The Limits of Land Settlement The Carnegie Trustees having received
the report of their expert investigator, Mr. A. W. Menzies-Kitehin, on the subject of land settlement in this country, find. his conclusions adverse to the idea of any extensive land- settlement. Weight is added, therefore, to the arguments against the contention, advanced by Mr. Lloyd George and others, that hundreds of thousands of the unem- ployed could be put on the land to swell the increase in agricultural production. The whole of our national economy must be taken into consideration when planning such a policy, as well as the considerable expenditure necessary for large-scale land settlement. Such balance as exists today between this and Empire countries, Particularly, would have to be upset in order to ensure a livelihood for a greatly increased agricultural population. The problem of under-consumption—bringing with it. the evils following under-nourishment--remains, how- ever, and the researches now in progress into consump- tion and better methods of marketing should at any rate serve to bring a solution nearer. Meanwhile nearly a million allotments and about half a million acres of publicly-owned small holdings provide work and extra nourishment for a vast number of men who would otherwise be wholly unemployed. To this tested form of activity the Government is wisely confining its atten- tion, while the Carnegie Trustees propose to aid group settlements by granting £150,000 to be spread over the next five years.
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