CROWN LANDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11252, 3 July 1922, Page 4

CROWN LANDS

ITS ADMINISTRATION RESUME OF BOARD’S WORK DURING BAST SEVEN YEARS. MR aicGLURE’S FAREWELL. In bidding farewell to the members of the Wellington Land Board, Mr G. H. M. McOlure, who is retiring from the position of district commissioner, gave a, brief resume of the work accomplished by the board during his term of office. Mr McClure said: — MANY ESTATES PURCHASED. “As this is the last occasion that I will preside over the Wellington Land Board, I would like to give a_ brief resume of some of the work it has accomplished during the period I have been associated with you as chairman of the hoard. “In addition to the administration of Crown land, education endowments, and the usual duties of the board, the passing of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act increased the work and responsibilities of the board tremendously, in fact changing it from a purely administrative body to a board with discretionary powers similar to those of the largest mercantile corporations in the Dominion, as the following will dhow:- —115 estates were purchased, containing 84,498 acres, at a ooet of £1,667,811, and, in addition to this, £2,829,126 was advanced for- the purchase of farms and houses under section 2 of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act, 1917. Besides the foregoing an area of 58,540 acres of Crown land, mostly forest-clad, was selected by returned men. A further sum of £662,699 was advanced on current account to purchase stock, etc., making a grand total of £5,159,636, necessitating the keeping of 3829 ledger- accounts. 2503 PERSONS SETTLED ON LAND. “To dhow how the work has inoneased during my administration, the Land Board sittings have increased from one to four days, and the items dealt with from 91 to 471; 2503 persons have been settled on the land, of whom 1590 were placed on farms under the provisions of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act, besides which 0490 discharged soldiers were assisted to buy and erect houses, making a total of 4998 persons. “I would like to thank you, gentlemen, for the whole-hearted support that you have ever aooorded me, and to assure you that I realise that, regardless of the pecuniary loss that your attendance at the long sittings and the arduous inspections of the board have entailed, your services to the returned Baldiers and to the State are such that the public cannot fully recognise. “ELOQUENT TESTIMONY." “In your sound advice and prudent counsel you have, helped to make thG Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act the success it Is, and the number of returned men Who have been assisted bears eloquent testimony to the work you have done. “Our thanks are also due to all drown tenants for the way they have carried out their obligations, and for the valuable local information which they have at all times so willingly placed at our disposal. “The lot of the returned soldiers is rather different from that of the civilian. The soldiers returpod from the war, whence they went in many cases little more than hoys, and to add to the normal difficulties of getting settled on the land (always a hard time for the first few years) many of the men had disabilities contracted through active service. The way these men have buckled' to and- improved their holdings, despite the unprecedented slump, augurs well for the country as a whole, and I feel sure that the time is not far distant when they will look back on their hardships in the same spirit as do the early pioneers of this Dominion. APPRECIATION OF SERVICES RENDERED. “I have to thank iboth the officers and field staff, especially our seoretary, Mr Banmister, and Messrs Watt and Huhne, the officers in charge of the discharged soldiers’ 'branch, for their assiduous attention to the great mass of detail, so neoessary for the speedy working of the board. “The returned soldiers will ever have cause to be grateful to the staff of the Lands and Survey Department, many <?f whom are returned men themselves, for the care and attention they have devoted to the oarrying out of the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act. “Both the members of the legal profession and mercantile firms, who have worked so harmoniously with the .board, deserve our thanks, the former for the taotfull manner in which they have urged their clients’ cases, and the latter for the financial assistance they have given the returned! men; and the Press for the lengthy and accurate reports of the business, which have been of great assistance in disseminating early information of the proceedings of the board.