Optimisim.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 799, 9 February 1909, Page 2

Optimisim.

He hal the greatest possible con- j fidence in this grand country. They j talked of depression when they were exporting £20,000,000 of produce in the year. — Hon. T. Mackenzie. Tub Premier's voice is silent just now. an'l he will be forgotten, almost, by the people if he keeps lost much • longer in his seclusion at Rotorua. J But his happy optimism is being j voiced by the latest acquisition to the ' Cabinet, the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie. He celebrated his promotion to Cabinet rank by straightway getting into the wilds of the far southern f jiord- j land, far from the congratulatory crowd. When he at last came up to j breathe (at Dunedin), he began to | puff the Otago beauty spots as re- • sorts for tourist*. Coming on to ' Christchurch, he got quite a. bad attack of optimism. Probably he thought it was up to the Mackenzie clan to hold the fort of optimism for the Premier. The phrases quoted above indicate the quality of the re- ' cord. It sounds almost exactly as if the Premier himself had spoken. But j the Mackenzie — whose strongest trait is that of being a candid friend — j went further, and became the critic — i

He was satisfied that the men j who were at the helm of public af- j fairs would see that the finances of ! tlie dominion were carried on on sound economic lines. They knew the causes which led to the temporary depression which had been suppose-! to be in the air, although it \ was his own belief that such depres- j sions brought about a much sounder state of business than what un- _ bounded prosperity brought to a , community. A depression brought j people to their senses. Then the Minister for Trade and Commerce and Touring Traffic, who may | yet become Minister of Lands, ex- j pressed his opinion as an expert land : mathematician. He declares -thatcloser settlement on the land still ' stood out as one of the problems of . the present day. The solution was to get people into occupation of the land on such tenures and conditions as would suit the aspirations, ideals, and pockets of those who took up. the land, provided that too much land was not allowed to go to one indivi- ■ dual. When they had that, the coun- j try would have the population that ', would produce and bring national j wealth to the dominion, "because the great basis of a country's wealth came from the soil." This latter phrase is an aphorism that Ministers love to . roll under their tongues, like an epi- J cure with a sweet morsel. Closer set- j tlement and more people ! That's the question of the day for New Zealand. Given land such as surrounds Feilding, capable of carrying cattle 'and people, rather than continuing as sheep runs, the Government should acquire and utilise it. Come up here, Mr Mackenzie, and you will find your estimate right and your optimism will find the means of being justified under a vigorous policy of settlement.