The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY AUGUST 23, 1887. LAND SCHEMES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2681, 23 August 1887, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY AUGUST 23, 1887. LAND SCHEMES.

Mr Ballance's special organ, the. Wanganui Herald, claims, that the Village Settlement scheme has proved, and is proving, a great relief' to the overcrowded cities. This, it alleges, may be gathered from the information it has from time to time published concerning the progress of the soheme. During the last quarter no less than 545 persons have taken.up land under this much abused scheme, Thiß, it declares, does not bear out the croak : ing prophecies of its early collapse, which tke leaders of the Opposition take such a melancholy pleasure in uttering, with a view to turn'the electors against the only Government that i'as shown any real dosiro'to legislate for the people, and to discourage;, monopoly, inland. We fear that the Ministerial press are not putting the' question fairly to tho electors when, they claim that the present administration stand alone in their desire to. people the land. Surely they must' remember that Mr splleston,iri'the Atkinson Ministry, was,every bit,as. anxious iu his efforts to establish village and special settlements.as Mr Ballance is. The Napier Telegraphy writing of Mr Eolleston's efforts in'th{s.

direction, deolai'eß.'thii.Mr BallariceV. predecessorfhad a great crazfc dur'itig.hi) • latter term of offioe, ; for these Village" .Settlements, and he laid off; several of them close to the Waiinatfr'Plains,' atj Rahotu; and at Cape Egmout. It says: :' '"We are intimately acquaiuted withthe; progress of. these Village ; Settlements; j and in no single instance have thejr been successful. '.; Where there is a fair and reasonable chance of prodnr-" 1 ;ing constant work, Village Settle;ments stand a good chauce of succeeding, but where that .important, condition is wanting, there can be no doubt whatever,' that Mr .Balance's,' pet schemes and theories will end in a, failure, just as his predecessor's .did', Mr Mleston' would not hear tell of failure; he uSed!, ; to expatiate on' the way the workman could .Keep,his: cow and his horse,:; and ride off t'tf his work. But of work there Jwas in. many instances an urifortunatesscar-' city, and so Mr Eollesion's pet Village" schemes have topplecl;to the ground. Okiawa was and still is a faihire; Kaponga was and still■ is a 'failiire; Otakeho, the most prosperous .of the lot,! has been and BtOl is a comparative failure; Pihama has been and still, is a failure; Kahotu, once so promising, is a decided failure;. Cape Egmont, where orchards were to flourish and rear up healthy families, has-been arjd still is a failure. These are some of Mr Eolleston's, failures, where the land is of the very "best quality."

What is likely, asks our contemporary; to be Mr Ballanca's record in- some 'of the cold clay lands north* of Auckr laud. It needs no prophet to foretell I We sadly need some now- Minister of Lands who possesses some practical knowledge of his department and is untrammelled by that ignorant enthusiasm which led Mr'Rolleston to make mistakes and whioh is now causing Mr Ballanca to.commit blunders. ! ■Land schemes, which must'inevitably' result in a large percentage of failures are a sorry substitute for the simpler plans under, whioh,' in past years thousands of small farmers have been successfully launched. With the forty years of practical experience which the Colony .possesses in the work of settlement we ought now to be able-to place men on land under conditions ;which would be absolutely certain of success, but instead of availing ourselves of the best of all teachers, " experience" we are attempting experiments which are absolutely opposed to it. Village settlements may be proving a relief to overcrowded towns, but if they are,established under conditions that must result in failure the outcome of them will be simply to transfer an unemployed class to the country and from the towns. This arrangement like the policy of the Government generally is in favor of largo centres of population and against country districts. The land question, is. scarcely 'a main ' issue in the present election. The Ministry were riot' defeated in the House on this question, nor did: they appeal to the country upon it. They are now trying to-mako it prominent in order to distract; public attention from. the real issues at stake. Of course it is an important question, and everyone must deprecate the . mistakes that are ■' being committed. r Everyoue too must regret to see Mr i Ballance working the land department • -to secure the election of his supporters. / Still, there are more important issues , before the electors,