PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 16, 14 October 1919, Page 6

PARLIAMENT

WELLINGTON MILK SUPPLY SETTLING SOLDIERS ON THE LAND PRIVILEGES EXTENDED , ~ The House of Representatives met at 7.30 p.m. yesterday. Tho State Forests Amendment Bill and tho Nativo Townships Amendment Bill were introduced by Governor-General's Mcssago and read a. first time.' WELLINGTON MILK. At tho top of tho Order-paper appeared the question that the Wellington City Milk Supply Bill bo referred back to the Local Bills Committee. Debate on this proposal, moved by Sir John Findlav. had been interrupted at a previous sitting. Tho Prime Minister proposed to pass over this to go with the set business for the day. SIR JOSEPH WARD (Awarua) askea whether tho question would he proceeded with, suggesting that it was important. Mr. MASSE\ r (Prime Minister) said that he had no intention of allowing tho matter to lapse, but he thought it might stand over for a day. SIR JOHN FINDLAY (Hawke's Bay) said that ho had no intention of attempting to "kill" the Bill. He had explained the matter to the Chairman of the Committee and the member in charge of the Bill, and no opposition would be offered to his motion. Mr. Massey, in view of tills assurance given, agreed to allow the question to come on. Sir John Findlay said that the purpose of his amendment to lefer the Bill back was to allow some interested porsons to be heard before '.he Committee. He had no desire to "kill" the Bill, or anything of the c ort. No opposition was offered, the Bill was referred back in 'he Committee. LOANS FOR EDUCATION. SIR JAMES ALLEN (Minister of Finance) moved tho second reading _ of the Education Purposes Loans Bill, which provided, ho explained, for the borrowing of ,£500,000 this year ami .£750,000 in each of the succeeding four years for educational purposes. Mr. W. A. VBITCH (Wanganui) asked if the Bill provided for tho establishment of hostels. Tho Minister replied that the Bill would permit the erection of hostels. ' Tho Bill was rea/.l a second time. SOLDIER SETTLEMENT. EXTENSION OF PRIVILEGES. The Hon, D. H. GUTHRIE (Minister of Lands) moved the second reading of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement. Amendment Bill' l . He said tho Bill .had been introduced for the purpose of improving tho arrangements for the-./settlement of discharged soldiers on the land. The experience acquired by tho Lands Department had shown that tln>re were weaknesses in the existing law. The Department had made good progress with soldier settlement. It had placed nearly 6000 men on the land or in homes, at a cost of nearly .£0,000,000. An area of 109,000 acres -was ready for immediate occupation, and a further area of 542,000 was being arranged for. The Minister quoted figures to show the extent of tho settlement scheme. It had been found necessary to extend the privileges of the scheme in order to do full justice to all tho pfsons who had 'a claim to assistance. Land boards wero heinfr given power to accept second or third mortgages at their discretion. 'I'lii's hnd been, found desirablo in the . cases of men who were {,I.lc te make somo arrangements on their own account. The provision that was Ijeing made for the appointment of supervisors was impoHjnnt 1 "J the interests of tho soldiers. Tho Bill represented an earnest attempt to serve, ti.- n' t'-" -'eturncd soldiers. ,STR JOSEPH WARD (Leader of the Opnosition) congratulated the Minister of Lands on what liad been done for l.lie returned soldiers already, and expressed approval of the extensions now proposed in the settlement scheme. The supervisors ought to bo men with local knowlodge. He referred to the fact, that many men who sold farms in order to enter ramp 'had been unablo to recover their land except at greatly increased prices. This wr-s a very great grievance, anfl lis npuealrd to the Government to irifikG provision for the compulsory repurchase of theso lands at the original price witli a fair allowance for improvements. JHo had received many communications on the subject, and felt strongly that an injustice "was being done men wdio had pono to the front and had returned to find'that, owing to abnormal conditions, they could not recover their land at (prices within i"'°ai>s. f J[ r . w. D. STEWART (Duncdm West) asked that the provision of the Bill regarding the extension of benefits to men discharged from cr.mp on medical grounds through no fault of their own should bo made moro cle/ir. It obviously was unfair that a man should be excluded from benefits merely because he had been discharged a day or two beforo the dato of tho armistice. No Fall' in Land Prices. The Hon. D. BUDDO (Kaiapoi) said no farmer could be induced to beliovo that tho price of land was going to fall. A man who purchased at present prices got value for his money. Mr. Buddo pointed out that tho Government had power to acquire land compulsorily l and so could provido for