SOLDIERS AND LAND SETTLEMENT.
[To TEE EDITOR OF TILE " SPECTATOR:1 Sun,--The recently published Report of the Committee on the settlement of discharged soldiers and sailors on the land in England and Wales deserves to be carefully studied by all persons interested in the land question. The elaborate scheme for " State colonies " unanimously agreed to by this Committee,' which contained repro- sentatives of all parties in the State, is put forward primarily in the interests of ex-service men, many of whom, the Committee think, will desire an opportunity of earning their livelihood ou the land in this country. But they proceed to state (in more emphatic language than is usually found in such Reports) their "profound and unanimous conviction that it is in the highest interests of the nation as a whole to attract a large population to the land at the present time. One of the most important lessons learnt from the war is the extent to which the defensive power of a country is strengthened by its capacity to produce food forits inhabitants, and the developments of modern warfare have emphasized the danger of an undue dependence on foreign sources of food supply. There is also general agreement that on economic grounds it is a matter of the greatest importance to increase the production of food in this country, and so reduce the amount which has to be imported from abroad. Apart from the economic reasons for increasing the rural population, there is, we think, a genera! censensus of opinion that it is also most desirable to do this on social grounds. The stability and physical strength of a nation depend largely on those :lasses who have either been born and brought up in the country or have had the advantages of country life. It is certain that the physique of those portions of our nation who live in crowded streets rapidly deteriorates, and would deteriorate still further if they were not to some extent reinforced by men from the country districts. The recruiting returns show a much larger proportion of men rejected for physical reasons in the large towns than in the country districts. If, therefore, we desire a strong and healthy race, we must encourage as large It proportion of our people as possible to live on the land."
The Commit tee proceed : " The demobilization of the Navy and Army at the close of the war will afford a unique opportunity of developing agriculture in this country. It. is of the utmost import- ance to the welfare of the nation that this opportunity should be seized and turned to the greatest possible advantage. The men who have joined the Forces include representatives of all the best elements of our population, many of them possess a high degree of enterprise and intelligence, and if any substantial number can be attracted to seek a career on the land at home it will give a stimulus to the a,grieulture of the country." After distinguishing between (1) the men employed in agriculture before the war, and (2) those previously engaged in urban industry who will be reluctant to return to the life of the factory, the shop, or the office, the Committee ,point out the probability of the great majority of these men emigrating to our Dominions or to foreign countries, if the Mother Country cannot offer them a reasonable prosfiect e:if success in agricultural life. The conditions of such success are considered under the two heads of " Settlement " and " Employment." Part I. of the Report, which is now published, only relates to " Settlement."
The Model " settlements " or " colonies " to be established by the State for suitable ox-service men are described in great detail, which can only be briefly summarized here. The Committee con- sider that "the ideal settlement would be a village community of at least one hundred families, all interested in the cultivation and development of the land, butincluding amongst them those engaged in the trades. subsidiary to agriculture." The men to be settled are ex-service men, but the settlement may be established in close proximity to an existing village, so as to make up the necessary population. The minimum acreage of land to be taken for a fruit and market-garden settlement should be one thousand. acres, and for settlement on dairying or mixed holdings two thousand acres of fairly productive and easily worked land. The Committee point out that larger areas will reduce the cost of management, and make collective marketing easier.. It is an essential -part of the scheme that the men should be settled on the " colony system, as it is impossible to provide the necessary expert guidance and business organization for men in isolated holdings. Each colony is to have a resident director or manager, a practical instructor in agriculture or gardening, besides making use of any County Council instructors who may bo available. Each colony must have a central depot for buying or hiring out implements, manures, feeding stuffs, seeds, &c., and for disposing of the produce of the settlers collectively and to the best advantage. In connexion with the depot there will be a central farm, so that horses and extra labour at certain seasons
be available for the settlers. There are also proposals for the establishment of credit banks and a co-operative system ; and the importance of providing proper social amenities in connexion with the colonies, and of encouraging the training of the settlers'• families in dairying, poultry-keeping, and other industries con- nected with the land, is emphasized in the Report.
It is pointed out that many of the men to be settled will require some training in agriculture before they can take up small holdings with success. This can easily be provided under the administrative arrangements proposed. A scheme for gradually breaking up the central farm, or the larger part of it, into small holdings has been carefully thought out, and is elaborated in a plan annexed to the Report. The men, when trained, will be settled as tenants of the holdings, which will range, in the case of market-garden holdings, from two to ten acres, and, in the case of dairy and mixed holdings, from twenty-live to fifty acres. Each holding is to be provided with a house, and the necessary buildings, roads, water supply, &.c., and trees and fruit bushes will be planted, so that the tenant will not be called on to provide any capital outlay except for stock. The Committee give their. reasons, at some length, for preferring tenancy to ownership in the case of these colonies.
As regards finance, the capital cost of establishing three pioneer colonies for three hundred families is estimated at £119,020, besides the cost of the land, which is put at £40 an acre, or £215,000. If, however, as is probable, the land for these colonies can be leased, the total capital costshould not exceed £400 for every family settled. If the land is either bought or leased for a lung term of years at a reasonable figure, it should represent a sound investment, by the State, and the rents charged for the small holdings should be sufficient to pay the interest on the cost of land and equipment, repairs, insurance, management, &c. It is not proposed that the tenant should be asked to pay any sinking fund for the purchase of tho land, and the educational work of the colony is to be borne by
public funds. • - --
The Committee urge the necessity for immediately establishing these pioneer colonies, in order that soldiers on demobilization may be able to see for themselves what kind of settlement is contem- plated. They further ask that tho Government should pledge themselves to make advances from the Exchequer for the extension of the colony system on similar lines, and suggest the appropriation of a sum of £2,000,000, in the first instance, which should be sufficient for settling at least five thousand families, including a proportion of unmarried men.
These financial proposals have been subject to criticism from two points of view. It is said that the sums asked are larger than the State will be willina' to grant, owing to the necessity for rigid economy after the war. But this objection seems to he already answered by the Committee, who point out the great national importance of the object, and the remunerative character of such an investment to the country as a whole. The suns asked for is considerably less than half the amount of public money already expended by tho County Councils in providing small holdings.
On the other hand, it is said, with some truth, that the number of families to be settled is comparatively small, and that the pro- posals of the Committee may prove very inadequate to meet an extensive demand for land settlement on the part of discharged soldiers. But it must be remembered that at present every one is in the dark as to the number of applications for land which the New Armies may produce, and all that can reasonably be required of the Government is to make preparations on a limited scale before the actual time for demobilization arrives, and to adopt a policy which is capable of considerable expansion. It is also obvious that a largo number of ex-service men who seek employment on the land cannot be provided, at any rate at once, with holdings of their own, but must be content to work for a time as agricultural labourers. The conditions of such employment are still under the consideration of the Committee, and will be dealt with in Part II. of their Report.
I have not space to deal with the portions of the Report relating to (1) Settlement by County Councils, and (2) Disabled men, but I recommend all who are interested- in the subject to obtain tho Parliamentary Paper (Cd. 8182 of 1916, price 6d.) and study it
for themselves.—I am, Sir, &c., • . Z.
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