SOLDIERS' SETTLEMENT

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 80, 9 August 1923, Page 8

SOLDIERS' SETTLEMENT

BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE. LOSS OF TWO MILLIONS. Pot Press Association. ■ Wellington, August 8. The second reading of the Discharged Soldiers'' Settlement Amendment Bill was moved ax the House to-day byVthe Premier. . ; ; Mr Massey, said many people thought the soldiers settlement scheme had been a failure, but the opinion of the. boards was that fifty per cent. .of the settlers were successful, while 18 pei* cent, might be called failures. It was to givo the 82 per cent, a chance that this legislation wa 8 introduced. The Premier pointed out, that, .prices . were very high when those settlers stocked their farm and then the -aunp came. The surprise was that so few had failed. Invitations from the Minister to approach tho inquiry boards were. Sent to 7,625 soldiers, of whom 4,322 accepted. Opinions as to the cost of revaluation placed ifr at about £1,500,000, and Mr Mnssey thought £2,000,000 would aver »t. ■ !. -, , A'member; Land and stock? Mr Massev explained that he was dealing only with the land. The suestion of stock was much mors difficult. Attention was being civen first to tho revaluation of land. Ho had been surprised to see how well soldier settlers, were progressing, considering that many of .them had come from shops and offices. The Premier wag surprised that the boards had suggested so small a sum as £250,000 to £300,000 for .additional advances. He was satisfied that money could be found and fpmo of it w,ould be available when| the Bill passed into law. . % ' Regarding a soeond mortgage, the State would endeavor to make the best possible bargain, In vcany eases the second Mortgage was part of the purchase Wee.. The (Joy rnment would require to be careful not to put the second mortgagee, in a much better position than he o 'cupiod at present. The revaluation board would be responsible for vhat took place in regard to revaluation, the ppstpontment of rent and iurther advances, and the best men would be required for that work. He explained ,the Bill,clause by. . huse and then moved the second reading.

Mr T. M. Wilford *(Lead<gfm&to6 said the Bill did not come quite up to the standard set by hh Party at; the fast general -'ection,~,but as they were prohibite ! by the Standing Orders i from moving what they desired to see .given effect r to ijiey would have to make, 'the best of the Bill before th© House. "Personally,, he dij not accept ih* Premier's estimate thai the loss « old bo wiped out by £2,000,000.' lhat statement was just zig-zaggmg -nd was made simply to get the people used to the idea, that there was going* to be a bigger loss. There was*, no doubt the solvers settlement scheme had been '• adly jingled. Between £27,000,000 and £30,000,000 had been expended on soldiers', lands and it was only too evident, that much or that land was bought at an absurdly liigh price. Tie sooner that .fact was adm.'.-ted aJid faced the better. He apn ovied of the. clause appointing distric revaluation committees, but objected to the proposal to postpone I'nts. If the conditions under which land was he-Id were too hard, then Mie thiiiß to do was to . alter them and make it possible for a man to succeed. When conditions were altered what was written down should not be postponed, but forgiven *br ver. Everyone was agreed that the soldiers should be given a chanc-j but there might be difference of opinion ■asi to' the best way to do it. To his mind a soldier must bo inspired by hope, and nothing would do thin so much a& the knowledge! that, lb had no burden such as postponed rent hanging about his neck. The jcstponement of rent was his chi" f objection to the Bill. ! . ,

The Mali. C: J. Parr said the estimated loss of £2,000,000 was made up by £1,500,000 on lands by soldiers from the Orotvn and £500,000 on .private lands selscted by soldiors and purchased for them. Mr Wilford'a estimate of £6CKX>,OOO was totally wide of the mark pmft even the Premier' § £2,000,000 was a-liberal estimate, as the i-i ;uiry Wards had said the loss would be about £1,250,000, and they werg better judges than Mr Wilford. ,The bulk of the soldiors , had done just as well as the civilians had. The soldiors' troubles were not du" to bad buying, but to. the depression which struck -the'-country l'tl>» a typhoon in 1920. Qji the subject of postponement, to which Mr Wilford objected, he maintained that wholesale remissions of rent would be .unfair to those. settlors . who :nade an -effort.-and succeeded in paying: their way.

; M r It. Masters (Stratford) contended the In ml hcut'.- 'been badly bought for soldier .settlement* in support, of which allegation he quoted a passage from the l'eport t-f the Auckland inquiry board, in which it was stated that in many high.a price had been paid, In some cases land totally unsuitable fftr eloso settlement had boon acquired and the Government had boe u misled by the. parties who were emoloyed as experts to settle valts»"?. In this strain, the Roparoa • and Mt. Pisa estates and lands in the Nelson province were criticised, the speaker declaring that aojne dealing?, in oon-s neotion witk f the latter iand.- were-

such that the person rcßpomuble Ought, toJbe in sail. Manv of f hese purchases wore such thai *be soldiers never had a chance. Mr J. P.. Corrigni, (Patea) mentioned properties in his electorate, which, ho alleged, were totally unsuitable for soldiers' settlement. The root of the trouble was party politics and- the Government must take the blame. The only way to do justice to the soldiers was to cut the losses, and it .should be done liberally. .M the country got out of the difficulty with a.Joss of £8,000,000 wc, would te Everyone welcomed the Bill and he hoped it would be made a workable measure.

EARLY MORNING TALK. SECOND READING. CARRIED. Per Press Association.. Wellington, August •>• After the Telegraph Office, ebsed, the debate was earned ,on by Honi, Field, 'Smith (Tamnaki) McKay, and^Murdoch. At 3 a.m., the Premier ro*e to reply, remarking that there was practically nothing to reply .to, since there had been no criticism of tho Bill. Ho reiterated his belief that two millions would cover the losses. Moreover, he was convinced . there was a great deal of land purchased which could be sold at a profit One ostato in Otago ho was confident could be disposed of at a profit of £IO,OOO, and there were others equally good. As io Mr SViHord's argument that the rent sliould be remitted, not postponed, ho wanted to know what they were to do with the man who made , good. How would he regard such a concession to his neighbour who had not worked so hard. -< Mr Wilfoord : They would not mind. , Coming to second mortgages, Mir Massey said the most of this moneyi was unpaid purchase ?ioney, and the bulk of the men to whom it was owing were reasonable end he did not anticipate much pouble in making the necessary readjustments. He justified the purchaLy of the Reparoa Estate as being -uaongst the best land ?ti the Dominion, »vhile Mt. Pisa, which had been criticised, was not purchased, but wa<* Crown Land, excepting two thousand acres, and would prove »■ mqst excellent proposition for soldiers if it were not cat up into areas too small. The second reading was carried on the voices, and the House rose at 3.15 until to 2.30 p.m< *