THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1914. WORKERS AND THE LAND.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13391, 12 February 1914, Page 4

THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1914. WORKERS AND THE LAND.

Commenting editorially on the interesting letter over the norn de plume of "Index" which we published the other day, and which has also appeared in its own columns, the "Lyttelton Times" emphasises the writer's appeal to trade unionists to turn their attention to%irds rectifying the defect in the distribution of our . population noted by the Dominions Royal Commission in Lthe following words:—"ln Australia

land New Zealand ... the propor-

tion of the population engaged in pastoral and agricultural pursuits is smaller than in the United States and many European countries, and the town population is excessive." It was observed by "Index" that the unlocking of the jland and drafting thereto the surplus 'population of the cities "is of far greater importance to unionists than striving after increases in wagee which are automatically "passed on", and swallowed up in the increased cost of living. The "Lyttelton Times" says the appeal deserves a wider audience than the one to which it is addressed. The land question is of more consequence to the workers than it is to any other section of the community, but it is of consequence to every man, woman and child in the country. "Hitherto," our contemporary continues, "both the main political parties have shown a disposition to regard it as the concern of only a mere handful of the people—of the few thousands .who are already on the land and of the few hundreds who have some hope of getting there. The Reformers frankly legislate for this small minority. They have talked of providing twenty-five acre blocks of poor kauri land for people who want to engage in fruit-growing in the Far North, but oven this uninviting scheme seems to have been abandoned sineo they discovered there still were one or two million acres of Native land out of the hands of the speculators. The Liberals, of course, did much better. They at least made an effort Jto give the small man and the poor man an opportunity to get on the land. But even the Liberals hesitated to go the whole length of their conviction. When they acquired large estates under the Land for Settlements Act they subdivided them into sheep farms and made little or no provision for the agricultural labourer and the earth-hun-gry townsman." The "Lyttelton Times" goes on to say that in this respect, and indeed in several other respects, the Hon. William Rolleston. proved himself the most progressive o£ all the land reformers. Perhaps his tillage settlements were a little in advance of the times, but they expressed an idea that would be capable of enormous development in these days. But where the assistance of the workers is particularly, needed at the present time is in insisting upon the imposition of such a graduated tax as would compel the owners of large estates to part with their superfluous acres. At present the tax is so nicely adjusted that it enables the owners to unload at their leisure without any fear that the inflated prices of land will, be affected jby the impost. The Reformers, ignor-" J ing the ,law of supply arid demand which' they would- apply to any other commodity, actually .quote these high prices as evidence of the country's prosperity, while really they are nothing more than proof of the existence of monopoly and of other evil conditions which inflict an intolerable burden upon the small farmer and gravely retard the development of the country. It is cheap land, not dear land, that Now Zealand requires just now, and until it gets it the towns will remain over-crowded and the rural districts only sparsely populated. The crying need of the Dominion is close settlement, but close settlement cannot proceed in the face of exorbitant prices. .. ■'