Hawke's Ban Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1890. "THRIFT IS BOSIL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 8789, 4 October 1890, Page 2

Hawke's Ban Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1890. "THRIFT IS BOSIL.

In the debate between Messrs Uyndman and IJradlaugh on the eight hours question, the latter pointed out that if a man's working hours were limited by law, the thrifty man who desired to see bis children b^Mer clothed and fed, or to make provision for his family after his death, would be prevented front carrying out bis laudable desires. " Thrift h boah," called #ut o^e of hiH ppponents. That' man spoke for hjmsell and .tens of thousands of Others. They are /<?i;;?4 ia every .community, under different names. j[n one country they are styled Anarchists, in aaotiicr Koeialjaw, and in a third advanced lladitala. I'oaseaEcil V>y tUe ftpir't of unreal, and discontented with their lot, they support the wildcat schemes of legislative interference with trade and com merco. They want to make all men rich by Act of Parliament, and are deaf to reasonable argument. To such men Wjy?pi/£ i? bosh." The mere fact that a nejghbojr, );y f-li.rj.pt, hip ORcamalated property while they, by Wieners and tfiriftfessness, have grown poqrer, is ajj offence fn Uioir eyes, am} iHstea4 of imitating his thrift, ai)4 ratslng tjjonv selves to his level, they would pass laws which would drag thrifty men dawn to their levfl!. Iv Ji« w Zealand the game spirit is abroad. In more ?r IS9B tl)in /q^s^utscs tho robbery of the thrifty i<i n<tyoeaie.<J. Bit lioberfc Stout may euphoniously designate it ''the eypropviation of largo estates," Sir Ballance may call it graduated taxation, or their followers may speak more plainly of a "burating-up" tax, but all mean the same thing. It is, in its essence, an instigation to the many to use their power to rob the few. "Thrift is boah " might well be chosen as their motto, for that is

their teaching. They are themselves weak-headed enough to believe that the State can do everything for a man, or wicked enough to pretend to that belief in order to catch votes at on election.

They speak as il the wealthier among us had gained Jbeir wealth by robbing the people. But, in nine cases out of ten in New Zealand, those who are now well-to-do came here with their braina and their muscle as their sole capital, but, instead of squandering on drink or pleasure their surplus earnings, they saved nil they could aud judiciously invested it. As Mr G. Heslop well pnfc it nfc a meeting in Napier the other Jay, the capital of those now well-off is »ir u ply storedup labor. They were thrifty. Those who worked alongside them, and had equal chances, i but who thought that " thrift is bosh," are still poor, and some of them are inmates of refuges and cbaritab'c institutions. The few stored up their surplus labor ; the others spent it on passing pleasures. Late comers to New Zealand are apt to think that the early settlers had much better chances of succeeding. Those whowerehere iv tUeearlydayskuowotherwise. Land was then, aheap, but there were no railways, or even roads, all stock was dear, and the country settiet9 literally carried their lives in their hands. Swimming flooded rivers, lying night after night in the wet and cold with a single blanket for protection, living when at home in slab whares, never knowing when a Maori war might snUject themselves and their families to the mercies of infuriated savages — these and other hardships were the lot of the pioneers. Slowly, very slowly indeed at first, their tlocks and herds increased, and those who managed to pull throng!) mow iuid themselves with comfortable fortunes. But the majority, after enduring for yenrs hardships unknown to the new generation, went to the wall, and passed out of memory, disappointed and broken-hearted men. Those who succeeded them — comparatively late comers — reaped the fmita of the pioneers' energy and hard work. Distance may lend enchantment to the scene, bat those who were actors iv it know there was little enchantment to them. Step by step they reclaimed the wilderness, ai)d in so doing made New Zealand what is is, and they feel bo little bitterness when those whose motto is " Thrift is bosh " propose to tax tkem out of existence, .and to confiscate thair hardly-earned wealth. A universal belief iv •• Thrift is bosh " would in a few years ruia the finest country under the sun. Take a\Yay the reward of individual effort, and no one will pat forth effort. Instead of the masses rising, they would fall, as the incentive to employ labor would be destroyed, fnstead of building up a fabric of prosperity, it would destroy prosperity. Men cannofc he made rich by Act »f Parliament, but they can be ruined by unwise legislation and extravagant government. That State is wisest which, by equal laws, gives eqnal chances to nil, encourages individual effort, and guarantees to each the quiet ep[|oyiuenfc of that he legitimately earns. Without that thrift would, indeed, be bosh.