"STAKE IN THE COUNTRY"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21765, 3 April 1934, Page 12

"STAKE IN THE COUNTRY"

Sir, —Tn the controversy respecting the crash of Parliaments, the phrase "stake in the country" has been bandied about in a manner that may be misleading to some. For the sake of comparison and definition, I think it would be wise to call a'man's private property his stake "within" the country, and the roads, railways, and public amenities and utilities of all kinds his stake "in" the country. There are thousands of persons who have no private property, such as land and houses, som« because they cannot afford it, and others for the reason that it might prove an encumbrance upon their mobility of movement under certain conditions, but it were dangerous to give an impression that because a man has no stake "within" the country he therefore has none "in" the country. Every man, no matter how poor his circumstances, has a very considerable stake "in" the country, especially in a place like New Zealand, where the public facilities in relation to the population are probably greater than in any other country in the world, though to be sure this "stake" may also bo a heavy liability, according to the portion yet to be paid for. Nevertheless, every man's stake "in" the country, his share of the public facilities, and also the rights and liberties he enjoys, should never lie just taken for granted, but should be fully realised. Every person should have an awareness of his or her tangible and intangible stake "in" the country, tho preservation of which is worthy of great sacrifices by poor and rich alike. Indeed, the realisation and preservation of the stake "in" the country (public} is a "sine qua noil" for tho maintenance of the stake "within" (private) the country. Matamata. T. E. McMillan.