A COLONISING SCHEME.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 171, 19 January 1914, Page 2

A COLONISING SCHEME.

ItE.tKCTKD BY At'STRALTA. 'Jly Telc^raii!!. —Press Association. i Napier, January 15. Mr. lCvhl MKeir/ic, of New York, ;ic- j companicd by his wife and familv. left. Napier to-day after a shorl. visit. Mr. I MKeizie, who has large mining ami oilier interests in America, intended j v.-iieii he left, New York to take up a I largo tract of him! in the back-blocks of I Australia, ami colonise; it with fanners 1 from Western Canada am! the I'nited I Stales, but he found that the Covcrn- | nielli liiere were not. inclined to encour- j age private enterprise, and would only i lease. Hie land. As a result he abandon- ! od bis project, and is now travelling ' about New Zealand for pleasure, lii I the course of an interview Mr. M'Kenzie I said: "J really came to Australia to i take u)i a large tract, of land and colon- j iso it on the. same, system as has been | done in Western Canada. I purposed i acquiring the land and bringing out a \ number of American and Canadian far- i mors to settle upon it, men who would form the best type of immigrants they could get. You want immigrants with experience and sutlieient cash to take up the. land and make a success of it. That is the class of man to encourage, but these men. will not take all the risk of developing land in the back-blocks which is only obtainable on lease. I found that T was twenty years too soon, ami the only land available, had to be obtained on lease, which made my plan out of the question- The Government's duty is to support, the private indiviitual. As it is, vast tracts of splendid agricultural country are lying . idle I waiting to be colonised." Asked if he had seen much of New Zealand yet, Mr. M'Kenzie said,. "Xo. )!i!t," lie continued, ''as far as I have gone my impressions have -been excellent all through. I can sav that we found from the time we landed at the 'Bluff that the. people are tfce most hospitable anil contented that we have met in any country that we, have been in. From every place we have been through I have gathered the impression (bat the country has wonderful prospects. Tt is superior to any thing we. have in Amenta. It is ibetter, I think, in the South Island than in the North Island. Tourists are well treated here, the accommodation at the hotels is iirst-class, and all that could be expected, and everyone has gone out of their way to give us information and make our trip pleasant. The scenery of New Zealand is very beautiful." Just 'before leaving Mr. M'Kenzie said: "I have colonised large tracts of land in Western Canada, Jind I am sorry the Australian (iovornnieut does not encourage private enterprise, as there are splendid opportunities there." Mr. M'Kenzie left this morning for Auckland, via Taupo and Kotorua, afler which he will visit the West Coast and other places of interest.