DISCHARGED SOLDIERS’ SETTLEMENT ACT.

Shannon News, 7 August 1923, Page 3

DISCHARGED SOLDIERS’ SETTLEMENT ACT.

PROVISIONS OF LOCAL INTEREST. The Discharged Soiuiers’ Settlement Amendment Act, winch proviuea im tne revaluation oi farms purchased .unuer the terms oi ,wie Discharge.u soldiers’ Set-, tiement Act of iyi&,” and .which nas passed its first reaumg m tne House

reeemiy, contains the hist practical attempt at a solution of tne troubles winch oeset many oi those soiuier settlers wuo acquired laud at tne mnaieu values ox tne immediate post-war per iod. Tlie main provisions of tiie mu nave been raniy luiiy utcußseu anu are generally understood, but several of tne clauses, and particulars are worthy oi being stressed. The machinery of tne proposed revaluation department is to- consist oi a “Revaluation Board” consisting of the Cntiar-SSecretary of tlie Department ©i | Lands and Survey, wno is to be edairniau of tbe Bourn, and three other members who will boid office during me pleasure of tne Governor-General, and District Re-valuation Committees oi three persons,' “two at least ol whom shall have reputed knowledge of local land values, and of farming generally.” The. importance of' this provision, cannot be over-estimated, insuring as It does that in each separate district, the work of revaluation will be done by a committee, the majority of the members of which understand the particular conditions applying to that district. The vecouir mendations of this committee will be dealt with by the. Dominion Board. Clause 6 reads as loiiows: "Any discharged soldier within the meaning oi the; principal Act, being the lessee or .licensee of any Crown land or other land administered by a Land Board, and used for fanning purposes, or other purposes of production, whether such land has been disposed oi under the principal Act or any other Act, may at any time within six months, after the passing oi this Act, apply in the manner provided by tms part of the. 'Act for a re-valuation oi the land comprised in his lease or license.”

The first important pprtion ol this clause which states in, tlie main that any land purchased by a returned soldier with Government assistance, of whatever character, is to come under the. provisions of the proposeu amending Act, will .be dealt with more fully later, but in reierence to the tune limit prescribed a point which returned men cannot afford to overlook is that there is only six months after tne passing of the Act in which to make application. No doubt in the final ( settiing of the Bill a definite date will be. fixed from which this six months will count, but soldier settlers, .would be well advised to keep in close touch with their local R.S.A. secretaries, until such time'" as the wboie business is finally completed. Clause 8 which provides that the revaluation .shall be done in such-a way as to insure that the valuation oi' tbe settlers improvements shall be separately assessed, is a wise provision to prevent the possibility oi ah industrious man being, as it were, taxed on the result of his own industry. Lanu snail be valued in such a way us to determine its value exclusive ql' the improvements efiected by tne soldier settler, and if it is found that tne value, exclusive ol those improvements is- too high, the rent Taid by tlie lessee, shall be proportionately ieduced, such reduction to be retrospective as far as the irt day oi July, 1921. In tne case ol such settlers as

nave despite the iugn price oi tne land made a success oi tanning, it was stated in tne House recently, mat these would also come under tne provisions of tins clause, rebates in tnetr case, on rents to come, being no douot allowed equivalent to the amount uecided on as being excessive over tne two past years. CASE OF THE PRIVATE PURCHASER Clause 9 (section l.) states,, “This section shall apply with respect to land used tor tanning purposes or other purposes of production by tlie owners, or, occupiers thereof to whom advances, secured on that land hy way oi mortgage to his Majesty, have been

made; unuer paragrapn (a) or paidgraph (b) or paragraph (d) or section two oi the Discharged soldiers’ settlement Act, 1917.” This applies to those men, many of whom were farming before the war, who bought land, with Government assistance from private persons and not from the Government as was im re usual. The Act goes on to state tuat any owner or occupier .of such land may apply to the Board for a revaluation. with a view to getting a reduction of the Government mortgage, and in clause 10 states “Where application under the. last preceding se'ction is made by any person in respect of laud subject to any mortgage in addition to the mortgage securing the debt to His Majesty, the Dominion Board shall not take any steps to reduce the amount of the mortgage to His Majesty unless and until ail other mortgages have been discharged, and for that purpose may enter into negotiations with any mortgagee and may agree to purchase, on behalf of His Majesty the interest of any such mortgagee for such sum as may be mutually agreed on.” In other words, where a second mortgage exists, in respect of land bought by private) treaty by a returned soldier who. received financial assistance from the Government towards the purchase of such land (maximum . , *0 m:

£2500), the owner taking a second mortgage for the remainder of the purchase money, no reduction will be made in the Government grant whilst the second mortgage is. still in the hands of the private mortgagee. Pinvision has, however, been made for the Government taking over the second mortgage, and holding the whole liability on the land as a first mortgage'. The expectation is that a reduction will be made by the second ■mortgagee in selling his interest to ihe Government and the. 1 soldieir settler will benefit by this as well as by a. proportional reduction in the fhst mortgage. Further than this the sum of £300,000 has been provided for, to give assistance to settlers who may have ' exhausted their capital, and who even if a. reduction of rent were made, would not have the'necessary ready money for current expenses. The Act, as it stands, appears to be a workmanlike attempt to deal with the question, and promises to< put the soldier settler on an economic footing, where with honest endeavour, he can make a financial success of his faming. Given the opportunity to make good at the start, the general increase in the standard of production from year to year, will in most, instances leave the honest trier in a comfortable position in a few years’ time.