all the • soldiers. Land booms in tho past had not been followed by cheap land. There had been some dullness, and farms had fallen into the hands of mortgagees, but these men did not sell chcap. There was no cheap land. Tho Hon. AV. H. Hurries: There was in tho 'eighties and 'nineties. . , Mr. J. A. YOUNG (Waikato) expressed approval of the Bill. Ho thought tho provisions should bo extended to female dependent relatives of deceased soldiers, other than mothers, and also to South African veterans. Mr. H. HOLLAND (Grey) suggested that the provisions of tho _ Act should bo extended to homo service men as well as to men who 3iad been ■ rejected from camp. , , ~ Mr. G. FORBES (Hxirumu) urged the application of the. compulsory clauses of the law in tho purchaso of land. Syndicates had allowed to acquiro .estates and cut them up flfc ft very largo profit. It would havo been better for the Government to have taken theso nroperties and given the soldiers the benefit of the growing value.- The m»n ought not to be pushed away into the baekblocks while laree estates of good land, nearer the railways, wero untouched. Different Grades. Mr. G. J. ANDERSON (Mataura) said that he thought somo differentiation should bo mado among soldici's in tho distribution of privileges. Those who went to tho front aiul fought should bo in the first class; thaw who got as far as England should bo in tho second; and tho men who nevor went beyond New Zealand in a third. Ho did not believe that homo service men should have tho sarno privileges as the men who served in tho trenches. Mr. J. A. ANSTE? (Waitoki) made a protest against tho alienation of tho leaseholds of largo blocks of land by the Crown. Ho mentioned the caso of the homestead block of '"Benmore," an area which would carry GOOV sheop. The lease given by the Crown was worth a goodwill of .£IO,OOO, and if tho Crown wished to get back tho land for redistribution among soldiers, tho repurchase would be viiy expensive. 'I ho next section was held by a soldier, and it would not carry .more than 300 sheep, not nearly enough to give him a living wage, lie urged that large estates ought to be forced un to tho market oil a lair selling value. Mr. W. H. I\l')LD (Otaki) said that ho approved of tlio Bill, although perhaps it did not go far enough. He thought sonic privileges sliould be given to home uervicu men, but he would rot urge that these men should lmvo all the privileges given to men serving abroad, He suggested thai- officers of tlio Agricultural Department might not bo tho best men' to bo appointed supervisors of soldier settlements.. Buying Land. Mr. L. M. ISITT (Christchurch North)

eaitl that it must be generally recognised that persistence in tho present policy of land purchase must raise tho lirico of land to tho soldier. 110 urged the Minister to take advice offered l»y Mr. Whatman, and ' acquire land compulsorily at fair value, lie believed that members on both sides of tho House thought this. Mr. Wilford (indicating the Government bi-nchus): Not on that side. That is the real difference between tho two parties. Mr. Massoy: What is tho uso of talkintr like that? That is not so. Mr. Jsitt said that lie wiw prepared to believe that there were many members of the Government party anxious as ho was to do good for tho soldiers by settling them on land. The Hon. ,T. A. HANAN (Invercargill) advised the imposition of taxation to coinncl the subdivision of largo holdings. Ho ivas opposed to land monopoly, as he was to lood hoarding, and ho put tho two things on tho snnio footing. What Mr. Wilfortl Thinks. Mr. T. Jl. WILFORD (Ilutt) said that the main difference between the two sides of the House was on tho question of the compulsory acquisition of land for soldiers. Every member of tho Opposi-i tion skie of the House would support the Government in any such proposal. Mr. Poole: They're not game, though. Mr. Aiassey: You havo no right to say that. Mr. Wilford said that instead of sending men out into poor, back-country the Government should "pick the eyes' out of the rich Hawke's Bay lands near the railway, acquiro it compulsorily, and allocate it to the soldiers.. Mr. 11. G. ELL (Christchurch North) suggested that the Government shbuld provide for tho refusal of transfer in cases of aggregation of land. Speculators should not bo allowed to got between the owners of property and the returned soldiers. , Compulsory Purchase. Mr. ,T. A. NASH (Palmerston) advocated compulsory purchase of land for tho soldiers. Land was not being mado available for returned men as fast as it was required, despite tho efforts of the Minister for lands and his Department. He asked.for improved provision for men who bought their own farms but required assistance- in the purchase of Block. ' Mr. B. M'CAUiLUM (Wairau) related instances of attempts' to sell land to returned soldiers at excessively _ high prices. Ho suggested that tho Minister of Lands should ask the farmer