THE OLD & THE NEW DEMOCRACY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1291, 26 November 1896, Page 23

THE OLD & THE NEW DEMOCRACY.

ANCIENT HISTORY REPEATED

[By an Old New Zealandee.]

It is often put forward by thinking' men and able writers that history repeats itself, and there can be but little doubt of that in its main features, or what may be placed* as parallel cases. In this case of the old and the new Democracy, I will endeavour to show that history is again repeating itself. Now, the old Democracy that existed iu ancient times, being of compai-atively short duration, might be said to have commenced from the time of the Israelites making their escape from their bondage under Pharoah, and in their march while being pursued by Plaroah's army. Now mark, our new democracy in New Zealand has just progressed to that stage which forms a parallel case to that of the children of Israel while being pursued. It will be noted that while escaping from bondage, and knowing their enemy were in pursuit, theirs would be a very anxious and weary march until they knew that their enemy was destroyed. Now the first stage of our new Democracy ' dates from the time when every man in New Zealand should have the right to vote in right of his manhood, thanks to that grand old statesman, Sir George Grey, who fought so persistently for the greatest liberty that can be conferred on man. Long will his memory live in the hearts of the struggling workers of New Zealand when they realise the fact that by his great forethought and energy he safely piloted through its intricate passages that law of manhood suffrage that gives us, the struggling workers, the means of our emancipation from that of the hired slave of the land monopolist to that of ease and freedom by the adoption of natural law. The next stage in our new Democracy dates from the return to Parliament of our present Government under the leadership of that great Liberal statesman, the late John JJallance, whose great heart yearned to relieve the suffering people from that yoke of bondage, the land monopolist. Under his leadership we find first the repeal of the property tax which was a direct tax on thrift and industry, and replaced by that grand natural law, the direct land tax; and then we find placed on the statutes of our country that great mark in the history of our new Democracy: the enfranchisement of women.

I must at this point somewhat diverge from, the text of the subject. Iu order to

show how this reform was taken up and supported by men who are directly opposed to natural law, and the enemies of Democracy. It was what may be called in military phrase, a flank movement on the part of the enemy to regain power. Their believing that the women's vote could be caught by the so-called elite, pandering to the struggling wives, mothers and sisters who have to struggle for their bread. It is by their pretended sympathy and vague flattery and the condecension of those who live in princely mansions, compared to the dwellings of ;he struggling toilers. It is just on the eve of an election when the enemies of Democracy will pose as the true friends of the people; when the candidate for Parliament, or his supporters, whose position in life is identical with his own, will call upon you at your houses, or chance to meet you in the street will greet you ! with a hearty shake hands, inquire feelingly as to your health and family. j But beware you are not deceived —as we i have it recorded in history of one who was betrayed by a kiss—that you are not mislead by the deceit of your enemies. See that you bear in mind that their pretended sympathy with you, or the mark of affection that you are greeted with, is simply the mark of affection to draw your sympathy with them, that they may have the power to keep the toilers struggling on. That they may receive the reward of your labours, the sweat of your bodies and out of your want and privations. They will become fat and strong, indulging in all the luxury that your labours and the earth can produce, and thus are you betrayed by the sign of sympathy or affection into the hands of those who will laugh at your tears, mock at your mental and bodily sufferings, and have no sympathy with your wasted bodies that have expended their strength in building up those princely mansions, and give into* the hands of the oppressors the land that works out your utter ruin. There is also another danger that might overtake our new Democracy by the return to power of its enemies, that is the return to the property qualification to vote instead of manhood and womanhood suffrage. This change could be carried on by them, and they could laugh at the disfranchised, and bind them in the tight grip of slavery, and we would be as helpless in their hands as the lamb that is led to be slaughtered. Now it will be noted that the old Democracy was endeavouring to make its escape from bondage and marching towards a promised land that was by Divine authority not to be alieniated from the people now that the land was to be held in common, which gave equal opportunity to all or that all should have the full advantage of all the natural elements of production. Then it can be said that the old Democracy was founded on such just and natural laws that our new Democracy might well aspire to. But wo have now two great dangers threatenine us. First, our enemies are in full force and hotly pursuing us; they are armed with the most powerful munitions of war and are determined to attack us at evergweak point. Their forces are organised; their spies are continually in our camp. Our defences are well known to them. Their munitions of war consist of the monopolies of our land; the individual control of our currency ; and with land and money monopolies they control the distribution of our food, our clothing, and all the great gifts of nature to man. They are the destroyers of body and soul and are seeking in their vengeance to defeat. Democracy, to again assume the power—to bind struggling humanity in the chains of slavery. The second danger lies with our leaders of the new/Democracy, whether they will turn a deaf ear to the Divine command that the land shall not be alieniated from the people, as this command was not intended only for that particular period, but to all time. Now, as every I structure must have a foundation, and the foundation of Democracy is the land and currency, then this foundation must be vigorously taken up by our leaders and passed on with all speed compatible with safety, as no democracy can stand that has no better foundation to rest on than the air. But by pressing- on the taxation of land, on unimproved values, to the amount of its value for use, or equal to the nationalisation of ground rente, and taking the control of the currency out of the hands of irresponsible banking companies the State assuming the full control of our currency—then, and not until then will the waters divide, and the new democracy will pass through triumphantly, and the waters will close in upon our enemies. They will be overwhelmed in their iniquity, and will no longer be able to wax fat and live in the surroundings of luxury, obtained at the cost and privation and bitter mental and bodily suffering of the struggling workers. It must not be assumed that Democracy aims at anarchy, or injury to any portion or class of people, but the reverse. It is justice to all, injustice to none. While those who monopolise nature's richest gifts to man are the deadly enemies to Democracy, the enemies of justice, the enemies that have dessroyed more lives by the monopoly of the fruits of the earth, at the cost of want, and perishing with cold and hunger, the number of lives that are lost or sent to a premature grave is countless ; and if a comparison be made of the lives that have been lost by war among the different nations of the earth, the numbers would be small indeed compared with those that have been lost through the vicious system of the monopoly of the earth and currency.