September, 1911.] 



249 



Education, 



AUSTRALIAN STATE LOANS 

 TO SETTLERS, 



Interesting Data on the System in 

 Vogue there for Assisting Agri- 

 cultural and Pastoral Settlers. 



(Prom the Manila Bulletin, 

 June 7, 1911.) 

 With the establishment of au Agricul- 

 tural Bank in the Philippines and the 

 small amount of business that has been 

 done by the same since its inauguration 

 lour years ago, the system in vogue in 

 Australia for state loans to settlers, for 

 assisting agricultural and pastoral set- 

 tlers will prove of special interest. 



In 1899 the Government of New South 

 Wales, recognizing that some assistance 

 was needed to restore prosperity to the 

 large section of the farming community, 

 which had suffered serious loss by 

 drought, inaugurated a system of ad- 

 vances to settlers on lines similar to 

 those followed by the Credit Poncier of 

 Prance. The Act providing for this 

 project, passed in 1899, was frequently 

 amended, until in 190(5 the powers of the 

 Board, which until then had managed 

 the whole undertaking of advances to 

 settlers, were transferred to the Com- 

 missioners of the Government Savings 

 Bank of the State, and the maximum 

 and minimum advances were then fixed, 

 and have since so remained at £2,000 

 ($9,733) and £50,000 ($243,325) respectively. 



The popularity and success of this 

 scheme can well be gauged by the fact 

 that up to December 31, 1909, 8,456 

 advances, totaling £1,362,854 ($6,632,329) 

 were made to settlers, averaging £161 

 ($784) per loan. Of this total, 4,833 ad- 

 vances, representing £566,102 ($2,754,935), 

 had been repaid at the date mentioned, 



leaving 3,623 advances current. The 

 average balance of principal was £220 

 ($1,070) per loan. 



In explanation of the real purpose of 

 these advances, aud the terms of their 

 granting, the Commissioners are em- 

 powered to make advances upon mort- 

 gages of land in fee simple or of land held 

 under conditional purchase or lease, 

 settlement purchase or lease, or home- 

 stead grant or selection. The advances 

 are made for repaying existing encum- 

 brances, purchasing land, or to effect 

 improvements, develop resources, or 

 build homes. 



The conditions under which loans are 

 repayable vary according to the circum- 

 stances of the individual case ; the maxi- 

 mum loan to any one person is £2,000 

 ($9,733), the rate of interest ranging 

 between 4£ and 5 per cent.; and the 

 maximum period for repayment is 31 

 years. 



It is clear that the system is intended 

 to confer and does afford material assist- 

 ance to men who contemplate settling 

 on the land, as well as to those already 

 engaged in agriculture, but necessarily 

 this system was not initiated to meet 

 every instance in which farmers might 

 require credit, usually in relatively small 

 amounts, and for a comparatively 

 short period. To effect this object 

 it is felt by certain responsible local 

 authorities that a system should be 

 established in New South Wales, on the 

 lines of a co-operative bank or borrow- 

 ers' association, with the sole object of 

 obtaining credit at low cost for its 

 members, with adequate protection of 

 their security on the plan of the co- 

 operative loan organizations which have 

 been introduced satisfactorily in Europe, 

 and of which the best example is said to 

 exist in the Raiffeisen banks of Germany. 



EDUCATION. 



GARDENING AT GIRLS' SCHOOLS. 



It is satisfactory to find that the 

 School Garden movement is gradually 

 spreading to the Government Girls' Ver- 

 nacular Schools of the Island. One of 

 the first to take it up was the Kumba- 

 loluwa girls' school, since when a num- 

 ber of others have followed suit, e.g., 

 Mugurugampola, Kirinidiwela, Handa- 

 pangoda, etc. 



The illustration published in the pre- 

 sent issue is of a garden at Balangoda 

 girls' school, where the head teacher, in 

 32 



spite of serious drawbacks, is showing 

 good work. The land on which the 

 school stands unfortunately does not 

 belong to the Crown, and hence many 

 difficulties have arisen. It is hoped, 

 however, that before long a Crown 

 site will be available. It is rather an 

 unusual sight to see Sinhalese girls 

 doing garden work under the supervision 

 of their teacher. The development of 

 school gardening in the direction of 

 girls' schools speaks well for the popu- 

 larity of the scheme, and presages a new 

 era in village life in Ceylon. 



C. D, 



