2nd Progress Report - Part 2

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This transcription is complete

FRIDAY, 8TH MARCH, 1918.

(At Young's Siding.)

Present: J. O. Giles, Esq., Chairman. H. H. Paynter, Esq. | F. E. Venn, Esq.

WILLIAM MORLEY, Farmer, Young's Siding, sworn and examined:

11485. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been five years in the district. I have 188 acres, for which I am paying 10s. per acre, conditional purchase. It is two and a half miles from Quaigerup, The property is all fenced and 14 acres cleared. I have a house and the necessary plant for potato growing, 17 head of cattle, and five horses. My living is derived from money received from the sale of produce and that which I brought with me. I started with £500. I have applied to the Agricultural Bank for assistance, in order to discharge my liabilities. I have asked for £50. I have not been able to make a living from the land yet, but think I shall be able to improve matters later on. I have leased another block on which I am growing potatoes. I have no swamp on my own property, but on the the block to which I refer I can grow potatoes and do some dairying.

11486. To Mr. VENN: At the present time I am making about 15lbs. of butter per week. I find that the cattle do not milk well on the rough natural feed. I intend to increase my dairying. So far I have had no crop from the land that I am leasing for potato growing. The water has spoilt the crops I have sown. My crops have also suffered from Irish blight. The autumn crop is generally considered only sufficient for providing seed for the winter crop. The cost of clearing the scrub land is not much, but the hill country that I have costs about £20 to £25 an acre to clear. The timber is heavy. I have not applied to the Agricultural Bank for assistance until now. So far as the drainage is concerned, this is a very difficult matter. The fall is very slight, but I consider it, nevertheless, sufficient.

11487. By the CHAIRMAN: Have you any particular grievances that you would like to place before the Commission?—If we had a good drainage and good roads there would be very little else to complain of. We consider here that if lime could be applied to the hill country at a cheap rate it would be a great advantage.

11488. To Mr. VENN: There are lime deposits, I believe, at Bornholm, but others can tell you more about this than I can. In the case of sickness, I think there should be some better means of taking sick people into town. The trains only run twice a week. There use to be a third train but that has been discontinued.

(The witness retired.)

11489. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been just over five years in the district. At present I have 80 acres from the Government and have leased 201 with the right of purchase. I have 240 acres fenced, 24 acres cleared, and there are two houses on the property. I have two cows, two calves, and two horses. I started with £1,000 and this is what I have spent on the property. I do not consider that I can make a success of it, for the reason that labour is so bad. I belong to the Indian Retired Service and, fortunately, am not dependent on farming for my living. I have a good pension.

11490. To Mr. VENN: I have made a success of growing potatoes and cabbages, but railway carriage and labour eat up the profits. My average yield of potatoes on the hill crop has been two tons to the acre, and on the flats two and a half tons. These are all marketable potatoes. I believe in bonedust and use from half to three-quarters of a ton to the acre, besides stable manure. The price of fertiliser is very high. My cabbages do well. I planted half an acre and got about 20 bags of good marketable cabbages. My land is fairy well drained, and I am close to the siding. I was induced to come to this country on account of the 160 acres which the Government gave free. The late Minister of Lands (Mr. Mitchell) wanted to charge me 55s. per acre for my land. I refused to pay this, and after fighting they reduced the price to 21s. They only gave me 40 acres as a homestead block. I requested the Minister for Lands to come down here and see whether the pamphlets issued in the interests of immigration contained the truth or not. I also wrote to the Government, and to Sir Rider Haggard, when he was here, pointing out how, by means of these pamphlets, people were being "had." Then again, in regard to departmental expert advice, Mr. Connor, the late Commissioner of the South-West, advised that you could clear this country at £2 10s. per acre by tractor. I wrote to the Agricultural Department and asked them to confirm this. The department advised that it would cost £3 13s.

11491. By the CHAIRMAN: In what respect were the pamphlets that you received in India misleading?—It was stated that a man could make an easy living here, Again, they advised that they would give 160 acres of land free. This is not carried out. Nothing was stated in regard to roads, rates, etc.