SOLDIERS ON THE LAND

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 110, 3 February 1920, Page 7

SOLDIERS ON THE LAND

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE VERY BIG FIGURES MINISTER MAKES FULL REPORT : The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Minister' of 1 lands, has fumishe<l a report of tho operations under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act 'na nt December 31, 1910. Some idea of tho magnitude of the undertaking may ho form*! when it is pointed out that 4644 men have been Bottled on 1,477,295 acres, at an outlay of '■ .£9,082,210. Adding to ihis amount tho sum of .£2,666,685 which has been advanced to 4373 men to acquire urban ;«nd suburban dwellings, tho total cost of financing the 9117 men who have bcon .agisted , under the Act amounts to i 11,748,895. To this, however, has to be ndded the cost of 57 private estates, ■which have' been purchased ajid f.re being prepared for settlement, viz., .£1,811,314. So that tho settlement of our soldiers 'has already involved an outlay of no less than 13,560,209. The following arc tho details of the figures referred to above:— . \ No. Area. •1. Discharged poldiers who have acquired holdings of settlement land ' 1020 232,651 2. 'Discharged soldiers who have acquired holdings of Crown and National Endowment ; 056 643,893 Total on Crown and settlement land 1676 876,514 ?. Discharged sold : ers who have been assisted to purchase land in terms of Section 2 of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlc- • ment Act, 1917 - 2963 600,751 Total assisted on rural land 4644 if. Applications from dipcharged soldiers for financial assistance to acquire or erect dwellingsApproved by Minister 4373 Under Action at 31-12-1.9 1162 5. Discharged soldiers who have received advances' , for. stocking and improving their own freehold lands . 100 Total 9117 '1,477,295 Financial. .Discharged Soldiers'. Settlement Act. £ £ 'Advances authorised to assist soldiers in the ' -' ' , Purchase of private . and Nntivo Crown , leasehold?, and discharge of mortgages 5,297,028 ' Purchase of chattels,, and for general im-, provements and stock . 1.295,458 Purchase of''dwellings 2,666,685 Total 49,259,171 Lands for Settlement Act. 4 . • 'JB (1) Capital value of estates purchased ' • and settled by. sol- < • diets : ..2,4.59,724 ; . ' (2) Approximate cost to purchase jstates which are being prepared for settle.ment > 1 1,811,314 '4,301,033 * . .£13,560,209 Interesting Averages. Mr. Guthrie has also prepared an interesting table of averages. This shows that the average advanco to assist men h, .nrnuiro farms \ii"l»r 2 ff 1017 Amendment is .£1753: wi>i'n tho average adv/inco for stockand imnrovoments on current account is .£791. This shows the avei'aeo cost of set"ing tho soldier under t.hisi portion of the 'Act to be 42514: The average-cost of settling the men under settlement,con'ditions is .£2819, which also includes the nverage advance for stock and improvements. Tn the purchase of'estates for soldier settlement, the average price per lacro works out at .£ll. The average advance to assist men to" acquire dwellings Is .£634. • , , The Future. '' "c:.,™ Hi". /loniolvVcntin' l TlPpan," stated Mr. Guthrie, "the officers of the Lands Denartment have been working at very high pressure, and the increasing number of applications to be dealt with has necessitated the. strengthening of the staffs right throughout the Dominion. There is still no sign of the work decreasing, but I have no doubt that after tho next month-or two ngradual falling-off will take place, as practically all the men have now returned. ' It is nilite evident, r.nwever, that there is a large number of men,-' h-lio. although repatriated in the'r former 'j vocations. ,are desirous of going on the land, and ! are competitors; at the (lis- ; cliareed soldiers' land ballots from time to time; and I believe that somo time wilt eiapso before all these wen aro 6ettlctl-1 "At. the end of tlie vear w° haa ready for immediate selection 130.507 acres, which includes lands advertised ; n the 'Crown Lands Guide, and land offered hnllnt ''""incr .Tan ("it. During Pel-.ruary, 92.341 acres will be offered, by Tia"ot. Land at nressnt being prepared for settlement totals 699.000 acres, which includes 57 private estates, comprising 179,270 acres, nurehaspd for soldiers. The majority of these estates will come into possesion of. tho Government in March next, and no time will bo lost in offerin'/ them, for selection. "In a few words," ndded Mr. Guthrie, "the position disclosed in the.'foregoing figures is that at- December 31 we had Fettled or provided with homes no fewer than 9117 soldiers, and as at that date 'there was a large number of applications tinder action, which will now have been comnleted, .it is safo to say that -over 10,000 men have been repatriated under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement. Scheme. •; "Althou'eh I have, published monthly returns from time to time, it is quite evident to me from the statements made in correspondence I have received that the real position is not appreciated by tho general public, or by ,the organisations connected with the repatriation of our men. and that the enormous amount of work performed by my Department has not been recognised. I want to state omphatioallv that the Government and the Lands Department is imbued ■with a strong desire to make the New Malawi soldier settlement scheme a distinct success. A perfect scheme could • not. of course, be evolved at the beginning, and improvements are being made from time to timo as we gain ence." Rsbates for Prompt Payment. ' "Until, recently it had not been found practicable to allow a rebate for tho .prompt pavment of interest on loans obtained under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, as is done under the State Advances loans. Tho principal reason for this was the fact that my Department had to raise its funds at a time when money could only be obtained ht a comparatively high rate of interest. Another point to be observed is that in makinir advances under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act a very small marein of security is demanded. 'How- ' ever, arrangements have now been made with tho Treasury which will enable mu 'to make the rebate; and I am pleased (o 6ay tliaf tho concession will, bo made lo apply restrospcctively." WELLINGTON DISTRICT. ' Special interest attaches to tho figures relating to tho Wellington land district, where, un to December 31, 836 men had been settled on 1.63,740 acres, while 914 men Imd received advances to purchase town dwellings. There wero 3760 acres available for immediate selection, while a further 46,522 acres were being prepared for settlement. The latter figures include five private estates comprising •11.356 .acres, which have been-purchased and are being prepared for settlement, fieventv-seven estates have been purchasled. and are now supporting 360 men.