C.—9.

GENERAL REVIEW. Discharged Soldiers Settlement Account. Loans authorized during the year number 574, involving a total amount of £59,028, as follows:—

Cash receipts for the year have risen by £122,882. The comparative figures of cash receipts on Capital and Revenue Accounts for the last five years are : — 1930-31. 1931-32. 1932-33. 1933-34. 1934-35. £ £ £ £ £ Capital .. 749,090 668,396 625,316 788,757 877,113 Revenue .. 604,988 527,436 488,048 525,578 560,104 1,354,078 1,195,832 1,113,364 1,314,335 1,437,217 LANDS PROCLAIMED. The lands set apart for selection by discharged soldiers during the year totalled 3,857 acres, making a grand total of 1,452,525 acres proclaimed since the inception of the scheme. This large area is made up as follows : — Class of Land. Area. Acres. Ordinary Crown lands .. . . . . . . . . 613,093 Land-for-settlements land .. .. .. .. 402,544 National-endowment land .. .. .. .. 433,532 Cheviot Estate land .. .. .. .. .. 3,356 1,452,525 Proclamations have been issued revoking the setting-apart of 237,733 acres of Crown and nationalendowment land and 103,790 acres of land-for-settlements land. APPLICATIONS FOR LAND. Applications for land under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act, 1915, to the number of eight were received during the year. The following table gives the number of applications and the area allotted for each year from the inception of the soldier-settlement scheme :—

2

New Loans. Additional Loans. Number. Amount. Number, j Amount. £ £ Advances on current account .. .. .. 4 1,110 276 42,814 Advances on farms .. .. .. .. 1 100 5 1,456 Advances on dwellings .. .. .. .. 2 1,300 286 12,248 7 2,510 567 56,518

. , ■ Allotments made. Year ending Applications ° received. AT , . .. JNumber. Area (Acres). 31st March, 1916 .. .. .. .. 272 2 629 1917 522 319 143,524 1918 .. .. .. .. 513 313 103,362 1919 1,379 348 117,018 1920 .. .. .. .. 5,041 932 403,891 1921 .. 5,396 1,087 414,867 1922 .. .. .. .. 878 403 97.972 1923 .. .. .. .. 284 146 25,113 1924 .. .. .. .. 216 79 16,910 1925 .. .. .. .. 123 47 9,014 1926 .. .. .. .. 109 86 20,500 1927 .. .. .. .. 78 66 17,412 1928 .. .. .. .. 96 60 15,695 1929 .. .. .. .. 90 77 13,275 1930 .. .. .. .. 63 53 16,665 1931 .. .. .. .. 41 31 8,495 1932 .. .. .. .. 22 16 4,215 ,, 1933 .. .. .. .. 12 6 4,133 1934 .. .. .. .. 10 8 1,536 1935 .. .. .. .. 8 7 2,954 Totals for twenty years .. .. 15,153 4,086 1,437,180