THE GOVERNMENT AND FARMERS

Southland Times, Issue 23544, 25 June 1938, Page 9

THE GOVERNMENT AND FARMERS

To The Editor

Sir,—The late Mr William Massey made a statement that each child reared to the age of 21 was worth £3OO to the Dominion. Large families were quite common in the early, days, and it was no easy matter to find money for their education or to establish a banking account. Quite a number ox military and professional college students came out to New Zealand m the fifties and sixties .with large sums of money (which at that time was much needed in New Zealand) but had little or no experience in breeding epttie, sheep, pigs and so on, although they had, beautiful homes and gardens—which generally did not help to buud up a bank account. Naturally a number of these pioneers lost their properties to, in some cases, their own shepherds, and workmen who had acquired colonial experience. These pioneers had to take work as clerks, station masters, Crown rangers and so on, but later on they were put off for young men at 30/- a week and you can imagine they were in for a bad time. Why ? Because they had not the present humanitarian and progressive Government to aid them after they had spent their money and physical energy which was a great help to New Zealand at that time. My father was one of these unfortunate Military College students who was responsible for £20,000 of English money being spent in New Zealand, with the exception of £3OOO which still remains as a trust fund. Speaking from my own experience, I now come from the sixties to 1921, when a slump came, especially in butterfat, cows and dry cattle. Sixteen settlers had to throw up their farms. The location of these places was practically in a circle from Scotts Gap, Merrival,e Orawia, Tuatapere, Orepuki, and down to Thornbury. Some of these settlers lost, up to £7OOO. Butterfat, I think, dropped from 2/3 per lb to 9d per lb. Cows bought for £2O were sold for £5. Financial institutions threw the full weight of that slump on to the struggling small settlers. They pushed the price of cows up to. a ridiculous figure to clear their liabilities with clients who had evidently got into them heavily. They advised their clients (small struggling settlers) to buy these cows (old in many cases) up to £25. We had no humanitarian and progressive Government with a guaranteed price for butterfat in power, so the result was fatal to a number who came to Invercargill and joined the ranks of the unemployed. I believe in moderation, but I must mention two extreme cases of financial policymisers and spendthrifts. Misers may collect hugh sums of money by dishonest or doubtful methods, while for the spendthrift, if he spends his money on his wife and family in New Zealand, all is well if we have a humanitarian and progressive Government. I have voted for tory, Reform and National governments all my life, but I have made up my mind to vote for the ruling Government. I have watched it carefully and I consider that, for. what it has done, it must win.—Yours, etc., OLD IDENTITY. June 23, 1938.