HOW-NOT-TO-DO-IT

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 38, 15 February 1919, Page 4

HOW-NOT-TO-DO-IT

The political insincerity that has helped so greatly to promote revolutionary propaganda is well exampled by the history of land aggregation during the last seven or eight years. At the beginning of that period aggregation already existed to such an extent that the Evening Post. paid special attention to the matter. Its facts, as well as its opinions, were challenged; everything was done in Governmental circles to deny that aggregation was in progress, or alternatively to belittle the scope and effect of it. At last, when some of the facts could no longer be concealed, prohibitory laws were passed which did not prohibit, and which, as this paper pointed out at the time, could not pqssibly prohibit when administered by an unsympathetic Administration. In short, the so-called antiaggregation policy of the Government during the last seven or eight years has been a splendid example of political camouflage, of the art of how-not-to-do-it. To-day, even in agrarian circles, the facts are no longer disputed. Indeed, they have even alarmed agriculturists themselves, and have wrupg a notable admission" from the present Minister of Lands. To this chorus of condemnation the Wairarapa Patriotic Association has now added its contribution; and at the gjime time a report comes to us from the South, on good authority, of a case of Government subdivision and re-aggrega-tion proceeding side by side, in which, it is alleged, the Government money aided the re-aggregator. We are not in a position to prove this statement, btit enough has been proved to show that the pre-war Government failed in its .duty. The question now is: How long will Ministers have the hardihood to tolerate the situation? And how -long will the country have the hardihood to submit to the responsible persons?