The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1916. OUR HEROES AND LAND.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12821, 17 April 1916, Page 4

The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1916. OUR HEROES AND LAND.

The idea that land should be made easily available for soldiers, not only, by the colonial governments- but also by the Imperial Government, is popular. It is based on the assumption that a large number of men will prefer settlement oji the land, to the pursuance of their ordinary avocations, after their war experiences. It may be true that those who have suffered injuries, which would incapacitate them from earning a wage or who have had enough of hurly-burly existence, will desire to live a quiet country life, and for 'such provision should be generously made. There is an agitation in Great Britain to carry out the scheme of land settlement for soldiers, and hope is expressed that it might load to a more adequate utilisation of the soil in the Old Country, though it is expected that many of the men whose homes are in the United Kingdom would rather try their luck in one of the overseas colonics, where the novelty of the life would afford an agreeable change and might help to dissipate the horrors of their recent experiences, and restore their nerves. There is, however, a danger that a conflict of opinions may lead to more talk and delay •than performance. Already the agitation at Home has led to a lively discussion as to methods and a Departmental Committee on Land Settlement for Soldiers and Sailors have isstted several reports on the subject. Their primary aim is the establishment of settlements at Home, and they propose that the Board of Agriculture .should acquire land by purchase or lease on behalf of the State and to "improve, manage, sell, or let it," and it suggests that compulsory powers of acquirement should be conferred upon the Board, to be exercised in case of necessity, it will be a blessing to the Old Country if, in providing homes for soldiers and sailors, it-is made to produce food more in proportion to its popuiaton. Tlie growth of grain and other foods on all its land lit for their production is th« one thing necessary. That the people of Great Britain should !ivo from hand to mouth —that there should not, in ordinary times, be uith. in its boundaries more food than will suffice Tor a few weeks, is a fact that should cause serious apprehension. Great Britain's safety in every respect, is dependent oir its Navy and mercantile marine. So far, the Navy is allpowerful; but what of the food ships that the Navy exists to protect in their passage to and from the seas? The strain on the whole Empire's shipping resources is so preat, in consequence of the requisition of vessels for the carrying of troops and munitions that ihe usual course of commerce has been dislocated and the State has found it imperative to prevent the carriage of commodities that are not absolutely indispensable. If the farm lauds of the country had been as fully" occupied as those of other countries, the situation would have been easier and the prospects brighter. However, the need for more amplo cultivation is one of tlie lessons of the war that are being forced upon the people at Home, and if we in the colonies also learn that the safety policy is close settlement and that careful, provident cultivation which means the production of ample food for our population, so much the better. So far as New Zealand is concerned, soldiers of the war, whether our own or our kith and kin from over the sea. will, or should, be welcomed in New Zealand. There is not much land, it" any, beyond the requirements of those already here; but the soldiers who have fought for our liberties .and who have- enabled the retention of our lands, have a prior claim to r,ion. This has been cordially conceded by our people, and by our Government, in theory, and even by repeated declarations, , and, perhaps, by-and-byc, there may be an honest, vigorous effort to give effect to such admirable aspirations. Sir H. Kider Haggard will arrive shortly to use his influence with the Government on behalf of the British soldiers who may desire to settle on land in the.colonies. Then the Government will be called upon to act with more practical sympathy for tfio heroes of the war than was shown, in t the disposal of Benmore.