SOLDIER SETTLEMENT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 303, 16 September 1920, Page 4

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT

A DISQUIETING FEATURE APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE TO TRANSFER The report of the Department of Lands and Survey upon operations during tho year ended March 111 last makes the following allusion ,to a feature of soldiersettlement that in the opinion of the Department requires careful watching:— "As is well known, all suitable lands of tho Crown have, for tho past few years, been reserved- almost exclusively for the settlement of discharged soldiers, and as fast as it has been possible to Biirvey and prepare them for occupation they have been placed on the market. It has been noticed that the <lc;irc of the Government to settle on the land in comfortable homes the men who have returned from tho Great War is liable to partial defeat from the following cause: Great care is taken to acquire and open land at the lowest possible price so as to give tho soldier-settlers every possible chance of success. They are placed on land which assures them a comfortable living, in some cases from the very start, and in other cases after the initial difficulties of development have been overcome. There is, therefore, a large potential goodwill in many of the holdings, and civilian' farmers with money have in many cases offered large sums to the soldiers to transfer their holdings.

"A provision of the Discharged Soldierii' Settlement Act prohibits transfers for ten years from the date of selection, except on the recommendation of the Land Board and with the approval of tho Minister. But the chance of obtaining large sums of money for tho good will of their selections (in some cases thousands of pounds) is) inducing soldiers to apply to transfer. If such applications were approved it would leave tho vendors with considerable sums of money in their pockets, but without farms, and tliev would be once more looking for land.

"Tho acquisition of the freehold is generally the precursor of an application lo transfer to a civilian, and the gradual displacement of our discharged soldiers by farmers with money and probably more experience is a disquieting feature of soldier-settlement that should be carefully guarded against in the interests of the soldiers themselves.

"The Department lias assisted 63G3 discharged soldiers to acquire residential properties in towns, and undoubtedly this had been' very much to the benefit of the soldiers, and'has enabled them to secure comfortable homes within reasonable distance from their employment. Under the. Act and regulations an advance mav be made up to ,£IOOO to enable a soldier, to acquire a residence. In many cases properties have been secured at what is bedrock value owing to the care exercised bv land boards in seeing that they are well worth the money-paid by the purchaser. In some cases, however, it has been noticed that already the soldiers are selling the houses at a profit to civilians or men not entitled to benefits under the Discharged Soldiers- Settlement Act, and arranging for 'tho repayment of the Government loans. Tho latter procedure is, of course, necessary, when the purchaser is not a discharged soldier; but it is regrettable that the efforts of the Government to provide soldiers with homes of their own are not more appreciated, and the purchasers cannot resist an offer which enables them to eell at n profit."