BACK TO THE LAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 79

BACK TO THE LAND.

HALF-ACRE AND HOMESTEAD FOB

FRENCH WORKERS

There is no country in the world wh«r« the land is so subdivided as in France.) Yet here, as elsewhere, the large towns ans constantly absorbing the rural popula- 1 , tion, and" the now familiar phrase "Back* to the land" represents a proKLem which; a few thoughtful politicians are making} an earnest endeavour to solve (says tha London Daily Chronicle). The latest experiment is lew ambitious than the famous "Three acres and a cow" idea of \vhi< h so much was heard in England a couple of 'dff-ades ago. It i.- a tflicmo « hie h may be summed up as "Half an acre and ;i lioiu"-stea-iL" Pdiliamant s auctioned it in A^ril

last, but as the bill passed through without discussion nothing was heard of it at the time. The pkm is now beginning to come into operation. What ~il. Jtibot and the >ther promoters of the measure aimed at was to give -working men in the towii6 and labourers in the country %n opportunity to acquire on easy- terms a plot of land and a modest homestead, arguing that this would be a more practical kind of provision for the evening of life than any old-age pension fund. It was, indeed, 'while the Old-age Pensions Bill was under discussion that, as M. Ribot has been telling an interviewer, the idea occurred to him. Some of his constituents in the Pas de Calais had suggested that they would rather invest their savings in this way, and he at once sought to secure them the option of setting aside their prospective pensions as part payment of the purchase money required to buy a plot of land and a homestead. The field or garden must not cost more than £48. and its extent is limited for the present to a little over half an acre. The intending purchaser nrust possess 240fr (£9 12s). If not, he is helped by the State, and the moment he deposits the money he becomes proprietor of the holding. He must undertake that he or his: children wii 1 cultivate it, and he must also ensure his life. The State does not deal direct with the purchaser, but with an intermediary and guarartee company formed in each district. A capital of £4,000,000 has been set aside for loons at 2 per cent., and each loan oompanv must have a capital of £8000, of which half is to be held in reserve. The original idea was to provide town and country workers with a home when they had reached the age of 50 or 60. but it will be seen that anyone wjh-o lias saved one-fifth of the purchase money — le?s than £10, can at once become the possessor of "Half an aci'e and a homeptend." At the ages mentioned the family is generally dispersed, but it is hoped that the liberal facilities accorded vill induce younger people — soldiers, on completing their period of service, for instance — to eett'e on the land, marry, and bring up a family. Should the experiment succeed its promoters will come back to Parliament and ask for larger credits.