Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1893. THE POSSIBLE AND THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9538, 25 November 1893, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1893. THE POSSIBLE AND THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Dr. Innes at the W omen's Leagne meeting on Thursday evening very neatly defined the difference between the two political parties in New Zealand. That arrogating to itself the title of Liberal would have State interference in every department of life, That which is dubbed Tory would leave more to individual acihn. To pub it in a nutshell, the iirst is strictly Socialistic and the latter in favor of liberty. Dr. Innes would not identify himself with either, thinking that one aimed at tho impossible, while the other did not go far enough. Mr Cornfotd was not so guarded. In his really eloquent, but idealistic and unpractical address, he went so far as to say the State might regulate wages, and he was applauded to tbe echo. The State did once do that, and also said what people should wear, to the extent of limitiog tbe length of boob toes, but tbe

people gradually emancipated themselves from such thraldom. No .v ib is proposed to put the clock back half-a-dozen centuries, It may be said, and it is very true, that in the days we have referred to what may be called the classes governed, and the masses had no voice in makia? the laws, while now the masses govern and the voice of the classes is drewned. Bnt it does not follow that the legislation of the masses will be wiser than that of the classes, Lee us grant, for tbe sake of argument, tbab in the Middle Ages the regulation of wages waa in the direction of keeping them down, while to day it would be ia the direction of putting them up. Well, what would be the result? Let us state an extreme case s.s an illustration. Sup"

pose an Act of Parliament were passed

declaring that no laborer should receive less than £1 per d.iy of eight hours. The effect would be to stifle nearly all lv-

dastry. Agriculture would be knocked an the head, all improvements In land would cease, and the chief producing industries would be paralysed, Three oub of fonr men now employed would be thrown out of work. The towns would suffer as much as tbe country. The Pro-

tectionist might here come in with hie

nostrum, and declare that to keep out Ihe goods of lower paid labor prohibitive duties should be imposed. That would but make matters worse. It might stop

boots and woollen goods being imported, but it could not keep up the prices ot grain and wool, which depend on foreign markets. The towns depend for everything upon the country, The ruin of tli3 country would involve that of the towns, The people out of work wou'd nob be purchasers of factory products, and those in work would be so heavily taxed to keep those out of woik that) their spending power would be reduced to a minimum. BreadstufFaand meit might be cheap, but everything else would be at famine piices. Certainly the wicked people who had settled on tbe land would be ruined, but that would nob benefit others, but would involve all in the common rnin.

Economic laws may be denounced as cold-blooded, but they are Nature's laws, and cannot be defied with impunity. The waves of the ocean are cruel when they batter a ship to pieces and drown passengers and crew, but no Act of Parliament can contiol the waves. It is the same with economic laws. The regulation of wages is one of those things defined by Dr. Innes as impossibilities. We do not suppose that any Parliament won Id be mad enough tn enact a law that laborers should not get less than £1 a day. The absurdity of ib must be self-evident to anyone wilh more brain capacity than a domestio fowl. But we have bnt stated an extreme case. If wages were fixed at 10s a day the result) would not be quite so dis astrous, bnt it would be so in degree. Any interference with the law of supply and demand must work against the laborer, in limiting the field of employment. The true policy of the workers is not to trammel enterprise, bub to encourage it, and so enlarge the field of employment. That would cause a demand for labor, and competition for labor means higher wages.

Every worker knows that work Is now harder to get, and wages are generally lower, than three or four years ago. Even wbere the actual rate of pay is not less tbere are only foar days' work to be had where there were six before, This is very largely—we do not say entirely, for we wish to avoid anytsing like exaggeration—due to the threats againßt capital which aie the chief stock-in-trade of the party at present in power. For« raerly the batiks bad millions lent in New Zealand. Most of the money borrowed went in the employment of labor, Things were brhk for the working man theß. He could take his pick of employers at high wages, We do not say that the borrowers were always wise. Bat at all eveDt? their expenditure made things good for labor. Now the reverse is the case. Money is accumulating in the banks, and something like a million sterling a year is belne; put by. Yet work is scarce, despite the absorption of IJOOO

mr,n lv co operative worlts, who arc maintained by taxation levied on the rest of the people, Every wage earner in Napier has to pay his quota to keep these men on works which are for the most part not reproductive. If, instead of being stored In the banks, ready for removal, that money had been spent in employing lahor, things would have worn a different aspect. Why has it b?en so sored ? If anyone can give any reason byond bho Socialistic trend of legislation wo should like to boar

Ib, It is nob what has been actually done, so tnnch as what is threatened, that has created this mistrust of the future and

limited the demand for labor. If the present Government ore returned to power again that mistrust will be deepened, and we shudder to tblak of next winter. If, on the contrary, they are sent to the right-about by a sub" stautial nmjirity, that will be a firs'; step

in the restoration of coDfidenca Wo do not say that there will at once be a wave of prosperity. That would be descending

to the buncombe we condemn in others. Confidence, once shaken, takes time to recover. When thn tido has ebbed, ib does nob reach Bold in five minute?. There is a short period ot rest, then the waters flow slowly, gradually gathering

faster until flood is reached. I» must be so with ns in New Zealand. It is for the electors to say whether the flaw of confidence and consequent prosperity shall bo retarded or assisted. To strive after economic absurdities will be to retard it. To descend to that common sense in politics which people generally import into their private affairs will assist it. That is what has to ba deoided at the polliDg-booths on Tuesday,