LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15316, 11 September 1920, Page 8

LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

'CIo. tyc .Editor of -thfe- Herald.) Sir.-VAfdßlDO.per acl'e.-plns the cost of surveying;., fading, rates, fencing, building, etc.,. aV.'thp'"' present high piiccs, the cost .of,. 4a!nd''t{>; ssjdiei-s- will be such that no mau; 'unjes^ irhder extremely favorable v conditions,' .'will;; iSakfe a ' decent living. As ■forV;|iiicaf ned^iteVeinent; it is cut out. I wjll. admit ijiat :ljSU'gfe : "i'Efcurns' have been taken. ffoiil' 'jsirnjlai' 'laiid "witli "such crops as . maiaV or. ; tvitb dtCu-'yirig. Maiise; • which is selling lioSyfttfr abdut 12s perbushcl, was sold ,ou tVe.VfUaff.;at Auckland for 2s 6d per, .bushel/, prfitwdr; and. the chairman! pf.the BajHi/cJ Jfew Zealand directors, at : a a-eoent ' itneptiiig,: expressed his cdhvic- \ -tiou : .:-fc^at,-.%pric.es"-mu^fc','eveutuaHy' return to thejr former, level. ' .Possibly he is •wrongf/buti fanners ase}jUready soniewhat lervoiis as regards th^. wool market. Do j those members, of : tljo -li.S.A. who strongly.recommend (tji^'ai^u^sition. of Opoii j intend io. apply- for. secMons on which to j keep, ai-wife anji; 'famjly? ' I doubt very j muoh-irif they do» , Perhaps if they do ; apply,* and ;dl^w a- secblon, they may feel aftei' a-feWQ'ear^ oft dfudgffry, as I feel . iiowt'r.that thfe land-iWaji too. dearly bought. The 1 above remarki^apply. to other highpriced land lately -tfcquireiL by the Gpv-ernn*eufcvrfqr--;-'s!efcurned .soldiers hi this districtivsrt 'vi'fi v- vc "■ ■ ' '•: ••■ ■ ■ Consider ;<fehe rapquircment of 3000 acres at Potaiigjriiau.rfeivciivby Mr Hunter, or "Woodlands," which. :Mr Hutchinson • placed, at the disposal'.iofrthe Government at; '£12' per 1 acrev^ETen -Hi these oases, though' mehwdre isefcfcleid <*n land- at .quite reasonable' 'prfce'sj' tli&^ generosity of these gentlemeii,' thrbugb no- fault of theirs, was: morle' to • the advantage of the public- in general tliair to the soldier. At PomngA- . haxi the price paid by the soldier represented' a iietfc profit of stitnewhem about £20,000 to the Government. With ■ -refer-. e\ifce l to "Woodlands," I • liave not the exact figures {area/ and* price paid by soldiers), bv(t> the Government must have cleared' quite a lot- on that deal. For an 'example* of real generosity, the actiou of dertaiiK gentlemen of Wiiiapu County is unsurpassed. The particulars ave v.-ell known.' Fit men who drew t'tiese' - Waiapu sections Avere rightly expected to pay a reasonable' price; but as they pay for ; theif- ' sectioiis, the/ money goes to a■> fund for" disabled soldiers'. This was ; an excel-lerit'Straigiit-ouf gift lo' the 'men" of the N.Z.E.F., and" showed rdal ' appreciatidn of the AVOrk of that force. But these arc isolated cases which resulted in the settlement of but few men." You, sir, omitted to answer that "portion of "Fairplay's" argument which suggests applying the Compulsory Service Act to land settlement. I am.- under the imprecision that there is some such measure upon our Statute- -Book— an ' Act which enables, the Govennnout to acquire large estates at a ten per cent, increase on a pre-war valuation. -,- - ■ .;■•'•': .... i it must bo remembered that irianynien, had -.they not bocn called away to fight tor their country, would- by now liavo been- sel-t-led <hi land bought at normal pTices. Now they aro forced to take up land at inflated values. Should there be a drop in the price of products, how are these ni^ii to face their liabilities? With few exceptions, .men have- been settled, under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, 'on- high-priced land, -and tho future of these' ment will be watched with interest. • *•■. .-.- ■ ' . ..- - . ;T It would seem that the executive of thw K.S.A. lias 'not' QZ'ercised' 1 sufficient caru it) rt'eommonding tho purchase when certain local '•blocks have been offered. No matter what' the • price asked, tho R.S.A. is for buying, not 'considering enough tho future hard struggle that men taking up fe'ucß land will hav« to facr>. Under some such Act as suggested by "Pairplajr." feoldier settlement would bo greatly simplified, and the "present deplorable land speculation- • would greatly diminish. If ■fctoord- is/stfeu' : aft."4Aet' upon our Stdtuto Book, tvhy is it not enforced? 'If iV-is tutjufet-wh'j*. 4s it" not' repealed P "•■'•'! leave lllat •' to you people-' of New Zeafand. 1 Aiid rtsinemfeer- that this £14,000,000 which Mr Guthi'ic tells urf has been expended on soldier settlement, has/ all to bo ; repaid by thr> soldier, and until 'then' the 'soldier pays interest on 1 every penny of it J The salaries of the surveyors and Crown taiid officials are paid ' : by thq' soldier in the .adoedi cost of his section, plus quite m a ljttle cqntrib'utioii .towards the reduction of the war debt in the case' of -some blocks.— Yours, etc., 'M.T. B; HALL. ,