LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16504, 4 August 1919, Page 7

LAND FOR SOLDIERS.

BT TELEGRAPH.— OWN COE RESPONDENT, j WELLINGTON, August 4. | Some important points were made j dear by the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Act- I ing-Minister in charge of the Discharge- ; eel Soldiers’ Settlement Act, when re- ■ plying to the Returned Soldiers’ Asso- 1 elation. | Mr. Guthrie stated that he had been | working upon the question ol soldier j settlements, and had prepared a state- 1 xuent which would set out the Government’s position in with this important matter. Ho admitted that , the Land Purchase Board was not strong enough to deal with the enormous Business that had come upon it, and he had taken steps to strengthen it. He was .still further improving it by the appointment of local committees. Ho had outlined a scheme, for : land purchase which would change the whole system if it were adopted. It ; was quite right that payment in cash : was giving money to the men to rein- ■ vest, ami was raising the price of ;■ land, but they had to meet an extra- | ordinary demand from returned soldiers i for land. He had circularised all the I large land-owners'throughout New Zealand, asking them to set apart a, por- ; tion of their laud for soldier settlement ! and was pleased to say that his cxpcc- i tations w ere far exceeded. Ho was get- I ling offers of land from different parts ! of New Zealand; in some cases whole i runs were offered. There was now only j the question of price to be settled. i A member : Are you getting good j land ? I

Mr. Guthrie; Yes, up to £l3O an acre, and let mo. remind you that it is on the most expensive land that .settlement has been most successful up to the present. All classes of* land were offered. The acceptance of bonds in part payment for tho land, Mr. Guthrie said, was quite a common thing, and the Government was encouraging it on every possible occasion. In many cases the vendors had invested the purchase money in war bonds. They had to remember that there were few places which had not a “monkey” on them, and when land was to be subdivided for soldier settlements. cash had to be found to clear these mortgages. It was a very exceptional case in which a vendor received Die whole value in cash.

Mr. Jacobs said tho association wanted some scheme such as the Land Finance and Settlement Act so that a man would have to accept bonds whether he wanted to or not. Mr. Guthrie: That is_under consideration at the present time. It is a scheme with respect to advances for stock.

Mr. Outline said they were not launching out on this scheme to make millionaires of the soldiers in one act. They were out to repatriate them. There was a recommendation well forward now to increase tho amount for buildings. It might ho that the house that could he put up now was not what could have been erected a few years ago, and it looked very small, hut they had to consider tho great demand hy numbers of men. If they set out to give everything that was wanted at once they could never do it. lie know an auctioneering linn had refused to sell slock when there was a Government bill of sale. They wanted to force tho Government's hands, hut the Government had to consider that it was dealing with public funds. They were dabbling now in the lifth million, and it was an enormous question-