Gold is Our Wealth.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20543, 19 February 1935, Page 6

Gold is Our Wealth .

Dear Sir,—l write as a gold prospector who wants a rise in the subsidy. To those who made our country and those who are keeping it bankrupt, our Government says that the farmer is the backbone of New Zealand, but the backbone was the old-time digger. He made our country and brought out its wealth; then the farmer came and drained its wealth. During the World War, the farmer made his money through the swelling of prices and instead of paying off his mortgage he trotted round the globe. When the boom burst he fell back on the taxpayer and the Government, and so our Government brought in the Mortgagors Relief Act and the 25 per cent exchange rate to help them. But, you Cabinet Ministers, the farmer will turn you down, so look after those few hundred gold prospectors and give them sufficient to try new ground. That 30s for married subsidy and los for single is just enough to keep us scratching round some old worked-out claim and get a few pennyweights now and again on alluvial. The men on reefing get 3<s bd for married and 22s 6d single, h °P* to find some reef that has been left, but without success. Give us an increase in subsidy so that we can seek the places that have never been prospected as there is untold wealth to be found in the hills yet. In the event of us finding good reefs, companies could be floated easily to-day as the price of gold would give work to hundreds of our people. The Government w’ould receive an extra 12s 6d on each ounce of gold exported out of the country and all that would help to restore the wealth of our country. This would be better than keeping farmers on the land. I see that the returns for Buller subsidy men were 1370 z Bdwt sgms for January, valued at £961 19s Since the subsidy was paid, gold won in Buller has totalled 19050 z, valued at £12,561 4s 4d. They say that opportunity knocks on our door so if we take this opportunity we may restore our country to prosperity, and some of our city brothers may try their luck instead of scratching the grass off the side of the roads.—l am, etc., P. D. MAC. Reeftun.