DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

Otago Witness, Issue 3249, 21 June 1916, Page 47

DISCHARGED SOLDIERS

LAND SETTLEMENT BILL. WELLINGTON, Juno 14. In the House oi Representatives una evening- Mr Massoy moved the second reading of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act Amendment Bui. He said there was no need to urge at length in-, necessity tor this Bill. The original Act, passed last year, affirmed the principle that those who had gone to the front should bo able to get laud and settle on it if they so desired. Great difficulty was experienced in getting suitable land in spite ot the greatest efforts on the part ot the officers of the department. in the Bill power was taken tc acquire private lands compulsoiuy where found necessary. Such lauds would be cut up into small areas, such as poultry farms, so that the counuy might take advantage of the opi-ioriunity of getting settlers from amongst our returned soldiers. Such was the main purpose of the patriotic mission of .Sir Rider who was engaged in an effort' to keep British blood within tiie Empire. He read a letter which he had sent to Sir Faciei- Haggard, and in which ho had informed him that the Government was in full sympathy _witn him in ins mission. He would like to point out, however, that Now Zealand was limited in area, and that preference must be given to our own men. Next to them a welcome would be given to men from the British Isles and their families, provided their physical health was approved of by the New Zealand authorities in London. Coming to what had been done to assist soldiers to get land, he mentioned that single, men ot military age had been prohibited from taking part in land ballots. On the other hand, soldiers at the front had been enabled to participate in ballots, and many sections had been taken up by men who" had not yet returned to the dominion. Rents had in some ease.--- beer, remitted. He read "the departmental instructions given with a view to facilitating soldiers getting on the land and in administrating the' land laws so as to give encouragement to such settlers. No hard and fast fines had been laid down, for while every precaution must be taken, soldier settlers were to receive all reasonable assistance in matters of loans for improvements, purchase of stock, implements, etc. It was hoped to put upwards of 5000 soldiers on the land within the next year or two. Soldiers did not show any great, anxiety to settle down immediately on their return to the dominion, and he did not blame them, but he was hopeful that the system laid down in the Bill would last for at least five years. Many of the blocks recommended to the Government were not suitable for soldiers' esttlement, as it all depended on what class of land a man had been accustomed to. A block of: 2500 acres had just been acquired in the Auckland district, all of which would bo set apart for soldiers. He read a list of blocks which the department had in view in various parts of the dominion, after which he expressed regret that blocks of good land were not more plentiful. If any member would supply him with particular's of suitable blocks in their districts he would be glad to bring them under the notice of the department. From 140 to 150 soldiers had already been provided for. Mr Massey then explained the provisions of the Bill, which included authority to raise £500.000 for the acquisition of land for the purposes of the principal Act. He concluded by expressing the hope that the Bill would commend itself to members. Mr Hornsby said some of the landowners in New, Zealand had nobly faced tho necessities of the case, and had given generously to the needs of the soldiers, but others had not, and the Prime. Minister should have no compunction about putting the compulsory clauses of this Bill against those who had so signally failed in their duty to our boys. Let us make every provision for our own soldiers, 75 per cent. of whom would gladly become settlers, and if after that there was anything to spare let ns offer it to the soldiers of Britain. Mr Veitch said the Bill was a good measure, but he wanted to know what was going to be done for a soldier who could nob go on tho land. Ho advocated an extensive system of land purchase for the use of soldiers and for general purposes. Purchases should be effected by means of debentures, and the price paid should be the land tax valuation. All soldier settlers should be generously treated in tho matter of loans required for improvements and the purchase of stock, but specially favoured conditions should be given to married soldiers, who were the best class of settlers, having regard to the nerd for population. .Soldiers should not be sent into the backblocks to break in new country, but our men should be put upon first-class land near railways. The large estates must be taken, and the facts before us proved that they should bo taken at once. He gave the department credit for doing its best to cope with the problem, but it was limited by the policy of its chief, and he was bound to say that the Minister had not shown any .great anxiety to burst up the big estate*. He advocated an extensive system of subsidies for soldiers to enable them to go_ into suitable business. Tho patriotic societies were doing a little in this respect, but their funds were limited, and he thought these funds should be augmented by Government grants, tints enabling them to deal with many cases of men who had to be helped on to their feet. Mr E. Newman defended the Minister against the imputation of tho last speaker that he was not dealing drastically enough with the settlement problem. No Minister in his experience had ever displayed so much anxiety to see tho lands settled. It must always be remembered that first class land was growing rapidly scarce, but when the report of the Lands Department came down he ventured to think the member for Wanganui would find there was ample reason to cause him to alter his opinion, of the work of the Minister of Lands. Tho debate was not concluded when the House adjourned. June 15. In the Houso of .Representatives to-day the debate on the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act Amendment Bill was resumed bv Mr Rhodes (Thames), who supported trie Bill, but considered the financial provisions rnado under the measure quite inadequate. Power should have been taken to spend at least £1,000,000 in acquiring good land, which could h" held in small areas. A i ■■■■■ ■,'.■<• r members also spoke. At 0.45 ».m. dr Mr rose to reply. He said th from • ■ -s' point of view it was right thai .-. should do every-

