BACK TO THE LAND

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 121, 22 May 1920, Page 6

BACK TO THE LAND

SETTLEMENT OF SQLMERS RESULTS TO DATE i A VAST EXPENDITURE. Though the Government has, for the time being, compelled to call a halt in the settlement of soldiers in town and country, it is not from any absence of desire to speed this work; but because the work done already has been so great as to absorb the financial provision made —even though that provision was regarded as ample. The Minister of Lands, who has charge of the operations under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, to-day supplied a Post reporter with figures showing what had been accomplished u.p to 30th April. 1920. The position is that £16,324,634 has been spent, and has provided for 13,684 men. How these are covered is shown in the following statement:— Settled on Settlement Land.—(a) on sub-divided purchased estates, 1014 men on 280,576 acres; (b) on estates purchased by the Crown on behalf of soldiers or groups of soldiers under sections 5 of the Act, 195 on 30,095 acres. • Settled on Crown Land and National Endowment Land.—B99 on 897,- ---■ 908 acres. Assisted to Purchase Private Land under section 2 of the Act.—47so on 911,524 aores. I Total on Rural Land.—6Bsß on 2,120,103 acres. Assisted to Purchase Town Dwellings.—6B26. Total number assisted, 13,684.

THE COST. The cost was analysed by the Minister as follows :— Under Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act : ." ■ (a) 'Advanced for stock and improvements, £1,854,634. (b) For purchase of private land, £7,181,094. (c) For purchase of tpwn dwellings £4,454,708. Total : £13,490,436. Under Lands for Settlement Act.— Capital value of 203 estates purchased, comprising 210,991 acres,' and offered to soldiers, £2,834,198. Total expenditure in providing 13,634 men with homes or farms, £16,324,634. In addition the Government has purchased under the Lands for Settlement Act 61 estates comprising 206,688 acres, which are now being subdivided and prepared for settlement—at a cost of £1,680,571. The total outlay by the Land and Land Purchase Departments is thus £18,005,195. A TABLE OF AVERAGES. The Minister made an interesting statement of the average expenditure under the various headings as follows: — Advance for stock and impts. ... £491 Advance for purchase pte. land £1511 Advance for purchase dwellings £652 Cap. value settlement" sections £2271 FOR THE- FUTURE.

In commenting on these figures, Mr. Gutbrie stated that he had always recognised the desirability of pLacing the men on suitable unimproved, 'or partly improved land, and the Department had used its. best endeavours in that direction. The depletion of the survey staffs, however, and the shortage of labonr for reading purposes had greatly militated against the best results. Conditions had now considerably improved, and comparatively large areas of such land would be advertised for selection by ballot by discharged soldiers, from month, to month. During the present month and .Tune 189.000 acres, subdivided into 246 holdings, would be offered. This area, .was made up, as follows :-—Twenty-one settlement estates, comprising 64,126 acres, sub-divided into 155 sections; 20,126 acres of Crown land, sub-divided into 82 sections; 104,856 pastoral and small graziug runs, in 11 sections.

4 further area of 377,395 acres ■was now being prepared for settlement, and! would be opened for selection at a. com: paratively early date, providing for approximately 085 men. The area comprised 61 settlement estates of 206,688 acres, providing for approximately .499 men, and 170,707 acj-es of Crown land (Auckland district), providing for approximately 424 men. , Altogether the Minister stated tliere was an area, of over 700,000 acres in varying stages of preparation for offering to soldiers. The Jand was of varying descriptions, and would be suitable' for all kinds of f arming. It was distributed over the whole of both. Islands. . There was a large area, of bush land in the north of Auckland, which wa3 well worth the attention of the Government, and the returned soldiers. The figures did not include the so-called pumice lands in the interior of the North Island, for which, special provision was made in the legislation of last. session. Nothing definite had been done about tho settlement of this land. The. Government was now raising- the reservations from a large number of blocks of Jand, with the object .of opening them for selection, on the system of homestead tenure, which Parliament last session revived in a more'attractive form. Tho Minister added that one great bar to the opening of this land was that much of it was national endowment land, and would have to be dealt with by Parliament before any large-scale schemes for its de-, velopment could be entered upon. ■ CLOSER SETTLEMENT. As indicating the satisfactory effect of soldier settlement in the interests of closer settlement the Minister pointed out that 264 estates . purchased for the soldiers and comprising 417,679 acres would yield approximately 1747 holdings. OTHER REPATRIATIVE MEASURES. Mr. Guthrie, as a member of the Repatriation Board, was able to show what had been done in repatriative work apart from that which is most concerned with, land and homes. At 30th April he said there were 77,499 men on the Repatriation Department's register. The majority of these required no assistance ; but assistance had been given to 35,275 under the following headings : — Placed in employment. 16,681. Training arranged for 5319. Financially assisted to re-eStablish themselves, 12.345. Sustenance grant made to 930.

The total amount granted by the Repatriation Department by way of financial assistance was £1,060,j320. It would thus be seen that the two Departments had repatriated 48,959 men at an outlay of £17,384,954. These figures of course did not include the estates or soldier' settlers to be dealt with, as outlined, in thexnext few months.