IN THE COUNCIL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 139, 9 December 1918, Page 4

IN THE COUNCIL

LAND PURCHASE OPERATIONS. In moving the second reading of tha Repatriation Bill in the Legislative Council, Sir Francis Bell said he could not for the life of him understand what all the fuss elsewhero had been made about. A discretion and powers such as were delegated by this Bill were never delegated to a single Minister; the responsibility must be with the Government for such powers to be granted. The Bill was in small compass, because the smaller tho compass" the greater the power. There had been some suggestion that there was some nefarious design to prevent the appointment of a single Minister; but there was nothing of tho kind. The Hon. J. T. Paul considered the Leader's defence of the measure was symptomatic, of the feeling in the country. , Sir Francis Bell: What has the country to do with it? Mr. Paul: The country has tp^ pay. Sir Francis Bell: We are responsible. It is what the Council thinks that mat- i ters. ■ ■ j Mr.' Paul considered that a single Minister would have been better, as it would have enabled them to have a man who would become expert in his knowledge, as a board of four Ministers could j not become. There was much he welcomed in the Bill, and he hoped it would be a perfect success. | The Hon. G. Barr said this Bill was necessarily paving the way. Alterations would be required in the future. In»the administration of local boards, he hoped that anything savouring of charitable aid would be avoided. Special consideration should be shown men who had been in the trenches and who had suffered more than material losses.

The Hon. George Jones said that the Government had shown great activity in acquiring land for settlement b,y soldiers, but it had not been successful in obtaining it at prices at which the soldiers should be asked to accept it. Sir Francis Bell: The Government will bear the loss, not the soldiers. Mr. Jones: AVhy should there be such a loss? Sir Francis Bell: There will, be no loss. • Mr. Jones said that he had been waiting to see land acquired at its proper value by assessment, instead of by the present method at prices which were more profitable to the owners of the land j than the soldiers. The Hon. A. F. Hawke said that the Land Purchase Board, so far as he had seen, had been very careful. In Southland the land bought was cheaper than private individuals could have purchased it for two years ago.' , The Hon. G. J. Garland said there had been delay in the settlement of men | on the land, and he feared that if officers were appointed from the Public Service, there would be delay in repatriation. He trusted the Government would lose no time in preparing for the repatriation by education of men debarred, by incapacity from settling on the land. Sir Francis Bell said that so far vs he knew in his past administration of the Lands Department, there was not a soldier, except in two blocks, who could not sell his goodwill for a considerabl« sum. But at whataver price they bought, the soldiers would not lose, as the Government had tbe power to reduce the rent. Mr. Jones: Why not take it compulsorily? Sir Francis Bell: Why should we! His complaint against the Land Purchase Board was that it had not purchased enough. It had been scared of the prices. They could do with a great deal more land. Mr. Jones: Plenty if you take it compulsorily. The Bill was read a second rime, and passed its final stages without amendment.