§ 54. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can obtain figures showing the average cost, under the headings land, buildings and equipment, of settling an unemployed settler family on an agricultural holding in Palestine. England and Australia, giving in each case the area of land held to be essential to support the family?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Guinness)The cost of settling a man and his family on the land in this country varies so greatly with the character of the holding, whether the land is bought or leased, what new equipment has to be erected and similar factors, that any average figure would be very misleading. Moreover, an unemployed settler, besides being handicapped by want of knowledge, would require not only farming capital but also the means of subsistence until he could make a living off his holding, and these items of expenditure have not hitherto 1233 been met from public funds in this country. I am informed that similar considerations apply in Australia, where the cost of settlement varies largely with the particular State. I am unable to obtain any information in this country as to costs of settlement in Palestine.