The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. SOLDIER SETTLEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 April 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. SOLDIER SETTLEMENT.

In the course of his speech at Inglewood on Friday the Minister for Lands gave an interesting review of the operations of his Department in placing returned soldiers on the land. This work is one of the most important the Government has had to undertake, not only as regards fulfilling its pledges to those who fought for the Empire, but as affecting the future welfare of the Dominion and the development of its resources. The Minister claimed that the record of accomplishment in settling soldiers on the land was one of which any country might be proud, and that no other part of the Empire could equal the record of New Zealand. No one will dispute that the Government has made a good beginning of its gigantic task, yet it may be asserted that far more would have been done had the business been systematically taken in hand at least twelve months before practical steps were taken to deal with the matter. That, however, is past history, and the main point at present is that the process shall be expedited as much as possible so that the thousands of ex-sol-diers who have been patiently waiting their chance to obtain a section may not lose heart. The Minister admitted that too much cannot be done for these men, to whom the people owed a deep debt for sacrificing personal considerations for tho Empire's good—yet only 1425 of their number have been placed on Crown land, though 4132 have been assisted to purchase some 83,000 acres. These figures speak for themselves, and they serve to stress the fact that had it not been for the enterprise of the men in buying land with Government assistance a very small proportion of returned men would to-day have obtained sections whereon to carve out their future. The men with capital have, as usual, the advantage, but they, have in jnany. eases had to!

pay very high prices. While I refuting the charge that the Government had bought land at too high a price, the Minister claimed that, in most eases, the dearest j land had proved the most success-1 ful from the point of view of the soldiers and the Government. There are a few points connected with soldier settlement that should be borne in mind. In the first place the money wherewith the properties are being bought and the ex-soldiers financed has all been provided by the people, being the accumulated surpluses of revenue collected from the peopb over and above the country's yearly expenditure during the war period, so that it may be said the money was provided in advance, is costing the country nothing, and is all repayable with interest. As an investment it is ideal, but it would certainly have been far more advantageous had the acquisition of productive land been carried out on lines that would 1 have prevented exploitation, profiteering, and inflation. This could have been accomplished by limiting the area of land , held by any one man, and cutting up the remainder for ex-soldiers, the priae being fixed at the.pre-war value as returned for taxation purposes.' It would have required courage io adopt such a policy, but it would have been justifiable, especially in the case of aggregated estates, while ample land would have been provided at a reasonable rate for the majority of the returned men. and a vast capital expenditure would have been saved. Although 12$ millions of national surplus fund was voted last session for soldier settlement, the money has melted away at such a rapid rate that the Minister had to proclaim the unpleasant fact that the .Department would have to "taper off" the granting of further assistance to soldiers desirous to purchase farms and dwellings. Under the circumstances this is not surprising, though it certainly is.disappointing news to those who are keenly awaiting land, houses and other financial aid. It is not too late now for the Government to bring down a drastic measure for securing land at fair price, instead of at famine rates. The reports relating to the men who have been placed on the land are certainly encouraging, but the process is too slow, and returned men are constantly travelling hither and thither seeking a chance to obtainisuitableproperties, while many big men who remained at home during the war are reaping the benefit of war prices. In providing supervisors to help those soldier settlers who are without experience in farming, as well as in other ways, the Government is doing good work, and Ministers are undoubtedly desirous to assist these settlers in making a success on the land. At the present rate of expenditure it will require many more millions to carry out the work of repatriation, so that it is obvious steps must be taken to make the available money go much further than at present, and it is in the best interests of production that no time shall be lost in placing those who are waiting for land in the same position ns those who are already making a living as primary producers.