HARDY'S HYSTERICAL HOWL.

NZ Truth, Issue 106, 29 June 1907, Page 5

HARDY'S HYSTERICAL HOWL.

THE SQUEAL OF AN ESTATE AGENT.

Pity the Poor Farmer.

Of Two Liars Choose the Tourist.

In the past when the silly tourist has been button-holed by some daily paper reporter and heaved oft his hairless chest the ancient wheezes of progress, prosperity, sobriety and absence of crime, ,so marked m our picturesque and Chow-ridden country, thus paper has had. the temerity— in propah circles it is dubbed impudence—to prove those silly tourists all sorts and sizes of liars, and the coiise-qiuence has teen that the tourist, ere ho ventures to opine on anything m this country, reads facts and- studies figures and finds out for himself that New Zealand is no better and no worse than any other country. There is another kind, of twister of facts and figures, who occasionally rushes 'into print, and a SAMPLE OF THE SQUEALER to which reference is made, a few months ago, found its way into the columns of several newspapers m Scotland. Two papers can be menr tioaied, "The Greenock Telegraph," of April 30, and the "People's Journal," of Dundee, of . May 4, and the Lord alone -knows how many more papers t>here, ; 7'are ,m Scotland that haw not hadv)sts editorial legs pulled by one individual subscribing himself "A. R. Hardy, of Dunedin. >' Under the heading of "New Zealand— a Warning," Hardiy's howl is thus published :— Sir,— l wish to bring under your notice the importation of wiiite slaves into New Zealand. There is no work m New Zealand for. any more people at the present time. Hundreds of people cannot get employment, and as for the fruit m the \King country there is no market for same- The railage and freight (take away all the profit. I know of several instances that have come under my notice as an agent. In one case a farmer sent 160/ bags of potatoes from a country district. He had to c a rt them seven, miles to the nearest' station, pay rail charges and commission; and the only return he got was £1 (which did not pay for the seed), while I 'GOULD NOT ASK ANY COMMISSION. Fruit m ithe Country district near Dunedin is -left to rot on the trees, as it would* not pay to send by rail, the charges being too nigh. If you allow the people to come to New Zealand they will be stranded. Hundreds would go back ii they had the money. This is not a country for people to pome to unless they have £300, or moid- By the time they logic around and get a place, plant it, and r>eap the harvest, it would take double the money befpre it was their own. I. warn any one coming to New Zealand, if they do come, they will want to return before long. The New Zealand Go- ' vernment only bring out people to lessen the burden of the present population. The debt of New Zea- ■ land is over £55,000,000, and the population, about 925,000. I -am a house, land, and labor, agent, and I cannot see the people gulled- by coming to thi£ colony. It is not for my benefit to write against this, but I do so for the sake of humanity. Everybody knows, of course, that just at present New Zealand, Canada, and the various States of the Australian Commonwealth . are endeavoring to snare the. desirable immigrant by extensively . canvassing the United Ktingdom and • booming their various resources, natural and otherwise. Moreover, too,, everybody is well aware that Canada is leaving New Zealand and Australia badly m the lurch. Therefore, when we find that m one of the newspapers mentioned that Hardy's \tarradiddles about New Zealand are published above other letters sett/ing forth m glowing terms the sort of country some of the Australian States and parts of Canada are for the emigrant, it looks very muoh as if it is a cute advertising dodge on the (part of som© "foreign" country's paid agent. Indeed, the Hardy man seems to be a very blad kind of lLar, because he says the King Country is no good for fruit, and anybody who knows anything of the King country will be hardly surprised at that ; but ' the idea of anybody m. Dunedin, of all places m the world, leaving fruit on, the trees to rot is something nobody m New Zealand is likely to place credence on. But when we come to the potato question the identity of the Hardy person becomes all the more obscure. In the first place he says he is a house, land and labor agent, and one who cannot see people gulled by coming out to this colony. Now, IF EVER A CURSE EXISTED m New Zealand it is the house, land a-nd labor agent. He is generally the commission agent, the middle-man, who robs both the Producer and the consumer. 'It would therefore, be interesting to know who the farmer is who sent 160 hags of potatoes from a ■ country district whose only return was £1, and from whom Mr Hardy could not ask any commission. As if house, land, labor and agents are built that way. Naturally enough, if new arrivals m this colony have not . £300 or more, they are no earthly use whatever to the house and land shark. Of the debt of the colony and the other vile misrepresentation m his letter "Truth" will not deal, because facts and figures speak for themselves. It is a pretty low down trick for this land and estate shark \to play on those he lives o». He is practically BLACKGUARDING THOSE HE BLEEDS, a»d if Hardy exists, which is really a matter of doubt, then he ought to stand forward and state his grievances openly and not rush away i,o Scottish papers, hoping, of course, that they will never reach New Zealand. Hardy, 'if he exists, is a choice specimen of the twister of truth who croaks from within. What with the tourist boominsr us for what we are not, and croakers _of the Hardy sort blackguarding; us for something that is not real, poor New Zealand is having a rotten time I of it^ • • / v • -■