LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IX, Issue 173, 8 July 1919, Page 2

LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

THE GREEDY SELLER

DENOUNCED BY’ COMMISSIONER.

The need foi’ tho Land Boards, to act with circumspection in dealing w’ith the problem of tho settlement of soldiers on the land was emphasised by the North Auckland Crown Lands Commissioner (Mr. R. P. Greyille) in the course of the proceedings of the Board last Thursday.

Pointing out that some of the soldiers ■were impatient when they found that their applications for. purchase of farms could not be dealt with in a fortnight, Mr. Greville remarked that he had had to explain that they had not a valuer sitting on the doorstep, yet it was of the utmost importance, both in the interest of the Government and the soldier, to see that the correct valuation was obtained, for the most unkind thing the Board could do was to put men on land where they had no chance of succeeding. The Commissioner went on to. remark that whereas some vendors were patriotic , enough, others seemed to be actuated by cupidity, as witness a recent instance where a property, valued at the last Government valuation at £12,700, was offered for returned soldiers at £42,000. Even on the Government valuation the owner had objected on the ground that it was excessive. -

Obviously, said the Commissioner, from the price asked by some owners a fair amount of taxation had hot been paid in the past. When there was so much discrepancy between the valuation for taxation purposes and the price asked w hen the property ,was offered for sale, both prices could not be right, and it indicated that both land tax, revenue and rates must be suffering. “I am tired of owners of property saying they want to do something for the soldier boys,” added the Coriimissioner. He had told some who had asked excessive prices that all they wanted to do for the soldiers was to get as much as they could out of them. Mr. J. E. Wells, a member of the Board, agreed that that, was the attitude to a lot of the soldiers.