ORDERS ON MILK CHEQUES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18453, 14 January 1922, Page 6

ORDERS ON MILK CHEQUES

. POSITION OP SOLDIERS. Jkom Odh Own Correspondent.) _ WELLINGTON, January 13. The Minister of Lands was asked to-day by Mr R. Masters (Stratford) if he wore prepared to waive or forego temporarily the orders made on the milk cheques of soldiers at the instanoe of the land boards. The bulk of these orders, Kc said, were made last year when the price given by the factories for butter-fat was from 2s ,to 2s lOd per pound, to meet overdue obligations .in ■ the way of interest and rent. At the present time the factories were proposing, to pay out from lOd to Is per pound. If a proportion of this were taken by the land boards the soldiers would find it tery difficult to live. He suggested that the Minister should take into consideration the advisability of waiving these orders temporarily. ! He was not suggesting that they should be cancelled, but modified temporarily, so that the soldiers might be able to live. It was obvious that if the position were not altered these men were going to be forced off their sections. The Minister (the Hon. D. H. Guthrie) said that he was quite aware of th,e difficult position obtaining, and everything that could bo done • would bo done to help the soldierSj He Would not make a comprehensive statement. There were some men who were in necessitous circumstances and others wIA were not, and cases would bo considered von their merits on application being made to the Commissioner of Crown Lands. A soldier had only to show that his income had fallen away and he would be met over the matter; The department would accept what he was able to pay. It was impossible to suspend payment for everybody," as there wore many cases where this was not necessary.