FARMERS' POLITICAL PARTY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10661, 10 January 1911, Page 2

FARMERS' POLITICAL PARTY.

To the Editor. - Sir, —I notice that Mr D. Jones, of Waikato, and formerly of Templeton, has been appointed organser of what is intended to be a farmers' political party. Judging by the previous efforts of a very small minority of the members of the Farmers' Union, to "watch over the political interests" lie not so much ill the direction of endeavoring to bring about a betterment of things generally as to bring about the downfall of the present Ministry. These past efforts failed signally, and one would have reasonably surmised that seeing how political tendencies in a union of farmers wrought such a disastrous effecton their union that party politics would be eschewed for all time. Why is it that the * political element cannot become not a plank in the platform 01 the Farmers'. Union, but the whole of, the timber of the superstruoture ? I answer the question by saying that it is because the real farmers, the men who work their land, and are the true, backbone of the country, fail to see eye to eye with the capitalistic agitator. For myself I may candidly say that I do not like any form of government that adopts taxation as a means of raising revenue, but in a young country that requires developing taxes are necessary. "A wealth of stupendous reasoning in this," my capitalistic reader will say, but let me proceed. Taxes are necessary—to pay interest on the loans that are the direct means of creating capitalistic landowners. There's quite a number of these rich landowners (made rich at the country's expense) who are continually talking about what they have done for the country until they themselves believe that they have been helpers. Honestly they are poor deluded souls; they have done as_ little for the country as they could possibly help. Judge them by their own achievements; and what do we find? The unfortunate truth is revealed that the larger the landholder the worse farmer he becomes. BBs motto is not how much he can take off big land, but how much he can keep down his land tax by making as few improvements as possible. It's the tax that presses on the man who owns land he does not utilise to best advantage that is making a farmers' political -party necessary, so it is not much wonder that the real farmer, and the backbone of the country, did not: support , his Union when party politics of this baneful kind was endeavored. The present Ministry require no special pleader to laud their progressive land policy. It is sufficiently well known to the men it has put on the land, and. the small farmers do not readily forget. To endeavor to mould a farmers' political party out of the material available must* therefore end just as disastrously as did the effort to introduce politics into the Farmers' Union. A farmers - •political party, will, however, be. the means of creating a serious breach in the ranks of all whose interests lie in the country. It is satisfactory to note that the South Canterbury Executive of the Farmers' Union takes an intelligent view in opposing the proposal to take up party politics, foreseeing this grave danger of the proposal to form a. farmers' political party with the object of putting out a Ministry because it imposed a rather heavy tax on the. Aian who suffered from the- incurable disease of owning too much land that lie didn't know what to do with is on 'wrong lines altogether. It should _be formed for the one purpose of keeping such a Ministry in' power. "When its promoters get their party formed, they will see that it has the effect of strengthening rather than weakening the present Government. By the_ way I notice that the Dominion President of the Farmers' Union has given some land to the Agricultural Department for the purpose of carrying out agricultural experiments. It is to be hoped that all large landowners will be equally generous, if for no other purpose than to show how .much latent productiveness lies dormant in a soil that would be grateful to a degree were it but given the .opportunity, and by this demonstrate conclusively the number of men, women; and children who are being kept, off the land. —I am, etc., • SINCERITY.'