The Hastings Standard Published Daily. SATURDAY, NOV. 28, 1896. THE FAT MAN.

Hastings Standard, Issue 183, 28 November 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

SATURDAY, NOV. 28, 1896. THE FAT MAN.

For the cause that lacks assistance, F<r the v.-ron«s that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

There ban developed, unfortunately, amongst a number of the candidates new seeking to enter Parliament, a disposition to stir up class hatred. The capitalist, the landed proprietor and the man with a large income have hurled at them the undignified term of " The Fat man." By this it is intended to imply that these individuals are objectionable to society, and the term, fat man, has been borrowed from the Anarchists and social scum of the old world. To the socialist who seeks to level down, the capitalist is especially ,abhorrent. lie stands in the way of his beiut'ful dream of equality. But the why politicians of New Zealand where, in comparison, the capitalist is a puny specimen, the landed proprietor a pigmy, and the man Avith a large income is a rarity, should use the degrading and unmerited term of " Fat man," except to play upon the susceptibilities of a class, passes comprehension. The man of means is as necessary in our small community as he is in the more congested centres of population. The capitalist and the labourer must work in harmony if there is to be material progress, and to denounce one merely to tickle the fancy of the other is indefensible even in politics where the widest latitude is permitted. The capitalist must exist and so must the laborer, and Parliament should see that the scales of justice are evenly balanced, that no undue advantage is gained by one or the other. To endeavor to suppress the capitalist is a waste of energy, lut to keep hiiu in bis proper place, to see tbat

he takes his full share of responsibility is the paramount duty of Parliament. There would be as much justification in seeking to suppress the labourer as the capitalist, but here again there would be waste energy. The labourer must take his fair share of responsibility, and it is the duty of the state as represented by Parliament to see that he takes his fair share of the burden and no more. The Fat man and the Lean man have their responsibilities, both are necessary in our modern life, and it is idiotic to attempt to wipe out one or the other. The fat man bogey should be dropped as quickly as hot potatoes. Encourage and induce the fat man to live in, and spend his money in the colony. Teach him to rely on fair dealing from Parliament, let him be assured that the results of his enterprises will not be confiscated, and let the same fair treatment be meted out to the labourer. New Zealand cannot prosper unless the capitalist and the labourers work together, conscious of security and fair and honorable treatment. It is madness then to upbraid one and mollycoddle the other.