74 LAND SETTLEMENT & EDUCATION 



they could be made into very comfortable cottages, 

 and the cost of housing the men would be pro- 

 portionately cheaper ; nevertheless, a considerable 

 sum of money will have to be advanced per family, 

 in order to lay secure the foundations of success. 

 This amount would range anywhere from ^^150 up 

 to about £1,000, the larger figure being for a twenty- 

 five acre dairy farm, inclusive of working capital 

 in the form of cows, pigs, poultry, etc. 



Taking the average outlay for a fair-sized group, 

 I do not see how settlement can be effected at less 

 than ;^5oo per family even if the military huts are 

 used. While true economy should be studied at 

 every point, false economy would be worse than a 

 crime — a fatal blunder. 



People in this country are so much accustomed 

 to see the land denied the necessary amount of 

 capital for its development that horror will probably 

 be expressed at the idea of advancing large sums 

 for land settlement. But the point to remember is, 

 that what we are asking for is not to spend money 

 but to invest it in the best possible way in which 

 it could be invested : the building up of a large 

 agricultural population, the raising of the physical 

 standard of the Nation, and the production of a 

 larger output of food. 



Whatever money is advanced, if it is advanced 

 under a sound scheme, bears interest, and provision 

 is made for its repayment. During the last fifteen 

 years in New Zealand no less than £26,000,000 has 

 been advanced by the Government for land settle- 

 ment. There has hardly been a bad debt, and the 

 Land Settlement Department, although not attempt- 

 ing to make a profit, actually draws a net revenue 

 of £80,000 a year. 



