SMALL HOLDINGS OR LARGE FARMS? 131 



holding properly. In spite of this additional 

 sum we find that, in answer to a question put by- 

 Captain Terrell, the parliamentary secretary to 

 the Minister stated on the 15th November that 

 the total number of ex-service men who had 

 applied was 44,229; that 25,038 had been 

 approved, and about 7700 were awaiting inter- 

 views as to their qualifications. But the number 

 of men actually settled was 10,487 only, though 

 it was estimated that the land required and not 

 yet let would provide holdings for a further 

 8000 men. That is to say, in spite of the extra 

 ,£4,000,000 allocated, County Councils would 

 have to turn down nearly 7000 ex-service men 

 who had been promised land, to say nothing of 

 the 7700 awaiting interview ! 



In working out the figures I find that it is 

 costing (apart from training) about £60 an acre, 

 or at the rate of ^882 to settle each man. 

 Despite compulsory clauses of the Land Settle- 

 ment Facilities Act, 19 19, landowners seem to 

 be doing fairly well out of ex-soldiers and the 

 taxpayers in the country, for in 1914 the 

 average price of the land purchase was ^32 

 17s. 4d. an acre, and the average rent of the 

 land leased £\ 5s. an acre. 1 



Now, costly as this work has been, owing to 

 the sums exacted by landowners and building 

 contractors, let us see what it all amounts to 

 when we compare the total acreage occupied by 



1 Cd. 7851. 



