LAND AND LABOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume X, Issue 2921, 25 August 1879, Page 3

LAND AND LABOUR.

Sir Geokge Grey, iv his address to the Liberal Association of Wellington, said, " Let me utter words to you to-night which no political economist has ever uttered, and which I believe men have been afraid to utter, because they have seen the state of things I refer to. I ask you to admit whether these words are true or not, and to ponder them over in your minds. I say with regard to these two great sources of capital—we first of all hUvo the earth to deal with—the earth, dumb, insensible, without passions, without hopes, without fears, senseless absolutely. That great senseless mass has been for years the care of judges ; has been for years the care of legislators ; has been for years the care of those who. love to possess it aud keep other men front-it.. Jt is admitted that for the last three; hundred, years .decisions of otfr judges have gone against their fellow men and to ai_ip thepoWer of the earth to thefew men who always" manage to grasp it in" their hands (Cheers). .Now turn to the other great> source of capital. Millions of human beings; wifh passions—millions ■of immdrtat beings with „ appetites, with hopes— apable |*o£i feeling deep sorrow, deep c isery—capable of feeling that life and hopes are no use to them—capable of feeling that by the hardness of their lot here they can hardly work to obtain immortality afterwards—knowing that they are the'progenitors of immortal beings themselves ; and feeling that they have no poWer to bring up the children entrusted to them by providence in the mannerthey would like on account of their poverty., I say, for hundreds of years these millions of human .beings, their cares, thoir necessities, tlieir sorrows, their sull'erings, have been absolutely neglected in comparison to keeping in possession of this dumb being, the earth, some few men, and to shutting all the ethers out. (Cheers). I see achangehascomeabout. The question in times past has been this—How to apply human labour in such a manner to the earth sO as to enrioh the few who possess it. That has been the thought in past years. In times to come our thought must be this : How to uso the earth so that the other element that creates capital, human beings, shall be . considered iustead of the earth upou vfhich they stand. (Cheers.) Now, I do firmly believe in my heait that those who put out these delusive proposals to you have neveV thought of that question. It is the one great question for us to solve at the present day. . Use the earth for the happiness of mankind; not use mankind to labour upon the earth and to enrich the few. This is the point to which our attention should be directed ; and I feel certain that unless you do gain Liberal institutions of the kind which will enable you to scud to Parliament those men whom you believe capable of carrying out views of this nature— I soy, I firmly iv my heart believe that in New Zealand will beset up oppression greater thaii ever hasprevailedin Great Britain. (Cheers.)