soldiers to form a union pledged to buy no land except through tho Government. It was perilous to put inexperienced men on Y(jj;y high-priced laud. Mr. Massey's View. Tho PRIME MINISTER said he had watched tho operation of compulsory purchase d'AMses since the principle was first adopted. Tho expense of compulsory purchase lmd been' very great, and had to / be borne by the new occupiers. In some cases tho cost of arbitration lind been enormous. The later system had been to allow the owner to fix his own valuation for land tax purposes, tho Government to have tho right to take over the land at tho valuation, plus percentage. This arrangement applied only to the unimproved value, and it had proved useless for the purchase of land. ■ The owners fixed high valuations, and &e did not think a siiurle estate had been bought under the scheme. The present system of direct purchase was making land available for settlement. Ho would point out that tho sales reported at very high prices were not sales in which' much money actually changed hands. Tho Government was able, to pay cash, and it had been able to buy land for. the soldiers at less than the nominal market value. Much of the laml secured for the. soldiers was aheap land, and if the soldiers had any experience and enerey they would do very well indeed. The owners in some cases lind offered land to the Government at substantially less than the marlcct value on condition that it was used for settlement of soldiers. A case of this kind was the To Awaiti property, made available bv Messrs. JJiddiford. Mr. 0. Hunter, M.P.. had put a block of land worth .£.10.000 at the disposal of tho Government for soldiers' settlement, on condition that the revenue was used for the education of soldiers' children. When the settlenlent of eokliers had been first planned, 'ho had estimated that it would ho possible to put SOW) men on tlip land. A very largo number of men had already been provided with .farms and homes, ami the final number would not be far short of 10,000. More than half of the farms on which soldiers lind been placed were unimproved land, which had not previously been productive. He believed' tlmt at 'least ninety per cent, of flie soldier-settlers wore going to be successful. About "Confiscation." The Hon. G. W. RUSSELL (Avon) said that no ono advocated confiscation, but tho soldiers ought to be provided with land at a price that would permit* them to get a secure footing on the land within a reasonable time. Ho paid a tribute to Mr. Guthrie for his earnestness and zeal in. his position as Minister in pushin!.' the work of soldier-settlement. Mr. T. W. RHODES' (Thames) said that ho would not advocate giving the Government power to dispossess Crown tenants without compensation, in order to subdivide their lands. Mr. C. J. TALBOT (Temuka) approved the Bill Mr. V. H. JIEEID (Bay of Islands) approved the Bill, but he urged that soldier settlers going out into the far back country to settle on land should bo given tho right to tho freehold, even if tho laud wero national endowment land.. Mr. R. AY. SMITH (Wainmrino) complimented the Minister on having introduced tho Bill. jfr. S. G. SMITH (Taranaki) advised tho Governmont to consider some scheme for tho compulsory acquisition of land for soldier settlement. Minister In Reply. Tho Hon. D. H. GUTHRIE, in reply, said that ho had been pleased with tho reception, given to the Bill, and pleased to note also that members took a deep interest in soldier settlement. It )ind been said 'by some members that the land boards wero delaying settlement. The truth was that the land boards could not possibly accomplish tho hugo tasks imposed upon them by soldier settlement problems! In a Bill shortly to bo introduced provision would bo mado for the strengthening of the boards, and for the setting up of local land purchaso boards throughout the land districts of the Dominion. He appealed to members not to press for benefits for home-service, men and South African soldiers. The first duty of the country was to tho soldiers who had fought, and after they lmd been settled other deserving cases might bn considered. It had Men suggested that some speculators had made money out of the tale of land to tho Government-for sol-dier-sc-ttlement. Tho practice of the Department was to refuso to buy any land in which a speculator was interested. but it- was not easy always to know all tho history of a property when it was offered. The suggestion that a soldier shoitld not be charged stamp duty on his purchase could not bo adopted because the law did not at present allow it. An amendment of tho law would bo necessary-to allow tho remission of duty to be made legally. BILLS IN COMMITTEE. Tho Education Purposes Loans Bill was put through all stages nnd passed. So also were tho Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Amendment Bill and the Mnnawatu Gorge Road and Bridge Bill. Tiro House rose at. 0.35 a.m.