THE GOVERNMENT AND WASTE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18925, 14 February 1927, Page 10

THE GOVERNMENT AND WASTE.

TO TOT EDITOR , or THE FBMS. Sir—This oountry Is arable of carrying about 10 million people, and at preserit it is not carrying a million and a half; therefore, that million and a half should bo exceedingly well off. This we know is not the ca«e, and judging by your columns recently* people are seriously trying to find out the causes and the remedies. The causes are not so difficult to see, but human nature (the unalterable) being what it is, the remedies are not so easy to carry out. Your correspondent "Small Farmer" said a very true thing when he said wo were trying to sell a day's work at too high a price. . This undoubtedly haa a great deal to do with it, but why, when wo should be so rich, cannot we afford to pay a very high wage for. a dajy's workP Since the memory of living people, our rulers have been selected l)v popular vote; therefore, to get selected, our rulers have had to make themselves popular, and to make themselves popular they! (successive Governments) have had to promise the people nil sorts of nice things, and to give the people all sorts of nice things. They have had to have money, and this money they have got from the people by taxation (mostlv in tariffs) and this money they have spent on the people in trying to enrry out their promises. But (and here is the cause of the trouble, nnd I see little hope of remedying it) between the time the monfcy is taken from the people and given back to the people again in carrying out the promises, a groat deal of it is wasted, utid that is the cause of most of our troubles. Throughout the world, elected Governments waste money. They cannot help it while human nature is what it is, and they will continue to waste it. Therefore, tho less money tljev takd from the people the less they will have to waste, and the better off the people will be financially. Cost of government is far too hijtn. We are a most law-abiding community, probably the most law-abiding community in the world. Our soldiers were certainly the best behaved in the Great War of anr and yet we have more rules and. regulations around us than any civilised country twice our age. We have, of course, to pay our war debts, but our defence expenses are not high, and there is no reason whv we should be hard up. The remedies are easy to sec, but almost impossible to achieve. There are 80 talk merchants in our House of Representatives. All but eleven aside and an umpire would do more good at some other occupation, but who is going to make them go home and do some more useful work? I see Cliristchurch City costs three hundred thousand pounds a year to run, and what do you get for the money? A very indifferent tram service as far as one can see, though I must say it is by far the nicest City Of the three (Auckland. Wellington, and Cliristchurch) and the other two are apparently in worse plight. I hope no one wilt try and dispute the fact that there is great waste in Government service, for if they do, God help them. —Yours, etc.. VERY SMALL FARMER.

P.S—ln writing of the Garden City of New Zealand, I forgot to mention the host of uniformed traffic officials housed in a palace who try and enforce the stupidest (quite the stupidest) set of rules and regulations ever created by the mind of man.