LAND FOR SOLDIERS

Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 8

LAND FOR SOLDIERS

. ~r . \ NAPIER :; DEPUTATION MEETS ...... MINISTER i RETURNED MEN DISSATISFIED • Tlie Hon. D. 11. Giitlirio, ...Minister of ! Lands. met a deputation of returned sol- i dies lit' Napier ,on Monday.. evening:.lor the purpose of discussing- certam_griev- ( -'an>!es (reports the Dnnhevivke-.'.Mews ). , The land selected .came in for a good s deal of criticism, and; ninny., soldiers were ( qui to frank in statin;} .that n lot. of ..t lie I la.id'-was not suitable* their. purposes, and.'ih some cases was of inferior TOl- ~ ity 1 One man asked the Minister it lie, 3 in w* tho Kakariki Block, which ho de- t scribed as the "blackberry patch. Other ; blocks came in for unfavourable crit'c-. .1 isiui" but the Minister-said-ho (liil- iiot . know much of the laud in the district. ,j Tile question affecting this land was who- j tier the Government lvould grant any s rebate i'i rent and. interest. lhe Mlll- 9 . istar stated that the present plan was to 4 ' allow the man to hold Hip land free ot s Te.'it up to three years, and then in j special cases to allow further rebate. j Mr. Guthrie explained that it was not J always possible for a man to get Hie 1 laud he wanted. If a settler wanted a • particular area the Land Purchase Board • had the land valued, and it' it came witliin what the Government would allow j there was no difficulty. If tlie board 2 did not consider the land worth the price f it wis offered at it did not hesitate to t say so. The meu-who had returned so t j far were not capable of going to the backblocks, and something handy was } 1 bei'ig got for them. In ITawkes liny 'some 5500 acres had been obtained one i and a half miles from Bannevirke at 1>- v T.itu. J'or those soldiers who wished to i ' go on the.land, but wero not expert- J enroll, provision had been made to set . aside 1200 acres in one locality as all ex- t perimental farm. It .was proposed that j liatriotii societies should pay for the 111- v ■. ; fitriiction However, it was hoped that j something would bo. done and a further area .of 900 acres had been obtained 111 t the Wairaropa, and another area of 800 ( •' acres.; The Government agricultural 1, farms were open for instruction pur-, t poses, and soldiers there> could get in- ° struction. board and 20s. a week pocket money, Moreover, the Government was Utepared to add to a man's actual earn- e in>r power on a farm, and make-. 111s 0 wages equal to the ordinary farm hands; ' that is if the man was seeking to learn. ' One or two speakers raised the ques- £ tio-i of aggregation of land, and com- • ■plainel that this was going'on even now. r They urged that, this be put a stop to 2 at once, and so prevent large runholders t who had enough- getting more. lhe » speakers were most emphatic and determined on this point, and cited caseu c where it' had been allowed quite recently, j - The Minister said that an Act had. been t passed limiting holdings and designed to 1 prevent aggregation. He would see to s it that lhe-Act was adhered to rigidly. * A question was asked-about rates. Mr. Guthrie replied. that the questi 1:1 was one between settiers and their local governing bodies. He cited d case where a county council had al- . lowi'd' 11 • rebate. On the-other hand, a speaker cited.a case vhpre a -county , . council had notified an applicant that tho law would not permit of a rebate. Speaking-of--the co-operative farming scheme, the Minister said he was of the impression that the soldiers did not favour co-operation. Several speakers had other views, and the Minister intimated that lie would -be glad. of, an expression of opinion. In any . case, if a'i'umber of, soldiers w.slicd to co-operate, there was nothing to.prevent it. At the end of the meeting the follow- • lng resolution was put and carried unanimously:'"That the returned soldiers are dissatisfied with the Government at the rate at which .they; are bringing out land for returned soldiers, atid also with the quality "of the land offered to the men."