CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10440, 4 October 1911, Page 7

CLOSER SETTLEMENT.

AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM.

(By Our Tumi Correspondent.)

As I have previously stated, there is no question having deeper rcot in the people's minds than that of closer settlement. There may be other political questions to discuss, but they do not icoimt anuch alongside land matters. Years oome and go, and we do not seem to. get any further forward. When an election is on is a. good time to ventilate the subject, .and it seems to one that no candidate oiight to he allowed to. get away witliout being questioned as to what iie proposes to do as a means'to tin l end of "having land cut up for settlement. It is all very well for politicians to say that they are in favour of this, that and the other thing; ibut the question we want answered ds, "'What do you propose to <lo albout land settlement, and how do you propose to go about getting land settled?" Those are the points. When, we were in the old 'Masterton electorate, we had one estate cut up, namely, Langdale.

Since then, nothing whatever has 'been done in the Wairarapa, of which we are. now tan appendage. There have ibeen five estates cut up since Lai;gdale, 'but for three years there has not (been an aero purchased by tho diovea-nimont: A good deal was said at last general election as to this matter, bait nothing came of the plan. It is* quite an eye-opener to us who are penned in hy large sheep runs to go along through Longbush and Tablelands' and see what has been dene tliere. Every isettler is pros- > iperc-ius, and some have already got a small competency. Some people said the properties would not be a success as small holdings', hut look at 1 fch-3 dozens of homesteads') the famil- I ies, the prosperity.

An ounce of fact is worth a ton of theory. Any fool ican talk, and? almost .anybody can theorise. But we j neerl facts, and we have .them in these settlements. Then, if you travel further down, the Valley to Dry River, again you see dozens of homesteads, where there was only one before. The settlers are all, prosperous, and some of them are on. the lookout for ihigger places, and are selling out at a good figure. Some have sold a; high prices. On Tawaka the houses have gone up rapidly of late, and of the whole of the settlers, even on that liigh T prioed land, there is not one who is l not doing well. There are some twenty isettlers on Carrington, j near Carterton, and they are all doing well, and most of them have [ new additions in hand on their homesteads'. What are we doing in these parts ? Nothing! The Wairarapa Age is constantly drawing attention to tho great need we have for closer settlement; but nothing is done.. It is time tv'© all took a hand, and made tho land question the one and only consideration. Let politicians belaihour each other if they wish, and fight fiercely for office; but as far as the people are concerned they ought to make it their, business: to look after themselves. The politicians who' cannot satisfy them on the closer settlement question ought to be told to get to work at some other game.,