SOLDIERS AND THE LAND

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 277, 19 August 1919, Page 5

SOLDIERS AND THE LAND

CRITICISM OF VALUES

"WILD ORGY OF SPECULATION"

"Wo have all been away helping to crush the Huus. It now" seems as if we have to como back and crush a number of Jluns in New Zealand." These remarks wore made by Lieutenant-Colonel G. Mitchell, district organiser for the Wellington;lieturncd Soldiers' Association, in opening his address to members of the association at a meeting last night. "At the front," ho added, "there was a spirit of comradeship and brotherly love, but on our return we find that that spirit is absolutely foreign to this country. AVe §eem to have come back to a wild orgy of land speculation, profiteering, and selfishness." Colonol Mitchell that he was sure the public wanted justieo to bo done to the returned soldiers. He was afraid it was ofiiciais that the returned men were up against in their demands, and officials must be fought Dealing with land settlement, Colonel Mitchell said that 1800 men had been placed on the land, in four years, and the Prime Minister had congratulated the country on this result. There were 809 D men waiting for land to-day, and at the rate settlement was proceeding it would take 1G years to repatriate all the sctdiens who wanted to get on the land. land settlement wa9 the 'bis stumbling-block to-day. and miles? the men were settled quickly at reasonable values and under fair condition? then they would be driven to a very extreme point of view. ' The value of laiul ihad gone up 20 per cent, since the war. AYlio created that value? Was it the man who fought for the land, or was it the man who stayed behind in safety? If it was the soldier, fc'lien it was absolutely wrong that he should be brought back and charged for the' value that he himself had created. A grand opportunity of settling the land on a national basis was being lost. Sorno landowners wero asking exceedingly high prices for their land. He had been shown a section, not 20 miles from Hunterville, that a soldier had sold in order to go to the war. When lie returned' he tried to buy it back Again, but the man to whom ho ihad sold it asked him & an acre more than he bought it for in 1915. Another man sold his farm of a little over 200 acres for ,£2O an acre. The ' purchasor told him that if he wanted the farm on hia return from the war he would get it. When tho soldier returned and tried to buy back 1 the ple.ee he was received very coldly, but was informed that the land was for sale. The owner said he had been oifered £10 an acre for it, but if the soldior wanted it back lio could have ilfor ,£37 an acre, 'ihat sort of thing was wrong, and if flie soHiers who were waiting for land did not get justice, then a nasty spirit would be engendered in them.