SOLDIERS' HOUSES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18222, 5 November 1924, Page 8

SOLDIERS' HOUSES.

BUILT ON BORROWED MONEY. SOME SOLD AT A PROFIT. (special to "the press.")

WELLINGTON, November 4.

Eeplying to a question by Mr T. KSidey when the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act Amendment Bill was being considered in the House of Eepresentatives this afternoon, the Prime Minister said he could not understand how the Dunedin soldiers had been left in the matter of housing. He had been in Otago several times, and had discussed all sorts of things with them, but he had never heard, so far as ho could recollect, anything about their wanting houses. What they wanted was apparently something like what happened last year, when £500,000 or £600,000 had been taken from the Consolidated revenue and been used for building houses. When that was done and he came back from England there was a good deal of adverse criticism.

Sinco then a great change had taken place, and they had been providing a good deal of money. There was tho ordinary Advances Department, in connexion with which soldiers were' on the same footing as civilians; indeed, the Board was more likely to give a favourable reply to a soldier thanito a civilian. Ho did not know whether he could do anything, but he intended to look into the mattor after the session closed. If there were any cases of hardship he would be very glad to meet them if possible. The trouble, however, was that quite a number of houses built with this money were not occupied by the people who built them, but were sold at a profit. They could not have that sort of thing going on. It must be avoided.