CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4457, 29 June 1893, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

The Land Ballot Deposits^) (To the Editor W.I). Times)! *..'•. / Sir-Is the Government > surplus made up of land fund deposits? object in asking this is that" the practice of retaining deposits lade V applicanta for land in. the Wellington Land Board's distriot, is wjwd a 7 little too far, often to the inconv cnience of settlers. WbnhV ' Department or the Receiver of land's Revenue' should stick to monies deposited with applications, for a ~ couploof months, is a matter best " known to themselves, but the fact remains tbat this practice is followed, jand it cannot be considered other than unjust. Any local j body, when a contractor deposits I the percentage with his lender,- ' pays the money into a special fund and the unsuccessful tenderer back Lib money at once on the ; der being refused. The satne.pnpflf' should apply.to the unsuccessful applicant, after the ballot bus been taken for any section or seotions of land, The case uuder notice is as follows: A man who desires to invest bis savings in land is induced to apply for sections advertised by the Land Board and forwards the application with say U5 application fee, the value of the section being £225.' Then in due course the ballot takes place j our applicant is unsuccessful and expects to get liia money hack at onoe, to' make such use of as may occur. After several weeks tho Department are reminded that the money is still in their hands, but no notice is taken and not even a receipt has been given, ' tho only intimation sont to'tlio applicant is his non-success at the ballot. The, worst feature of; the. whole is that the applioantVfnonoy been at inleiestin the P.O. SSwnptt Bank), has to be sent by P.O. orders, as cheques will not be received by the Department. The Post Office charge 4s Gd for forwarding and 4s 6d for returning the cash through their own offices, and being drawn before tho twentieth of one month and not returned befoie the same date of the succeeding month, the interest for two months is lost, yet all the time the money is in the Government coffers, In faot- it has not been removed from the Post Office. The applicant aotaally loses about 16s in charges and interest, and if an opportunity to make an investment offered in'the meantime, he cannot get his money to use. But such are tlio intricacies of (be Government Departments, even a Liberal Government, notwithstanding their many professions to the contrary, fail to make things easy for a man to get a home, even if he is prepared to pay for it, lam, etc, A Struggling! Settler.