CROWN LANDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1919, Page 8

CROWN LANDS.

A YEAR'S OPERATIONS. The annual report on Crown Lands Settlement states that wr- conditions prevailed for the greater part of the year under review, and the progress of settlement was greatly retarded by the shortage of labor due to the absence of many experienced farmers and farm laborers on active service, and the high cost of fencing material, etc. The lands opened for selection under the various tenures of the Land Act, Land for Settlement Act, and Education Reserves Act totalled 06.892 acres, including one pastoral run of 52,000 acres. An area of 3465 acres was opened on the optional system, and on re-newable-lease tenure 1720 years was offered. By these 1 figures it will be noticed that during the past year land settlement by the general public has been practically at a standstill, only very limited areas being available for selection. The explanation lies in the fact 4hat every endeavor has been mode to find land for settling discharged soldiers, and with this end ii. view all suitable areas have been offered under the provisions of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, 1915. As has been the practice during the year just closed, all suitable rural lands to be opened during the ensuing year will be offered for settle, ment to discharged soldiers only, and in addition this area will be greatly increased by the purchase of private estates for subdivision into smaller holdings. Selections during the year under all headings totalled 302,097 acres by 1283 selectors. Included in these figures, however, are 127 cash purchases of town, suburban, and rural lands, covering an area of 2224$ acres These figures include selections made by discharged soldiers. There is a falling-off in cash purchases as compared with last year. The number and area of leasehold and defer-red-payment hodlings converted to freehold during the year show a marked increase over similar transactions for last year. This is probably due in some measure to the prosperous year experienced by many landholders, and also to the fact that the right of conversion to freehold of lease-in-perpetuity sections under t ne Land for Settlement Act expired in November, 1918, and many tenants took the last opportunity to purchase the fee-simple of their farms be. fore that date. The total area made freehold under these ' two headings for the year ended 31st March was 124,641 j acres, the purchase price £196,174, and the number of holdings thus alienated G7O. The conversions to 'freehold under the Land Laws Amendment Acts, 1912, 1913, and 1914, were 377, covering an area of 54,093 acres, with a purchase price of £131,865. This now brings the total freeholds acquired under these enactments to 480,563 acres, in 2614 holdings; purchase price. £884,475. The area of national-endowment Imd in the Dominion at the 31st March, 1919, was 8,935,835 acres. Of this area 6,835,130 acres was held under lease or license, providing an annual rental of £119,734. The gross amount of rents, etc., received from this endowment during the year was £128,125. As section 258 of the Land Act, 1908, provides that the area in-the endowment shall not exceed nine million acres, it will be seen that this limit must shortly be reached, as only another 63,000 acres are necessary to bring the total up to the statutory requirement. The report of the Commissioner of the Wellington Land District states that practically the whole of the transactions this year have been in land set apart for selection by discharged soldiers, the area dealt with being 22,152 acres. The area remaining open for selection at the close of the year was 004 acres for ordinary application and 13,227 acres for discharged soldiers. The year's work has been "a very arduous one, brought about by the settlement of discharged soldiers on the land. Up to the end of the year the number of applications and inquiries was 2150, the increase during Hie last twelve months being nearly double the number dealt with since the inception of the scheme in 1915; but the actual number of men settled is no indication of the volume of work performed.