152 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1899. 
succeeded in securing a quarter of a million of money for his department, and 
a large portion of it was Hevated to bonuses. The first bonuses were paid on the 
export of butter, which so stimulated the dairying industry as to result in the 
present system of creameries. With reference to the village settlements in 
New Zealand, I have not had the pleasure of reading Mr. Reeves’s book, but 
when in New Zealand, about twelve years ago, I made an investigation into the 
village settlements there. Of course, we progress with the times, and doubtless 
the New Zealand Government has progressed. The village settlements in New 
Zealand were started from the same causes which started them in Queensland— 
namely, to find employment for the unemployed. But the Government, in 
starting them, made a complete blunder of it in the areas that they set apart for 
the settlers. I inspected those settlements, and have still plans of them, and 
the areas that the people were put on ranged from 5 to 40 acres of land. 
The Government advanced a certain amount of money for house-building and 
fencing. JI remember meeting a young farmer in the neighbourhood of one of 
the settlements, and he told me that before the Government sent the unemployed 
to take up these small blocks he had been able to find employment at times on 
the roads in addition to the work he did on his own farm. After the establishment 
of the Government settlement, however, the old settlers were compelled to leave 
the district to seek for employment when they desired it, and this was the only 
one of those settlements which could be called successful. It was particularly 
fortunate as regards land and market, being in the immediate vicinity of Timaru 
and Oamaru. We know the results which followed the efforts of the Govern- 
ment in this direction here. They were a failure in every instance, and in the 
early days, at any rate, the settlements were a failure in New Zealand. 
Mr. R. 8. Atken (Gooburrum): To improve the position of farmers, one 
gentleman has read a paper to assist the farmer, and the other gentleman has 
written a paper asking the farmers to assist themselves—two different things. 
I differ with them both, and maintain that the present unfortunate position of 
the farmer in Queensland is caused simply by himself. With regard to farmers 
in the Bundaberg district in particular, who are not ina good financial position, 
it has been caused simply by the fact that money has been too easily obtained, 
or, in other words, it has been too cheap. It would have been better for those 
farmers if the money had been dear. In driving about Mackay a day or two 
ago, I noticed that ‘ows were a number of sugar lands lying idle, and anumber 
of acres of ground that were not being used. I take it that the cause of that 
was that those who had been working them had failed for exactly the same 
reason as those in the Bundaberg district—that is, the money they obtained was 
obtained on a false basis. It was obtained by their handing over their deeds, 
and, on the strength of the deeds, they obtained advances on what I call the 
unearned increment. They expected to pay back this money from the earning 
value of the ground. Two different things. A man may obtain a selection 
from the Government at from 15s. to £1 per acre, but, as population increases, 
the land increases in value to £20 per acre. The owner gets short of money, 
goes to the bank, and, on the strength of his deeds, he obtains an adyance 
of £15 per acre. He obtained that ground for 15s., and population could 
not possibly increase its earning value to that extent. Population, however, 
enabled him to borrow this £15; but when he came to pay back this money 
which he had borrowed on the unearned increment, he failed. Had the difficulty 
of obtaining money been greater, probably he would still have the land to-day. 
We have at the present time a sympathetic Minister for Agriculture in the 
person of the Hon. J. V. Chataway, and I sincerely hope he will not be carried 
away by ideas emanating from what 1 may term a morbid mind, certainly not a 
practical one, in the direction of assisting us farmers. We have a good man in 
Mr. Chataway, and, should he advance any scheme to assist farmers, I trust he 
will make quite sure that in his endeavour to help them he is not hastening 
their ruin. 
Mr. J. Hupson (Rosewood) : If I were lending money, I would be sure 
the security was ample, and that there was little danger of my being let in 
