SOIDIERS ON THE LAND

Evening Star, Issue 17062, 5 June 1919, Page 7

SOIDIERS ON THE LAND

THEIR INITIAL DIFFICUI/TIES. CONFERENCE WITH MR R. T. SADD. A conference was held last evening between the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Mr R. T. Sadd) and members of the Returned Soldiers' Association to discuss the difficulties of soldiers on the land. Lieu-tenant-colonel Moir (vice-president) was in the chair, and there were soldier settlers present from Westeoti and Benmore. A letter was received from a settler at Gladbrook which stated that several of the runs were in stubble. It would be next March before they got anything off the land, and by that time another Half-year's rent was due. lit was going to be hard on some of them.

Mr Sadd said there' was power for rents to be remitted. It was the policy of the Government to postpone rent, with 4 per cent, on the postponement, in cases of hardship, or to postpone it without interest.

Mr Jones : Ts that generally known to soldiers?

Mr Sadd : No ; I can't say it is. Mr M'Man us drew attention to the caso of soldier settlers at Fruitlands. It was obvious, ho said, they would not get any return for years, and he thought their rent during that period should be either remitted or capitalised. Mr Sadd said the board were prepared to help such cases to tho Emit of their powers.

Mr Anderson, a settler from Benmore, saiid ho thougfht the Mocks were too small and too far hack, and it was too largo an erpense to fence them. He had but the Government loan of £SOO.

■Mr Sadd; You could 'get another £250. Mr Anderson said that would not go far with fencing. M-r Sadd agreed thali, the pricis of fencing had been a "terrible burden, but it was now coming down in price. W'ire had gone up to £SB a ton, buit was now to £26 again.

Mr M'M-anus said some of the men had suffered loss of sheep through .snowstorms. Were the Government pre-nared to grant remits in the face of difficulties like those?

Mr Sadd' gave it as -his opinion that in a small block sheep could in the event of snow be shifted- to saifety with less difficulty than on a large station. Eighteen thousand sheep had' been lost at Benmore in 1908. Benmore, however, was no wors* off as regards snow than many other places. Mr Williams, another Benmore settler, contended the sections on the flat had been out up wrongly. Thoy should have been divided into narrower strips and carried over the hill over the station territory. The Station had 14.000 acres, and it could be compensated with some of tho flat land. The flat was shingle, and it was not niee to see the hills clear while the soldiers' sections on the flat were snow-covered. He was 33 miles from Kurow, and carting was very expensive. 'Kir Sadd said he recognised it would have been a. better proposition to have a- piece of hilly country in each section, but that was hardly possible.

Mr Clarke asked if it were not a- bad proposition on the part of the Government to nut soldiers on this land in face of the losses that had occurred there in 1903? Tho old-established run-holder was better able to stand the loss than soldier settlers just starting. Mi Williams, in reply to Mr Jones, said iiis initial difficulties were very Great. Tl'i? could not pay his interest this year. Mis section wss swampy land, and would have to he drained. Tt was intersected by small creeks in which ho had lost 150 ewes, although he had built numerous bridpi'cs. At present he, had 260 wether lambs on the place. The rent was 2s 6d an acre, and Tie was nearly 40 miles from the nearest T'ailway station. He had been told that the carry in £ capacity of his land was 200 ewos. Mr .Tones said he did not see how a man could make a livinc: with under SCO sheep. Mr Fade! said that tho position with recard to the remission of rent was that the Land Board recommended the remission to the Government, but it was n. difficult thine; to get it. It was only in very special cases it was granted.

Mr Clarke s-n.id there would be a, great •deal of closer settlement in the next feuyears, but as things were at present i-ho pcople who would benefit were not those who had fought for their -country. It was tho Government they were up against, and it peemed that iho soldiers would be settled on the snow-covered hills whileit was available. The soldiers know f'ha-t the Land Board had often, gone to the full extent of its powers to assist them, but they felt the i'oily of snttlin,? mrn on blocks of 2.000 acres. "Would it not have been better if the Government had bought some of the Good agricultural land between Win ton and Mataura,, on which it- mifiM have settled four man at the cost of placirur one at Eenmore: Mr Sadd said ""tjw Government wore providing all classes of land, such as the small Teviot blocks about to bo opened, and the Glad brook runs, which contained both summer and winter land. Tlito had been 80 applicants for the Dasher runs. Then the-re were two properties in the Taieri which would soon he> cut up, and one of them, was close to Mosciel and very valuable-. All Crown Lands suitable for subdivision wei'e required by law to be subdivided as soon a« the leases expired, arx} all such land was kept for soldiers. There was not a rood for anyone ebo. Mr MacManus asked wben the lease of the Mount Pisa run would expire. Mr Sadd : Not till 1921. » Mt MacManus said there was a abroad that the Government were hound by an aireement with the Cromwell Development Company, and that althoivrh the Land Board and the Warden mii/M. reply that thev had nothing to .show it, the Minister of tar-d* had. Mr Sadd : The Cromwell Development, Company can't show anything in writin-i;. Mr W. F. Marsh then made the following -sutrrrestion on behalf of the settlers of the Wostcott estate :—That payment of at. two years' rent bo postponed and spread over 10 years' time ot capitalised ; that the amount of J ho building alio wane o be increased to £600; that a Miiv.-ur nr representative of the Land Board should visit each estate at regular intervals ; that all unoccupied sections at present, or recently in crop should be sown in c-rass and. settlers given the, prazine; ri.rthts at a. nominal rent: that a school site should bo reserved on the estate: that the road? should be put under construction as -soon as possible. The Chairman said tiiat no doubt it was tho intention of the Government to assist the returned soldier, even if he wore inexperienced, to make a Lome for himself. Some of the. men had little capital and their initial difficulties were cre-a-t. If tho desire of the Government were genuine, then some provision would bo made to overcome those initial difficulties. Tho amount at present allowed made no allowance for the man's living until his land beeamo profitable.

On the motion of Mr Jones, seconded by Mr MacManus, it was decided :

"That this meeting of returned soldiers thanks Mr .Sadd for his attendance, and desires him to bring under the notice nf the Minister of Lands the alleged disabilities under which soldier settlers are iaborinc."

The Chairman o-rpressed the thanks of the meeting to Mr Sadd for his patient hearing.

Mi* Sad\. returned thanks, -and. promised to place the facts before the Minister of Lands, He would assure them that all thf> members of the Otago Land Board wanted to mako things as easy as possible for the soldiers.