the question of increased land values: "There is no doubt that the continually increasing value of buter-fat has resulted in land values rising very rapidly, and holdings that were bought fourteen or fifteen years ago for £l2 or £ls an acre realise as much as £65 an acre at the present moment. In fact, land values have increased in a greater ratio than the prices of butter-fat, and it may appear, at the first blush, that buyers to-day are paying too high a price for land. This, however, has not yet been actually proved, though it may be said to be one of the problems of the hour. There are experienced farmers who say that some of the best Taranaki land, at £BO an acre, can be made to return a handsome profit if scientifically handled, and stocked with selected animals; but most of the calculations are, we believe, based on the prices that are at.present obtainable for butter-fat. Of course, a practical or prudent man will,"in buying, consider whether these prices are likely to last. So far as present indications go, there is no reason to expect a drop in the prices that are now commanded by New Zealand produce; indeed, with the new markets that, are gradually opening out in Germany, Austria and Italy, the indications are distinctly the other way. Still, although the present outlook seems to indicate an assured market for some years to come, it is not prudent to build too confidently on the future. Hence it is better that land vaues should not advance too rapidly, and judgment and caution are at all times to be desired in such matters. When they are thus qualified, courage and enterprise are always at their best .for the individual, and the community." We agree with our contemporary, but will go further and say that land prices in Taranaki are beyond, their values, and cannot be justified. They are the biggest drawback this fair province is- cursed with. The boom prices are hurtful both to the community and to the user of the land. The men who pay these big prices, or agree to pay them —because only, men with little or no capital will take up land at outrageously inflated prices—cannot do justice to their holdings, their wives and families or themselves. The decreasing output of. dairy produce in Taranaki, a fact to which notice has been drawn in these columns recently, has its origin, to a large extent, in the inflated land values obtaining throughout the province. Working in many cases without any margin of safety at all, and handicapped by lack of capital, how can the struggling settler find money for improving his herd or pastures? • It is no use talking to him about the advantage of employing scientific methods and going in for a better type of cow. He is "up against it"'all the time, and he has the greatest difficulty in making ends meet. Without the prospect of some day passing on the burden—at, of course, the inevitable increase—he would not have the heart to struggle on against such heavy odds. Some day, we hope, prices for land in Taranaki may bear a clo.ser relation to values, and when it arrives it will be a very good thing indeed for all concerned.