SETTLING SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 15 August 1919, Page 3

SETTLING SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

A WRONG SYSTEM ADOPTED. In the course of his address at the soldiers’ welcome home social at Te Horo on. Wednesday night, Mr G. Alex. Monk (County Chairman) had some interesting and sane remarks to make with respect to putting soldiers on the land. .Mr Monk said in his opinion the Government had started the wrong way. The Government had advertised the fact that they would purchase land on whieh to settle soldiers, and consequently prices had jumped up, and many of the poor soldiers put on the land would have to "scratch for life” to make a living. He considered that if the Government had, prior to acquiring any land, fixed the unimproved value, and then added the value of improvements, they could then have acquired the land at a reasonable figure. This would have prevented the enormous increase that had taken place in land values. Mr Monk also expressed the opinion that, had local committees been appointed and eonsmted with regard to the purehasc of land for soldiers, it would have saved a lot of trouble, and much land that had been bought by the Government at a high price would never have been touched. He contended that there would have been no difficulty in securing the services of independent men of integrity, with local knowledge, whose advice would have been of very great value, and would have prevented many a soldier being put on a property where he had not a fair chance of making a living. Mr Monk’s remarks were heartily applauded by tho audience.