DISCHARGED SOLDIERS.

Northern Advocate, 13 October 1917, Page 2

DISCHARGED SOLDIERS.

SETTLEMENT PROBLEM.

NORTH AUCKLAND FACILITIES,

BILL PASSES THIRD READING

(By Telegraph.—Press- Association.) WELLINGON, October 13.

The third reading of the Discharged iSoldiers Settlement Bill was agreed to by the House of Representatives after a brief debate. The Prime Minister stated that up to the present 54i soldiers had been on the land, while 478 had applied for financial assistance. The total land available now for soldiers in all parts of the country was 196,----695 acres, while in addition there was a good block of native land in Auckland district of about 4500 acres just acquired, making an approximate total of 200,000 acres available at once. Besides this there were two blocks of good land totalling 10,533 acres in North Auckland being held for soldiers, He explained that some, of the blocks would be improved by putting on soldiers to fell bush and prepare land for occupation, and these soldiers would then be given first chance of taking it up. Altogether 41 private estates had been purchased for discharged soldiers to date, of which 29 had been subdivided into 267 holdings, of which 181 had been selected. Most of these estates, declared the Premier, had been obtained at what were considered very reasonable prices, though no attempts had been made to drive hard bargains. He went on to acknowledge the generosity of many who had •given areas for the assistance of soldiers. In referring to the Financial Assistance Department Mr Massey explained that up to date £141,775 had been advanced to soldier settlers for improvement purposes, while the balance available was £'361,089. Altogether 478 soldiers had applied for assistance, while advances had been authorised already to 372. From the experience gained by the loan of money to the settlers he believed that they were not going to lose much money in lending to soldiers. The Hon. A. L. Herdman, in referring to the repatriation of soldiers, said that the most gratifying thing about the 11,000 men who had returned was that the majority helped themselves and showed a desire to settle down quickly into useful work. were forty committees of voluntary workers assisting the Discharged So), diers' Information Department throughout New Zealand. Wounded men who could not follow their former occupation were taught trades, but the difficulty was-their anxiety to start earning immediately. He hoped i.o see arrangements made with employers to take on soldiers desiring to learn a trade, paying them a wage below the minimum, the Government making iip the difference. This was being referred to the Trades Council officers' and the Employers' Federation. He could not see his way to re. commend the Government to set ip any cetnral training institution, but the actual need had to be demonstrated. Conditions would be harder to deal with after the war, when larger bodies of men return, but the Department was looking ahead, and had made arrangements to create work for them. The Railway and Public Works Departments would be under obligation to take a certain number of men; probably the largest institutions, like the banks, would do likewise. Mr C. J. Parr expressed disappointment that the officials who had advised the Government had failed to provide suburban properties for soldiers, as many of the men would be anxious to take up intenso cultivation near towns. The member also urged the Government to utilise the labour of Dalmatians for preparing fruit farms for soldiers in North Auckland. He believed this use of Dalmatian lab. our would do much to allay the prosent feeling respecting these people in the North. At least a thousand returned soldiers could be settled in this way in the North Auckland peninsula, j