The Dominion. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1919. FARMS FOR SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 12, 5 September 1919, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1919. FARMS FOR SOLDIERS

« — Clear proof that the Government intends to forward soldier settlement with all possible energy appears in the heavy borrowing powers taken in the Bill which passed the House, of in the early, hours of yesterday morning. In any consideration of the subject it is only fair to recognise that the Government has shown praiseworthy ' enterprise in meeting the heavy and steadily-increasing demand by soldier settlers. As the Minister in immediate charge of these activities, Mb. Guthrie is entitled to take pride in what was accomplished while the National Government was in office. In two years and a half more than two thousand soldiers have been provided with farms at a cost on an average of something like £2500 to £2700 per man. Soldier . settlement, of course, has developed on a,n expanding scale, and as the position was outlined by tho Minister of Lands the figures just cited are likely t.o be improved upon considerably in the very near, future since a large number of applications in hand are about to be granted. On the whole, also, the Government seems to have succeeded in obtaining land at a fair price, and one that gives soldier settlers good prospects of gaining a position of independence. The outlook from this point of view was summed up by the Prime Minister in the observation that any losses incurred were likely to be small. The point in which the soldier settlement scheme as it has thus far been developed is chiefly open to criticism is that the Government has confined its attention too exclusively to the most obvious and direct method of meeting the demands of soldier settlers—tiiat. is to say, the purchase of improved land, much of it highly improved-, at commensurate prices. Allowance must be made, of . course, for tho pressure and urgency of these demands,, and it is evident that the purchase of improved land must in any case bulk ' large in the settlement scheme, it the same time the outlook for soldier settlers, and for the country where soldier settlement is concerned would.be even better than it is if more attention had been given to the possibility of breaking in undeve oped j anr I 3 J an d thus providing so.diers first of all with employment and ultimately with holdings which they would take, up under better conditions than could otherwise* be attained. To say, as was said , in Wednesday night's debate, that the country does not benefit if one man is put off a farm and another put on, is going- beyond the facts of the case. For the most part soldier settlement has been carried out thus jar on a basis of subdivision, and the process confers a material benefit on the country. But it is of course, indisputable that there is .a much greater gain to tho country when unoccupied lands are brought into use and productivity. When the weighty consideration is added that in this way the financial burdens which _ soldier settlers must carry in their early years of occupation may be considerably lightened, the. case for giving the development ot idle lands a prominent place i» the soldier settlement scheme is fully established. . k ll ' e the possibility of promoting settlement on these lines has received some, attention from the Government, and at present the Minister of Lands is in. negotiation with the Returned Soldiers' Association ill regard to the development' and ultimate occupation of suitable blocks by groups of ex-soldiers! The whole question, ho-.vever, demands fuller attention and bolder treatment than it has ,v'et received. In he debate on the Loan Bill membeis spoke of several considerable aicas which might advantageously re pioneered by soldier settlers. Mr. Vernon I{eed said that the iYqrth Auckland district contained thousands of acres of sood Crown lands still awaiting settlement. Mr. AmoDonald declared that thousands ot acres of good virgin land were available in the Bay of Plenty, and referred particularly to the. Urewcra Block of 600,000 acrcs, of which tho Government, he said, had purchased about half. The Government ought to recognise that it is faced by an exceptional opportunity of at once bring 1 ng such areas as these into productivity and providing for soldier settlers under the best conditions possible. That the settlement of virgin lands will entail the construction not only of local communications, but of main roads, and in some instances railways, is not a reason for hesitating op the brink of the enterprise, but an additional reason for promoting it on the greatest possible scale. An eager desire to meet the demands of soldier settlers is commendable, but a comprehensive outlook is also necessary. It has to_ be considered that many of our soldiers arc admirably fitted by their war experience to undertake pioneering work in their own country. Nor can it be doubted that large numbers of them would gladly undertake such work when it offers them in the first instance the opportunity of accumulating a certain capital and eventually that of taking up cheaper farms 1 than they could obtain in any other ; way. Mr. Ngata stated, in the course of Wednesday's debate, that ; Maoris of the Pioneer Battalion <

could bo very easily engaged for road and railway construction and other development works, and without doubt tliey are well .qualified for this employment. The same, unquestionably, is to be said of the white members of the Expeditionary' I Force. In particular, an earnest effort should ]ie made to engage officers and men of the Engineers and other branches which gained invaluable experience in the. construction and maintenance of communications under extreme difficulties, and employ them under an organised plan in furtherance of development work. Such men are pioneers of the best stamp, and the Dominion is able to offer thern work in which their qualities will tell and an adequate reward. The Returned Soldiers' Association, which already is actively interested in pioneer settlement, would no doubt readily assist in extending it on the greatest practicable scale. The Government certainly ought to invite the fullest co-operation of the association in regard both to the employment of soldiers on development work and the settlement of the lands thus opened. With its numerous branches and well-developed organisation the association is, of course, in a position to bring the authorities promptly into-effeclive touch with returned soldiers all over the Dominion. It is a very material p.oini in connection with the employment of soldiers in pioneer development that many of them are familiar with methods of transport,* capable of being usefully applied in this country, which were exhaustively tested in the war. Much importance attaches, for instance, to ■ the possibility of utilising light narrow gauge railways in areas where roading is difficult. Lines of : this type did wonderful service in the war theatres under extraordinarily adverse condition's, and full use certainly ought to ba made in this country of the experience of those who have gained an expert familiarity with such forms of transport. At a direct view, pioneer settlement offers maximum benefits to soldier settlers, and to the country. At the same time, it would contribute in an important degree to the solution of the prob-' em of preventing an undue inflation of the price of land.