SOLDIERS' DEPOSITS

Evening Star, Issue 17313, 29 March 1920, Page 7

SOLDIERS' DEPOSITS

SOME GREEDY AGBXTS. THREAT OF EXPOSURE. The Commissioner of Crown Lands for ■Canterbury (reports the Christchurch ' Sun') lias issued a warning that lie will publish the names of certain land agents if they persist in their practice of calling upon discharged soldiers to forfeit deposits paid ■jpon honsa properties for the purchase of which no Government advance is granted. " We find," said the Commissioner, in opening the sitting of the board, "that in a. number of cases vendors and agents are demanding rather heavy deposits from the soldier, and. unless he makes a, specific stipulation that in the event of the board not being able to recommend the advance this deposit should be returned, we find that some of these people are claiming the forfeiture of the deposit. I should like publicity given to that, so that eoldiers ; may know the position, and always make I a stipulation that, unless the advance they ] are asking f.or is granted by the Govern- ! ment, their deposit should be returned. | "It is not a flir position to place the ' soldiers in: that what little money they have should be forfeited by way of doposit. Of course, we find that some agents act in a very fair way, and do not make any auestion about returning the deposit when they find that for some reason or other the application for an advance cannot be forwarded to the Minister. Unfortunately, in some cases the reverse lias taken place, and I think that in the event of anv such cases in the future I shall have to give publicity to the names of I agents acting in that manner."