thing wo could for them, there was another side of the question. After the war we would be carrying very heavy liabilities, and for that reason we-should endeavour to increase the number of our pro-due rs and do everything in our power to increase closer settlement. He regarded with pride the fine spirii shown by the people of trie dominion in the way they contributed towards the patriotic funds. Ail the patriotic societies were doing excellent work, but .specially commended the work of the ftni- I rarapa Society, which had met him witn j highly useful' and practical suggestions for > tho settlement of soldiers in that _ district, particularly in the direction of lending their funds at a low rate of interest to returned soldiers going on the land. Gno of the greatest difficulties in the way of the Government was securing suitable lands. He admitted that tho majority of the returned soldiers must be put on first class agricultural land, but he did not hole that none of them would bo fit- to go out into the backblocks. Reference had beet; made to Native lands as being suitable for soldiers. During tito last year the Government had purchased 153 000 acres of such land, nearly the whole of it being suitable for the purposes of the Bill. As- far as administration was. concerned he vva3 of opinion that an officer would have to bo appointed in each laud listrict, whose duly it would be to supervise and assist settlers. He was greatly impressed with the idea, of settling roiiliers on fruit lands, and said it was the duly of the Go-, -riiiueiit to encourage in i-vory way a very great and important industry. While the debate had been in progress manysuitable ureas had been brought under hifi notice, and he had been greatly surprised to find so much land available. combated the idea that aggregation was rampant, lie did r Jot say it did not ovist, but for every ease of aggregation now going on he was confident there were 20 cases of subdivision, arid he did not know ol ii j single case of a large estate being aggregated at present. Ho contended that the system of taking land compulsonly under tho Bill was efficient for all purposes. He did not agree that if the system of settlement was not sufficient to cope with the necessities of the case, as in some years past 2000 settlers had been placed on the land. Under this Bill he was confident that not less than 1000 settlers would bo placed on the land each .year. To encourage settlers he was quite prepared to remit or capitalise rents, and with the necessary amount o: enthusiasm imported into the administration of the Act he felt sure that nothing but success would follow. After defending the non-allocation of tho Benmore runs for soldiers the Prime Minister went on to say that it was quite a- mistake to suppose t-nat there-was no intention to purchase land m Canterbury. Negotiations were now in progress for several areas, and he hoped in a few days to be able to announce the successful conclusion of some of these negotiations. Mr Massey concluded with a word of thanks to many large landowners who had given generously to the cause of the soldiers. He then formally moved the second reading, which was carried on the voices. The Houso rose at 1.25 a.m. LAND AVAILABLE. Details of land actually available for discharged soldiers are given in the Land and Survey Department's soecinl report. It shows "that 110,651 acres will be ready shortly for selection in the following land districts : Auckland. —C 9 sections, 13,9-55 acres, suitable for fruit, dairying, and cultivation. Hawke's Bay.—32 sections, 26,220 acres; sheep farming country. Taranaki.—7 sections, 3122 acres; mixed farming. Wellington.—l3o sections, 45,580 acres; mostly grazing, a small portion dairying, nearly all bush land. Otago. —18 sections, 21,136 acres; grazing country. Southland.—s sections, 648 acres; dairying land. Nothing is available in Canterbury. GOOD WORK DONE. WELLINGTON, June 14. Tho first annual report dealing with the settlement of discharged soldiers, presented to-day, shows that the Governemnt has been assiduously coping with the settlement of such men' on the land. A supplementary paper bringing the report up to June 1 shows that the number of provisions,] applications for land received was 605. The number granted was 79, and the area involved 23,794 acres. .Some 27 soldiers obtained land under section 24 of the Land Laws Amendment Act, the total area granted being 78,919 acres. At March 31 only 272 applications had been received, so that over 400 were received in the last two months. Much has been done to meet this demand, but in addition 110.661 acres will shortly be ready for selection. The total area proclaimed to date under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act is 98,598 acres. The report states that much interest is being taken in the work of the department, which aims at rendering every assistance to discharged men.