SOLDIER SETTLEMENT

Southland Times, Issue 18810, 1 May 1920, Page 10

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT

THE GOVERNMENT'S RECORD.

FIGURES TO MARCH 31

In response to a telegram from Mr G. .1. Anderson, M.lk, asking what funds had been expended upon soldier settlement and how many men had been given assistance since demobilisation, the lion, D. H. Guthrie supplied the following figures;— Employment had been found for 16,000 men by the Repatriation Department, while 4000 men had been placed in training. Financial assistance had been rendered to 21,439, involving a sum of £966,244. Beside the work done by the Repatriation Department the Lands Department had settled 6902 men on farms at an outlay' of £10,076,834 and 6349 men had been advanced £4,137,086 for town dwellings. The men assisted by the two departments totalled 44,880, involving an amount approximating £16,000,000. In addition to the figures quoted private estates of an acreage of 216,000 acres were being reserved for soldier settlements, and had cost £1,800,000. Up to the present 1425 men had been placed upon 332,822 acres, 845 men on 886,000 acres of Crown lands, and 4132 had been assisted to purchase 782,000 acres. Mr Guthrie had announced that owing to the rapid exhaustion of the £12,500,000 provided for advances to soldiers for the purchase of land and bouse properties and for other assists snee last session, Cabinet had decided that only exceptionally urgent applications could be considered until Parliament had tin opportunity of dealing with the question and provkling further funds.