INVERCARGILL R.S.A.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 16, 2 July 1920, Page 14

INVERCARGILL R.S.A.

BI-MONTHL.Y MEETING.

The bi-month!y meeting of t-he Invercargill Retumed Soldiers' Association was held in the Club Rooms on Friday night, the president, Mr D. Rae, in the chair. There was a large attendance. The Band Question. The contentious question of an official band was again discussed. There was a notice of motion before the meeting "that the question of having an ofBcial band be again considered, and that the motion appointing ihe Hibernian Band be rescinded if necessary." Before asking the mover of the notice of motion to put it to the meeting, the chairman said that there had been further developments in the matter, and asked the secretary to iead a letter from the Hibernian Band. The secretary then read a letter from the band, tenderir, g its resighation as the ofBcial band of the Association. The letter stated that the band had nO objection to acting in that cap&city if it was so desired by the Association, but it did not desire to cause any unpleasantness, nor did it care for the manner in which the hand's name had been brought into the diseussion at last meeting. The reeignation was aceepled without diseussion, the chairman and Moasra Qiasst ! and Caws expressing their opinion that the work of the Association was too serious and too important to risk dissension being caused by such a petty matter as the appointm.ent of a band. It was resolved that the Hibernian Band be written to and thanked for the valuabk services it had rendejed the Association in the past. The band question was then discussed in committee, and the outcome of the diseussion was a resolution, later confirmed in open meeting, that there be no official band connected with the Association. j The D.S.S. Act Suspension. j This important question was again ' kcenly discussed. and in connection with • it the following resolution was put to the j meeting : — j In connection with the land settlement I question it was resolved : ' 'That this ; meeting of returned soldiers having taken i into consideration the statements of the I'rima Minister and the Minister of Lauds regarding the finance of the dominion, and the possible effect of the continuance of the present scheme of advances under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act in further increasing the price of land, still considers that the only equitable and honourable course open for Parliament is, (a) to make the benefits of the D-ischarged Soldiers' Settlement Act available to all soldiers at present entitled to these benefits, and so to avoid penalising many soldiers who have recently returned to New Zealand, or have lately , completed their period of training under the Repatriation Department ; and (b) to provide that any loss incurred- in so doing shall be horne by the country as a whole." Mr A. Glass, in speaking to the motion, -said that there was a great danger of the present temporary suspension becoming permanent, and he considered that they should not let the matter rest at the passing of a resolution, but they should carry thp war right into the enemy's camp, if. he could use that expression. In one district in Southland, for instance, there was a Cabinet Minister, and Cahinet Ministers were susceptible. Consequently, if publie meetings were held throughout his district, and the proposed resolution carried unanimously, reports would reach him, and would tend to cause him to weaken. Such a campaign was to be conducted all over the Dominion, and Southland would have to fall into line and work. It was imperative that something be done this session, or not at all, because the position was serious. Wounded mfen, for instance, just coming out of hospital now, could not get a house on any consideration. As Sec-. retary of the Repatriation Department, he could assure them that during last week he had five or six such men up to see him. Naturally, they were getting an embittered ontlook as the reselt of the suspension of the Act. They had been banking on getting the same privileges as the fit men who were able to get in early. The Government had said that there was no more money available, but it was the Government's duty to find more. All the Association asked was Cabinet's assurance that the suspension was only temporary. At the conferenee in Wellington neithesr

Mr Massey or the Hon. Mr Guthrie would commit the Government to such an assurance, but had simply quibbled and evaded the question from start to finish. Mr R. B. Caws said the Association would certainly have to become more aggressive, and convince the, public that its requests were reasonable, and that they were going to clemand reasonable treatment. He endorsed Mr Glass 's remarks, and appealed to all members to support the Association in its pending publicity campaign. Mr P. Gilfedder said that be bwlieved the main stumbling block was that the Government did not want to grant money for men to buy houses at inflated values. He also considered that a young inexperienced man going on a farm was putting a good farmer put, so tenaing to decrease production. Perhaps the Government looked at the matter from that view-point. Mr Hall-Jones. said that the last point was an interesting one, fliQugh he did not agree with it. The Government's policy had been a failure insofar that it had caused inflation of land values, but the position with regard to buildings he believed was different. Increased prices of building materials had caused the cost of building to rise m proportion, and he was convinced that the rise was permanent. He thought that the scheme outlined by headquarters was the remedy. It proposed that the Government should purchase a, big block of land, on to which it could put the inajor pcrtion of the men desiring to be settled. If enough land could not be obt-ained then the Government 'should purchase by compulsion certain proportions of large estates and private holdings, till the dqmand for land by returned soldiers was satisfied. The Government's values could be determined by a Board set up for the purpose, and so inflation could be avoided. If lO.COOmen were so settled, there would be few left to be settled under ths Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. At present few men were being settled by the ballot and many by the purchase system. That was the cause of inflated values, and the Government wanted to reverse its policy. The Headquarters' scheme was proposed" by the President of the Farmers' Union in Wellington, and it should be pointed out do the Prime Minister that if he was frightened that the continuance of the present policy would tend to increaee values, he had his remedy. Mr Glass made reference to a clause in the Act which' stated that a vendor should take a certain proportion of purchase money from the Government. in War Bonds, but as that clause was optional it was inoperative. Thus the complete payment in cash enabled the vendor to commence land speculation. The motion was carried unanimously. A committee, consisting of Messrs A. Glass, F. G. Hall-Jones, R. B. Caws, W. Murphy, P. Gilfedder, T. Blake and G. Connor, with power to add, was then appointed, for the purpose of .pushing on' a campaign for the' restoration of clause 2 of the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act.