SOLDIERS ON THE LAND

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 206, 26 May 1919, Page 6

SOLDIERS ON THE LAND

THE SETTLEMENT PROBLEM

POINTS OF CRITICISM

Land settlement is the one direction into which it is cafe to divert ns many suitable men as possible, because each fielder not only contributes directly to the wealth of the country, but creates suitable work for others, states the third annual report of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association. On the general success or otherwise of the scheme for the settlement of soldiers no sufficient amount of reliable data has yet been made available to the association. Periodically complaints are forwarded from settlers or settlements, but (he association has no facilities for conducting the authoritative investigation which is almost invariably necessary. The number of soldier-settlers, the technicalities of farming, and the details of land laws and administration have made the appointment of an officer at,.headquarters of tho association to deal only with land, a matter of urgency. Hie duties should be to familiarise himself with the whole land problem in its theoretical and administrative aspects, and to investigate on behalf of the association all land questions. With an officer at headquarter?, most of his time will be spent on matters of investigation. The hiuenu scheme involves the establishment of a provincial land office whore soldier-settlers requiring land can not only be offered suitable properties, but can also be sett.icd at a minimum cost. The usual rates of commission are charged, and the annual profit, oil the working of the bureau, less administrative expenses, is apportioned among the settlers. The defoct of the scheme is that being an application of the principle of co-operation it is not founded on a suitable economic unit, but as temporary machinery for coping with a problem of unusual extent and intricacy, it should without doubt be, of immense assistance to every returned soldier settler. Its extension to nt least the main centres seems highly desirable, and the institution of such bureaux as departments in the work of every sufficiently large association would be the first duty of the appointee suggested.

Certain features of (ha administration of tho Land Department call for severe comment. Chief among these is the inordinute delay, sometimes extending over three months and toore in dealing with properties under offer to soldiers. There is no sound reason why such properties should not be dealt with within one month in the case of city properties, and six weeks in the case of rural land. The argument that the negotiations are settled faster by the Department than in the case of private land deals is irrelevant, because tho settling of returned soldiers is different not only in degree, but in kind from ordinary settlement. The demand for land by returned soldiers is no casual one to be satisfied through the ordinary channels of Jand exchange. Their displacement is due not to economic, but to war causes, and every delay means a period of forced idleness for men who would otherwise have been working. This delay is doubly serious since many propositions are rejected by the Government, , and an applicant may lie obliged to wait long periods before he is finally disposed of. The fees charged for valuation might well be reconsidered. After the 'first fee has been paid, the fees for subsequent valuation of properties should be reduced to a minimum.

It is obvious that were the system of land settlement thoroughly organised and advertised an immensely larger nnmbor of men than those now offering could be settled with a corresponding stimulus to production. No adequate effort has been made bv the Government to secure the most suitable clnss of settlor, with the result thai while nearly every man desiring to settle has been given an opportunity, ,-. considerable number through unfitness of various kinds -will fail. The high rate of wages ruling during the war lias made men unwilling to begin a period of training in farming, and suitable leadership is necessary for organising a workable group under the system Of- bringing • in large unimproved arsaa, which would provide training at the same time n5 a settler is working his holding. As ii result of representations by the association the Government made arrangements for a. special supply of fencing wire.,to returned soldier-settlers. The association has also represented to the Minister that special inspectors to deal with returned soldier-settlement should' be appointed, and arrangements in this direction are now being made by the Department. Owing to the inadequacy of headquarters staff it has been impossible to conduct investigations of complaints from settlers or settlements as they should be conducted,- namely, on the spot, but. inquiries have been instituted m reference to matters brought before the notice of headquarters, and in some cases deputations from the individual settlements have b?en arranged with the Minister, as-a result of which grievances have bee', satisfactorily adjusted.