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What is being done. To the present Government of South Australia belongs the credit of initiating one of the most interesting systems of land settlement I have yet seen. ' It is an entirely new departure, not only in land legislation, but also in assisting the unemployed, and endeavouring to provide a permanent cure by utilising land with unutilised labour. To lift, as it were, from the streets and by-ways of a city an army of men, women, and children, many of them comparatively quite destitute, place them on land, which by irrigation can be made most productive, assist them to accomplish this by aiding them to obtain the requisite plant and machinery, and further assist them to establish homes for themselves, each villager working for the common benefit of all, upon principles of co-operation and equitable division of labour and profits, is certainly a great and noble work, and this is what is being done by the Government of South Australia, ably assisted by many philanthropic ladies and gentleman of that colony. The scheme has, of course, been ridiculed, and there are those ever ready to predict failure when the proposal is to place men on the land, and show them how to make a living from it for themselves and families. It was said the result would be sure to be a failure ; but up to the present it has not been so. It is true that a number of the original villagers have left, but the number is comparatively small. It was only natural that a certain weeding-out process should take place soon after the settlements were formed, but I have reason to believe those who are now on the land will remain. These villagers have ventured forth in faith, being firmly of opinion that if they work zealously together they have a great future in the land they occupy. That the soil is marvellously productive when irrigated there can be no doubt. This was fully borne out by Mr. Glyde, for many years a resident in Canterbury, and now Chairman of the Fruit-growers' Association, Mildura, who I had the pleasure of meeting. He informed me of the case of a settler, resident in the Murray District, and on similar soil to that in the village settlements, who had cleared, after planting four-and-a-half years, from 9| acres of fruits (chiefly raisins) £24 per acre. Another settler obtained 24 tons of raisins from 13f acres, after four years' planting. The average price he obtained was 3d. per lb., equal to £28 per ton, or £672 for the crop. Thirteen settlements are now established under the Act, composed of 470 settlers, who have signed the prescribed memorandum of association. These, with their wives and families, represent a total of 1,935 settled on the land. Eleven of the settlements are on the banks of the river Murray, and shown on the lithograph attached. There is also one at Mount Eemarkable, to the north of Adelaide, and one at Nangkita, to the south. The number of settlers on the Murray, including wives and families, is 1,679. The total area held by the village settlement associations is 67,191 acres. The tenure is perpetual lease, at an average rental of nearly 3d. per acre per annum. Advances made by Government on behalf of the settlements, as provided by the Act, being 50 per cent, of the value of improvements made by the villagers, amount to a total of £15,974 17s. 7d. to 31st May, 1895, equivalent to an advance of £25 2s. 2d. per settler. The following return shows the position of the eleven settlements on the Eiver Murray: —

To assist the Government in its laudable efforts to solve the problem of the unemployed difficulty, a "Land Settlement Aid Society " was formed in South Australia, and Mr. T. H. Smeaton (formerly of Christchurch, Canterbury) became its energetic and enthusiastic secretary. I have before me a copy of the first annual report of the society, and I gather that all classes have combined to help, " from the squatter, who with princely liberality sent his 1,000 sheep as a token of his sympathy, down to a contributor who, as 'Wage-earner,' sent his packet of cornflour and sugar, with the prayer that it may assist a brother or sister in want." The report says :" A noble response from the public has been given to our efforts. Assistance has been cheerfully rendered by many who had no faith in the political or social aspect of the question, and many helped from syrhpathy with the movement itself. We must most especially mention the splendid work done by the ladies of Adelaide in connection with this society. That our work has been of considerable service to the Government we know, but it gives us great pleasure to state thus publicly that the Government have also very cordially recognised the fact, and have, whenever possible, helped'us in our arrangements. When it became apparent that the quantities of goods and stock of various

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Name of Settlement. Area. d >-< ||| 5 |? Present Number. CD o S O W EC o O a) TJ1 & |1 o o^ Men. Women. Children. few Bra 'alien iamco [older Kingston loorook few Residence 2,095 9,990 2,240 3,082 7,540 4,800 3,200 4,000 10,530 14,060 2,000 22 65 14 36 71 25 21 20 90 70 20 22 30 15 30 54 25 18 14 75 85 13 22 30 3 24 43 21 17 12 70 55 7 54 73 4 80 183 65 45 49 255 165 21 98 133 22 134 280 111 80 75 400 305 41 9 4 4 2 23 13 4 4 15 37 9 19 6 10 2 7 10 2 2 37 13 10 150 160 200 150 50 125 25 25 500 600 100 26 12 32 27 200 150 8 'yap jyrup lurtho 2 20 40 6 200 400 "8 'otals 63,537 454 381 304 994 1,679 124 118 2,085 165 950 16