LAND FOR AGRICULTURAL LABORERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1741, 24 May 1888, Page 4

LAND FOR AGRICULTURAL LABORERS.

IA deputation consisting of the following members of the House waited on the Minister of Lands on Monday:—Major Steward, Messrs Pearson, Perceval, Turnbull, Buxton, (|owan, Walker, Duncpn, O’Callaghan, Lawrie and Tkylbr. ( \ , > jln introducing the deputation, Major Steward stated that. owing,-1 o dot receiving sufficient notice of the appointed i ;by Ministers,! Mr ; I)6dson and Dr "Hodgkineon were were not able, to attend,;,though they entirely sympathised* with the object of the deputation. Major Steward went on to say that the pprppse of the was to, lay 'before jloVernmemt' the' expediency of devoting either the whole or part of the unallotted sum of £70,000 under the. new Loan Act to the purpose of inquiring in suitable centres, in agricultural districts 'land fo'y settlement of agricultural laborers. ' He pointed but that throughout nearly , the whole, colony; or, at anyrate, in many districts pf which he could speak, agricultural lands Mad jlassed^from the bands bf‘ the Cro^n, ! 'knd f that there was no 1 good land the... midst,, of .farming„ districts for v-tlaborers.: ...The. con- r (sequence was these people had only beeh'kble to 1 acquire sections in towps aha villages, which, of cbiirse, weife hot capable of producing anything (appreciable towards the support of their families. As agricultural labor |was only available* during the busy seas 6n r /P such as ' harvesting, these laborers were practically starved out at other times, and' , farmers j. bad to depend on nomadic labour, swaggers, and so on, which was a state ofthingA not at all to the advantage’of the country. r He suggested that if it was, J possible 'for laborers to be. on i blocks of five, ton, or fifteen acres of good quality land upon ‘ easy tbrmn they would’ be able to'raise nearly kll the food required for their families, and the labor they would obtain during the busy season would' provide all other requirements, For .want of such; a statq pfjtbingsnqrpbprs pf respectable men were obliged to leave districts now somen,of, them coming ultimately upon'The .charitable aid; and such as could left the country. Major Steward explained that it was not necessary to take compulsory powers with regard to obtaining land, inasmuch’ as, owihg'tb the land boom which took place some years ago, numbers of properties which had been heavily mortgaged were now coming on to the market ,a,nd, being, sold at, very low prices in suitable districts. For these reason? the/deputation suggested that part, if not the whole, of the £70,000 should be devoted to the purpose, leaving the Government to bring in such measures to regulate matters as, it thought .fit;,,-Several other” members Tpoke during a long interview, in the course of which, m reply to questions, ! the deputation stated that they only contemplated the acquisition of laud where,., the -owners voluntarily offered at, and that the conditions contemplated were the same as village settlements, not-village homestead settlements. The Minister said that disposed of a great deal of difficulty in his mind, but the question was a large one which must be laid before the whole Cabinet. He would undertake to lay the matter before the and let Major ”Feiofe' Wednesday to what (Bxienk Government would be able to support the proposal. Major Steward agreed tp, that f .„jiQd.,Baid in case a reply could nbt fgivbiri by that day, he would postpone for a day!or t wo< ; his; motidn* t thitl 'the' 1£70,000 be spent in this way now on the Order' Paper, vq UM: ... ...