A GENEROUS OFFER

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 6

A GENEROUS OFFER

GIFT FROM MR G. HUNTER, M.P. (From Our Own CorhespondjSnt.) WELLINGTON, January 4. A very generous offer of land for returned soldiers has been made to the Government by Mr George Hunter, M.P., and accepted on behalf of tho Government by the Prime Minister. Mr Hunter has written to Mr Massey as follows: — ' Dear Mr Massey,—Regarding my promise to make a free gift, to the Government of part of my land at Porangahau, I now desire to confirm that promise, and offer to the Government an area of land cornprising about 2535 acres, being the whole of my freehold laud between the old Wol-lingford-Poranghau road and the Poranghau River, tho land to bo utilised for tho purpose of soldiers' settlements, and to bo balloted for at the termination of the present war with Germany, or within six months thereafter, and to bo conveyed by me to the Government when the land is balloted for. Until the land is balloted for I am to retain possession, and bo tho owner for all purposes, but tho Government is to havo the right at any time from now to survey, subdivide, and' road the land and tako other steps to prepare tho same for settlement. —I am, yours truly, Geo. Hunter." Mr Massey told a Dominion reporter yesterday that ho had accepted the offer, which ho regarded particularly generous one. The Lands Department would proceed to do whatever was neoos-sary to prepare the land for occupation by discharged soldiers after tho war.