Mr. GRAHAM WHITEasked the Minister of Agriculture whether ho is aware that many allotments instituted by local authorities under the Cultivation of Lands Order, 1917, are now being taken over by these authorities under the recent Allotments Act; whether he is aware that this will involve the local authorities in considerable expense which, under present conditions, will arrest the development of the allotment movement; and will he therefore reconsider the decision to claim from local authorities credit balances arising from these allotments?
§ Sir R. SANDERS:The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As, however, local authorities will not be put to any additional expense in acquiring the land in question as compared with the acquisition of land which had not been previously used for allotments under the Cultivation of Lands Order, I am not prepared to reconsider the decision referred to in the last part of the question. The retention by local authorities of credit balances which are moneys of the Crown would amount in effect to a State subsidy in respect of allotments provided under the Allotments Acts, which is contrary to the intention of Parliament expressed so recently as last year in the Allotments Act, 1922.