Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MAY 28th, 1919. LAND FOR THE LANDLESS.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 May 1919, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MAY 28th, 1919. LAND FOR THE LANDLESS.

, The Wellington correspondent of this paper mentioned in his most recent letterter that the business men and farmers of the Palmerston North had waited on the Minister of Lands protesting 'against the dilatory methods of acquir--1 ing land for the soldiers. In the same i issue of this paper was a precis of the I annual report presented to the Return-

! ed Soldiers Conference at Christchurch, and .again the Government policy re. ! garding land for soldiers was criticised 1 severely, as in fact was the whole unready repatriation, scheme. These criticisms are too well deserved unfortu- | nately. The Government are very dilatory in fact altogether inefficient in acI quiring land for soldiers. The opera, tions as far as they have gone, have [not touched this quarter, nor does it (appear likely that they ever will if the matter is left purely to officials who appear to be largely born pessimists about the value of West Coast lands. The other day a Minister of the Crown passed through a flourishing dairying settlement within an easy distance of Hokitika, and when he came back the lion, gentleman, himself a successful flarmer, said he saw country which should be carrying another 150 families. Yet where areas in that locality have been offered to the Government they have been turned down, the officials vetoing tlfe transactions with pessimistic reports. All the time the land in this district is rising, and vhen the Government come to purchase it in the near future, as they must to satisfy the demand for land, they will buy at a much higher rate than they could now .It is over three years since the Government were urged to acquire land in this district for soldiers, but the prevailing official pessimism prevented action, and the Land Purchase Commissioner was “too busy” to come to Westland to decide for himself. The fact that that officer could not spare time from his comfortable chair in Wellington will yet cost the country dear. Within the period values have gone up from fifty to one hundred per cent, and they are still rising—and in the end the Government must buy. The desire in fact the determination, to do the right tiling for the returned soldiers will see that improved or partially improved land is provided for the men. It would bo cruel to many of the men who have no resources but their own labour, to put them on land, which has to be cleared and cultivated. The men of that category must be given a chance on land at least partially improved, und this means acquiring some large areas in the various land districts which are either left fallow or extensive areas of pasture land used solely for that purpose. The time has arrived where in this as in other tasks of exceptional difficulty which had to be faced in connection with the war, the Government must call in advisory committees to carry on the work they are unable to do. It was done under the Efficiency scheme, in Patriotic work, and is being done now extensively under the Repatriation administration. Business men are giving their time, and their knowledge of local conditions to work out these matters as successfully as possible and what credit there is in it the Government are taking to Ithemselves. The Repatriation scheme would be a dead letter in this district were it not for the honorary work done by the local citizens, and the Government require to utilise the same machinery for land settlement purposes if it hopes to attain any degree of success along speedy and practical lines to remove the present reproach.