PARLIAMENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13657, 28 July 1908, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

To the Editor of the " Timaru Herald." Sir,—Once more the annual farce, viz., the 'Talkeries,' was opened last Monday at Wellington with great eclat by the socalled' representatives of the people, who allow this enormous expenditure of time and money to b& re-enacted annually without any protest- 1 should like to ask the intelligent electors ( 6 * c ) Dominion whether they think it is necessary to employ 80 members in the Lower House at x!3jo, and 46 odd in the Upper House at £2OO per annum to waste time and pass bad laws, for a population not amountingto one million. It costs £60,000 per an-, num ,to run the 'Talkeries," but that is not the chief grievance. It is the incalcuable harm effected by tlie tyrannical majority by their experimental legislation, which .is mainly designed for the betterment of the minority of noisy demagogues who live ill the. cities, who du i;od bear their proportionate share of the public debt, which is increasing In- leaps and bounds so much so, that Uie l tiLvi of the soil who produces about .two-tliirds of the wealth of the Dominion pays a greater' portion of the taxation, will be exploited out of existence, if a decided and determined cheek is not placed upon the Socialistic and faddist legislation which is eo strongly supported by the so-called present Liberal Government. What this Dominion requires is political rest and it would be the greatest blessing, if the 'Talkeries' were closed up for five years, and a dozen shrewd, honest, and level headed men, (elected by the people) appointed as a Board to run the destines of the country. As for the wasters of Parliament, namely, carpet-bag politicians and" political quacks, I would compel them to take up 200 acres of bush land in the North Island, cultivate it, and earn their honorarium of £3OO per annum. It- would be an object lesson to those wastrels who are always repeating the parrot cry of land for the people and i telling their constituents to get on the soil, but tliey take precious care nob to soil their liberal hands except to grab the boodle. If it were not for the wonderful productiveness of the soil, the energy of the man on the land (who is tlip back the Dominion) combined with the lact" that) our products realise such good prices in tlie London market, New Zealand would have been in the hands of the Receiver appointed by the English capitalists who own the whole Dominion. If it had not been for the genius who invented the refrigerator, who after all was and is the greatest benefactor to this Dominion, our chief, exports, viz., frozen meat and butter, would have been valueless, and we should have chiefly been dependant upon our main export, viz., wool as a set off against the enormous public debt and private loans that this country owes to the English money lender. —I am, etc., ANGLO-NEW ZEALANDER,