TOWN AND COUNTRY

Grey River Argus, 22 November 1920, Page 4

TOWN AND COUNTRY

.O. THEIR IDENTITY OF INTERESTS. AND THEIE INTERDEPENDENCE. ■ Speaking in the House recently on the land question, Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., said: — Sir, the honourable member for Awarua talked about the producers, and seemed to think that the only producer is the worker on tho land. That is not correct. Every man wlio is en- j gaged in useful work in this country is a producer; it docs not matter whether it is the man working on tho lan.l, in the mine, on the wharf, or in tho office, if he is performing necessary work ho is contributing to the value of the product just as much as any other man in the community. Butter could have no value if it were produced on the farm and left there. Tt gets its social value by reason of the. fact that it is both produced and carried to the people who want it. Tlio railwaymcn , CONTRIBUTE THEIE SHARE to the value that is embodied in every pound of butter. The waterside workers and the miners contribute their share. Therefore it is not correct to describe one section only as producers. The hon. member for Awarua said "that the people in the cities lived on the labour of the people on the land. That is not a correct statement. It would be correct to say that there is an interdependence between the Avfiolo of the people in th'u town and country. The people of the towns could not possibly live unless the people on the land were working ,ancl the people on the land could nonfc possibly produce unless the people in fife towns were doing their share, unless the men in the mines were working. It is to thfc interest of th men who work on the land and tho men who work on the wharves and in the mines and all other industries to form A SOLIDARITY OF LABOUR throughout New Zealand, and in so doing to -recognise that what adversely affects one section of the ' workers adversely affects all of them. Every law p-aeed- on the Statute Book of Xcw Zealand which adversely affects the bonande working farmer Avill adversely nflfeet the f labouring man, the skilled tradesman, and every other class of worker in New Zealand. Tho converse of that 4s true also, and instead of continual prickings and antagonisms between the various sections our efforts ought to be devoted to bringing them into closer union. When 1 say the working farmer I do not mean the man avlio exploits the farmer. There can be NO IDENTITY OF INTERESTS between the workers of New Zealand and the man who exploits the fanner. Tho interests of the exploiter must always diametrically opposed to those of the bona /ide workers. I am afraid that we too often confuse the man who is engaged 'in wringing a surplus out of those who do the actual work with the producer. With a 'knowledge of the land and the conditions that belong to the working of it, I am prepared to s«y there arc few who wont nanier than the working farmers. The very •conditions of their employment" imiKo it so that it is impossible tor thorn not work hard. As a child I had my own experience in a rural district, and I knofw what it moans, and because 1 know what it means, and because 1 know I feel inclined to look deeply into the conditions which surround the man on the land. Personally, the labour member, and for that matter the average man who takes an interest in the Labour movement, is JUST AS MUCH CONCERNED about improving tho conditions of the man who is on tho land as he is about improving the conditions of any other worker, but he is not in favour of giving the man on tho land an opportu-' nity of exploiting the rest of the community. It is not to the interest of either the returned soldier or any other person in New Zealand that we should legislate to give him an opportunity of becoming a land exploiter. There is too much exploitation going on in connection with the land in New Zealand at the present time. What we want in this country ,and what is wanted in every other country ,is a land tenure that will be based on occupancy and use. If 1 had my way i would make it impossible for any one to occupy land unless ho used it. That would be a sound land policy. I would refuse to permit men to hold large tracts of A'aluable land for exploitation purposes.

Mr H. H. Smith, the motor man, returned from a business trip to Wellington on Saturday evening. Mr Smith, from has interview {with Wellington business men learns that they are looking for great possibilities from the Coast when the ■• line is comple-ed. Apart from the commercial aspects, the tourist traffic will, be enormous, taking into consideration ,the great scope it offers for game snooting, soch as mountain duck and pheasants, the sportsman's paracfise. Wellington people are also surprised to learn that most of our vegetables are supplied from Christchurch and Nelson. In conversation with an expert horticulturist, thie latter saw no reason why the climatic conditions of the Coast were not suitable for growing early vegetables such as green peas, asparagus fete. He considers that with the Application of a little scientific know- * ledge, there is no reason why the Coast' should not be self-supportingi in these matters,