IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 304, 23 December 1932, Page 6

IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

FARMERS 'AND LIBERALISM.

MR. WILKINSON'S SCHEME. . (To the Editor.) Mr. Wilkinson, M.P., suggests wholesale repudiation of farm mortgages. Does Ihe realise what he is talking about? Are people who have advanced several hundred millions to be deliberately defrauded and ruined? He should become a disciple of Mr. J. T. Lang in Australia. There are £325,000,000 land mortgages on which the annual total of interest is (approximately) £19,500,000. Now we •had a farmers' Government from 1853 to 1890 which made a mess of tilings then. Since 1912 we have had a farmers' Government which supported wholly the old farmers' policy of land inflation, speculation and economic ruination, creating in the last 20 years of their administration £231,000,000 of fresh increased land mortgages. Their organisers adopted methods to destroy .Liberalism which were unparalleled in Dominion party politics and are now reaping the harvest of their unethical conduct. The whole of the farmeis difficulties lie in reckless land speculation and inflation. Out of the 80,000 farmers 60,000 have never paid land tax, being exempt, and have practically paid no income tax; yet withal, we find a farmer writing in your columns that' the majority of the farmers are the most secure people in New Zealand. As a member of the Seddon Liberal party, I think our method is the only just method of dealing with land mortgages, and it avoids Mr.'Wilkinson's wholesale ruinous repudiation. We propose to value all land at once on which mortgages exist and bring down the amount of these mortgages to three-fifths of the new valuation. Interest is to be reduced all round to 5 per cent. This will give land owners an estimated saving in interest of about £10,000,000 per annum and will enable the landowners, if we ever are able to get out of the mess the "Peasant's" Government has got us into, to carry on successfully after the corner is turned. This method will reduce local (body rates from £0,000,000 to £4,000,000 per annum and stop the reckless extravagance of local body administrators who have taken advantage of inflated land values to pile up rates to what was nearly the rental value when the Liberals handed over the Government to the farmers in 1911. The reduction of bank interest and all other interest" and reconversion of State loans at 3 per cent or 3& per cent will, we estimate, bring down our national interest bill, at present £45,500,000, to £20,000,000. We propose to have no further nonsense about land settlement and to sternly handle the 20,000;000 acres of land held and not used by putting 25,000 new settlers on to a portion of these fands, which can be done, as the Liberals did under similar conditions after 1890. T. S. HICKEY.

IRISH SERVICES.

Under the above heading in the "Star" of December 21 the following cable appeared: "A Supplementary Estimate of £3,410,955 for Irish Free State services, was carried in the House of Commons to-day iby 180 votes to 26. Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, Parliamentary Secretary for Dominion Affairs, said the grant was necessary owing to the fall in revenue yielded by duties on Irish goods." This is' a prophecy borne out to the letter. When both Governments were panic-stricken they rushed to tariffs and reprisals. During the discussion in the British House of Commons on the proposed tariff on Irish exports to Britain the Government received many warnings. Mr. Joseph Devlin particularly warned it. He said, "Your proposed tariff will fall' far short of the estimate for which you now Budget. Mr. de Valera will place a tariff on British exports to Ireland, and between the two Governments the result will be a bankruptcy in statesmanship." A way out, not by tariff war, must be found. JUSTITIA.

THE DALLIMORE MISSION;

Some criticism lias been directed against Mr. Cutten for his support of Mr. Dallimore, especially in view of the finding of the committee of inquiry. As I understand it, Mr. Cutten based his support mainly -on the fact that in his opinion Mr. Dallimore had done wonderful good in the community and liad brought God to many thousands of people. That opinion may not be shared by all, but many people whom I have always regarded as exceptionally sane and well balanced have told me the same thing. If there is reason to believe that good has 'been done> and a magistrate should be in a position to judge whether this is so or not, then there is no reason, why a magistrate, or anyone else for that matter, should not say so. It is a question of evidence. We may or may not like the manner in which the word of God is presented, but we must beware of denying the power of God because it is presented by those who follow not with lis. If Mr. Cutten had evidence of God being brought to many thousands of people through Mr. Dallimore's mission, then it was clearly his duty to say so, both in the interests of religion and of morality. ANGLICAN.

SEDDON TO-DAY.

Someone has asked what Mr. Seddon would have lie had lived and been in power to-day. jlany people did not agree with M r * Scddon's policy, but no one will denv his intense humanitarianism. I remember listening to his address in the Drill Hall about a quarter of a century ago, and when speaking of industrial legislation he said, "If an industry is of such a nature that it cannot provide the men and women engaged in it with the means to support them in comfort and decenej, then perish such an industry." The gift personal magnetism and leadership enabled him to restrain the influence of sectional interests. He might not have been able to avoid the effect of inflation or the burden of usury, which is world wid% but he would not have consented to the present system of flat-rate "cuts" and levy without regard to family dependents or conditions of the individual. It is probable that, to meet the national emergency he would have ordered a census to be taken, and adopted a policy of graduated tax on individual incomes with a rational classification of the sources of all incomes and | remissions 011 those derived from personal effort or enterprise in providing essential commodities, services and amenities. FORREST BROWN*

EFFECT OF MUSIC

Wake up, Auckland, you are too dead, could not help noticing on Tuesday morning the difference in the looks of the people and their gait when the Australian Boys' Band was marching and playing up Queen Street. "Music hath its charms." At this time of the year it behoves everyone to forget the past and away with dull care. It occurred to me that if the Retailers' Association would arrange for a band to play light airs about the main streets they would be doing themselves a good turn, and likewise brighten the lives of others. J. WOODALL.

UNCARED FOR DOGS.

Will you kindly ask the general public through your columns to see that we have water to drink this 'hot Christmas weather, and oblige AX UXCARBD FOJEL-DOOI