DEPRESSED AREAS HELPED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 89, 13 March 1935, Page 6

DEPRESSED AREAS HELPED.

Tun grant of £150,000 made by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust for land settlement in the distressed areas of Britain should provide a welcome stimulus to a movement, which contains most hope for people whose former means of livelihood has been lost in districts whose chief industries cannot now be carried on successfully. Under legislation recently passed by the House of Commons two Commissioners were appointed—one eacli for England and Wales and Scotland. Invested with very wide powers, they are charged with the duty of initiating and prosecuting schemes for the economic development and social improvement of the people who live in these distressed areas. This legislation was the sequel to a thorough investigation by special commissioners and a careful study of the problem. In speaking on the Bill the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Neville Chamberlain) mentioned that while it was proposed, where warranted, to transfer people from these afflicted areas the chief hope for them lay on the land. The Government is devoting £2,000,000 to. the fund, and the Ministry of Agriculture has appointed a Land Settlement Association to assist the general scheme. The Carnegie Trust’s grant, which is to extend over five years, is for the specific purpose of assisting in placing suitable people on the land. Early this year the Commissioner for England and Wales made his first step for the relief of unemployed one towards the _ land. The allotment authorities in the areas under his care have been asked to satisfy the demand for allotment gardens, and he estimates that ten thousand more should be provided for the coming agricultural season. The cultivators are formed into groups and societies to manage the business side of their enterprise. The Commissioner and his staff have the advantage of the assistance of the Society of Friends Allotment Committee and the National Allotment Society, each of wliicn has built up an efficient organisation in this connection. While land for settlement should be obtained at reasonable rates in rural areas, greater difficulty is expected in the outskirts of towns, and assistance is promised the local authorities in purchasing the right class of land. The work that is being done encourages people without employment to make an effort to assist themselves. The Society of Friends has proved the value of the allotment scheme, and in getting the men from the depressed areas for whom no employment can be found on to the land the British Government is removing the feeling of hopelessness and despair that accompanies continued lack of work.