SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 July 1920, Page 5

SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

A REVIEW OS SETTLEMENT, WELLINGTON DISTRICT RETURNS, By Toleeraph.—Presn Assn.—Copyright Wellington, Last Night. During discussion at the Wellington Land Board meeting to-day, the Commissioner (Mr. McClure) stated that since the inception of the' Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act there had been settled on farms in the Wellington land district, up to the end of May, 1251 returned men, and 1542 had been: assisted to purchase homes, making a total, of 2793, which must be considered very satisfactory. The progress of settlers was most encouraging, many of them having their future assured, and it was expected that at least SO per cent, of the returned men who had selected farms would be successful. Failures were not occasioned by the quality or the price of land, but the inability of the men to realise that it was absolutely neees-. sary to work to make a success of their holdings. The returned men who took up virgin bush country in the Hetaruke and I Whirinaki district, and also at Owhango I and Piriaka, had made splendid progress, having already felled and grassed over 10,000 acres, all of which was now carrying stock. This was most gratifying, as by efforts they were bringing into production, and thus increasing the primary products of the Dominion, land which had hitherto been unproductive and returning no revenue. Three estates, comprising 22,939 acres, were bought as going concerns, and were being carried on' as such until the selectors had completed their fencing so that stock could be apportioned out. The experience gained emphasised the fact that, so far as the pastoral properties were concerned, it placed settlers in a much better position when the stock was purchased with the land, as it enabled them to commence operations with a class of stock unprocurable in the open market, and which had been bred on the property—a most essential requirement. Aiiother thing was that settlement was interest-earning from the time of purchase. , After the experience already gained, members of the- Board were of the opinion that so far as farms were concerned the selection under section 2 of the Act was not in the best interests of the soldiers, and had also a tendency to inflate land values. In most cases land selected under this section of the Act comprised single farms, and even where farms had been taken up by two or more men, the partnerships were not too satisfactory. They that section 3 of the Act was mucfi preferable) as this enables a number of discharged men to select and procure options over properties, the areas of which were such that when subdivided the increased productipn would in a greater gain to the soldiers .tliAn the purchase of single farms, where, in most eases, it was not'possible to improve productive powers. There was also the fact- that by the purchase of large estates one man was supplanted by many, and thus settlement in tho true sense of tho term was obtained, while there was a community of interest among settlers by reason of their forming the group that selected the property,