SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 64, 15 March 1916, Page 7

SOLDIERS ON THE LAND.

DUTY .AND OPPORTUNITY.

A PRACTICAL FARMER'S VIEWS.

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, March 13i

No new member or the present House of Representatives made a better im-! ?! pression upon the "old hands" and upon j . the Pres3 Gallery during his first session * than did Mr. John Anstey. Of course, be had had the advantage of seven ° years' experience in the Legislative j* Council, and he had learnt the rules of the game and some of its more useful I a and less harmful tricks. He was not jCI an orator, not even a ready debater;!? 11 but he was a plain, earnest, logical speaker, and he "knew his job." There were few members who discussed agrarian subjects with the same appreeia- si tion of their importance as he did, and j ti perhaps none who' discussed them with d quite the same intimate understanding, n His views on the proposal to give re- n turned soldiers special facilities for get- a ting on the land are, therefore, of par- jj ticular interest at the present time t when all sorts of schemes -for securing fi the future welfare of the country's I heroes are being put forward by more c or less irresponsible people. C 'PATRIOTISM AND PROFIT. * "It is the country's opportunity as ° well as its duty to make provision for * these men on the land," said Mr. *■ Anstey, when asked by a reporter what c he thought of the proposal. "They a have placed their lives at the disposal .F of the Empire. Many of them have * sacriced positions and prospects in order v to go to the front; all of them have ° offered the highest service a man can ■- render to his country. Their claim to c special consideration is beyond ques- c tion and doubt. Service of this kind * cannot be recompensed by mere pensions to those who have lost health or limbs or by allowances to the depend- 5 cnts of those who have lost their lives. I The patriotism of the man who has ] given his all or offered his all must be f recognised to the best of the country's 1 ability, and surely the country's ability ( is not exhausted by a public reception, ] a ride in a motor car, a medal, and. to < those that are injured, the payment of | a mere pittance "for the rest of their ( lives. And this is not simply a matter 1 of charity or philanthropy, or even of 1 disinterested patriotism. It is a great, 1 far-reaching business proposition. Here 1 are fifty thousand trained, disciplined 1 and. to a great extent, educated men, 1 ready to be turned into "producers cap- 1 able of continuing in the peaceful fields , of industry and commerce the victories , they are winning in the field of war. , There never was a better investment for 1 the country's capital." , HOW THEY MAY BE COMBINED. t Mr. Anstey does not believe that 1 farmers and farmers' sons have been ' shirking their duty in the present crisis. 1 He believes that in proportion to their 1 number's they have contributed their ' full quota to the Expeditionary Forces. ] The trouble is there are not enough 1 farmers in the country, and this is the ' trouble he wants to remedy. "I would 1 go as far as fay be financially pos- 1 sible," he continued, "to place every re- 1 turned soldier fitted or capable of fitting himself for rural occupations on the 1 land. I would provide sheep runs, I agricultural farm 3, dairy farms, fruit ' farms, market gardens, bee farms, and any other kind of farm and garden the men were likely to handle successfully. ] Mr. Massey assures us he has set aside : thousands of acres for these purposes, : and that he is determined to do everything that can be d"one for the men; but 1 I haven't met anyone who knows where the acre 3 are. and I have not discovered a single rood in my own district. This least of all questions is a party question, and I want to co-operate with anyone and everyone who is .anxious to make adequate provision for the men. but our good intentions must be converted into practical efforts and achievements, and not remain empty platitude? nnd promises." MISSED OPPORTUNITIES. When asked for particulars of land that might be used for soldiers' settlements within his own district, Mr. Anstey was ready with a dozen examples. "Where." he asked, "could you find a property better suited to the requirements of a large section of the Boldiers than the Benmore run? This run is the best of its class in New Zealand. It has been decided to subdivide it into Borne forty-one small grazing runs, and an earnest appeal was made to: Mr. Massey to reserve it for returned soldiers. The Prime Minister refused to do this, and in a few weeks, when all eyes are fixed on the war it will be disposed of, not necessarily, of course, to shirkers, hut to men who are not giving a hand in the lighting. Thirty runs, comprising all the best of the low country, each capable of carrying from 1,000 to 4,000 sheep, will be offered to the stay-at-homes, and twelve sections in areas of from 400 to 1,500 acres, capable of carrying from 200 to 500 sheep, will be reserved for the men who have offered their lives to the Empire. I think I know as much about this country as Mr. Massey, and his advisers do, and I am • strongly of opinion that the whole of it ' should have been set aside for the boys Ito whom we owe so much. Plenty of '■ them have knowledge enough and capital enough to take up such holdings, and their absence from the country on the highest service a man can render to his . fellows should not deprive them of this ! opportunity to make homes for themTHE SMALLER MEN. "Do not imagine that I want to make ' ! a runholder of every man that comes • j back from the war?" Mr. Anstey pro- • I tested, in reply to a comment that at 1 1 ,2,000 or 3,000 acres for each man there 'would not be land enough to go round. - j "The men without capital and without ' j experience must be content with smaller 1 holdings, but 1 should like to see them • receiving even more generous treatment ', than the big men can expect. They i should be assisted with training and • capital and with every other assistance 1 the State can give them, with the one i provision, that they make the best pos-! ' sible use of their opportunities. Even - sorely disabled man could engage in ■ fruit-farming, beekeeping and vegetablei growing, and to these men the' State 1 should act rather as a responsible, bene--1 volent parent than as an exacting busiIness concern. Give them occupation and I hope in life, let them know that a comI fortable future is within their reach, en- ! courage them to look forward to playing 5 a useful part in the social and political I life of the country, and you will do more 1 to restore their health, to stimulate their 1 ambition, and to ensure their success " than you will by the best hospital treat- " ment and pension system the ingenuity " of man has yet devised." Mr. Anptey is making an excellent ref covery from the operation which kept 1 him to his bed for some weeks, and 7 already he is contemplating a tour d through the country to hmotet th- vanl, ous areas of land available tar eohlisas I settlements.