LAND FOR SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 121, 16 February 1920, Page 8

LAND FOR SOLDIERS

A MATTER FOR INQUIRY. Sir.—lt lias bedn clearly laid down and accepted as n principle, and consistent'.}' acted upon by the Government, with the cordial approval of tlio country, that as an acknowledgment of their services and sacrifices, returned soldiers should be t'iven preference over all other applicants for settlement on tho public lands of the Dominion. The large number of men who have taken part in tlio various land ballots shows how keenly tho privilege is appreciated, just as the comparativelv small number of men who have been successful in obtaining sections through tho ballot testify to the wisdom as well as the necessity of preserving for some time longer this system of soldiersettlemenl:. Under such circumstances tho action of the Southland Land Board in arbitrarily setting aside this principle demands some explanation, and should receive tho attention of the soldiers' associations throughout tho country. In announcine a ballot for the Mount Wendon pastoral run, to be held during the present month, tho Southland board says:—"Any eligible person may apply for tho run. but tho Land Board will cive preference in tho ballot to the applications of soldiers, either discharged or on active service." It is difficult to understand in what way preference at tho ballot will bo given to tho applications of soldiers, if, as the board states, "any eligible person may apply for tho run. If this retrocession from a principle nationally approved of its permitted unquestioned. the way is clear for other land boards to' follow a similar course, the Southland Land Board having successfully entered the thin end of the wedgo, if not. indeed, the wedge in its entirety. In common with other returned soldiers, I have unsuccessfully entered a number of ballots at a considerable expenditure of money and time, and it now looks as if I am to bo hopelessly handicapped and finally defeated in my efforts to obtain a section should this general invitation issued bv the Southland Land Board to ail and sundry, civilians equally -with soldiers. to enter the ballot, be followed by other land boards.

I should liko to ask whether this uneinected action of the Southland Land Hoard meets with the approval of the TTon. Mr. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, who has throughout shown himself to be well-disposed towards returned soldiers; and also whether the soldiers' associations will permit without protest-, what can onlv bo regarded as a precedent and an incentive to other land boards to so sliapo their regulations as to render soldiersettlement a delusion and a snare, I am, RETURNED SOLDIER.