Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. SATURDAY, JUNE 4,1892. " MEASURES, NOT MEN."

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1902, 4 June 1892, Page 2

Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1892. " MEASURES, NOT MEN."

Mr H. S. Valentine's speech to his constituents must, without any immoderate use of language or exaggeration of terms, be described as a lucid, open, and comprehensive exposition of the political sitnation, of the actions of Ministers, and of the various important questions awaiting settlement. There was no pretence at oratory, no straining after effect, any more than there was any desigu to mislead or misrepresent or resort to trick or evasion, either for the purpose of making his opponents or their actions look worse than they really were or of setting forth his own opinions in a more presentable form. Mr Valentine came before his constituents to take them into his confidence,to renew his political faith, and make himself understood by the electors. That he has succeeded in doing so is a fact that will be willingly admitted, we should say, even by those who have not yet brought themselves into political touch with him. It is just as natural that politics should breed difference of opinion, as that fire should generate heat or the sun give light. When difference of opinion and contrariety of political thought cease to exist, if they ever should, and let us hope not, it will be a bad thing for the people and the country, as fatal in its effect on the life of a country as a sluggish or feeble circulation of the blood would be to the life of an individual. And here it is that we find one of our reasons for the attitude which we at times find it incumbent on us to take up towards the present Government. They have, ever since taking office, tried, even to the verge of shamelessness and tyranny, by bribery and terrorism, to wipe out and destroy everything that savoured of opposition to their policy. They have endeavoured to terrorise and silence those outspoken and independent journals that persisted in giving expression to the opinions of the country on the action of Ministers by withdrawing their patronage from them, and transferring it to the more servile and time-serving portion of the Press; they have bribed and demoralised the unemployed in the cities by the wholesale distribution of largess, in the form of work, at a scale of wages that no private employer at the present day in the colony could pay and live ; and, finally they have deprived competent and zealous public servants of their means of livelihood for no other reason than that they were suspected of holding opinions out of harmony with the existing order of things, and filled the vacant places with their own creatures. Such conduct must be detestable to all men, no matter what their political colour may be, who love liberty and admire plain dealing and honourable conduct, whether it be in .publio or private life. It is a relief to turn from such men to those who meet opposition by argument, by candid explanation, and by addressing themselves to the' judgment and intelligence of their hearers, rather than to their passions and their selfishness. To this latter class unmistakably belongs the member for Tuapeka; and while such men exist in public life, apart altogether from political opinions, it is possible to hope for a better and more healthy state of things, and to feel that through them, at all events, the voice of reason and moderation and good sense will never cease to find expression.

We do not know that there is any member in the House better qualified or one who can speak with a weightier claim to attention on the question of land tenure than Mr Valentine. He is no theorist ; his opinions are the result of a close and intelligent study of the practical side of the question. His position enables him to understand exactly what the sentiments of the country settlers are on this subject, to familiarise himself with their aspirations and their ambitions, and to say from almost daily experience and observation what their feelings are on the

existing or contemplated forms of land tenure. Besides, the public position he occupies, as representative of a constituency composed principally of small farmers, is a guarantee that his objections both in the House and on the platform to the abrogation of the freehold form of land tenure are well-founded, and will be approved of by every man whose opinion is worth anything on the subject. Of course the Ministerial proposition to deprive settlers of the right of freehold finds strong support in certain quarters, otherwise, it is to be presumed, it would never be put forward by the Minister of Lands. But among what class are the advocates of the contemplated change found? Principally, if not exclusively, among those people in the cities who have no land themselves, and never look forward to having any, and among those who are themselves already possessed of freehold land. Were the Minister of Lands' proposal to abolish the freehold system of land tenure to be made retrospective in character, the undoubted effect would be to convert those ardent supporters of the measure who are themselves the owners of freehold properties into its most implacable opponents. We are as strongly opposed as anybody to any I system of land tenure that has a tendency direct or indirect to the creation of large estates, just as we are quite as strongly opposed, to any proposal, no matter in what form or what the intention of its designers may be, that threatens the extinction of one of the oldest, most cherished, and imperishable aspirations of our race. Where is the man who cut himself adrift from all the associations and ties of the old land who has not looked forward to the day when he would be the undisputed owner of his own homestead ? This, we are sure, was the hope that filled the breasts of the early settlers on the land ; and the wish is as strong to-day among their sons, and will continue to assert itself and proclaim its vitality, despite everything that may be done to enfeeble, uproot, or destroy it by the Parliament of this or any other day. The desire to become the sole owner of his own land is about the best and highest claim to citizenship in a new country. It is at the root of individual manliness, of sturdy independence, and self-reliance, and nothing tends more strongly to national stability and national prosperity. There is no country in our time that has passed through such hard vicissitudes of fortum as Trance ; and there is no country that has responded so freely to the touch of misfortune, that has shown such a vigorous national life, such elasticity and readiness to right itself and shake itself free of its gigantic burdens. And the secret of this, all impartial writers will testify, is that the soil is the exclusive property of the peasantry. They are firmly-rooted in the soil, and are allowed quietly to work out their own destiny, untroubled by vexatious enactments or infringements on their rights or liberties. Instead of placing impediments in the way of settlers anxious to become freeholders, the aim of the Government should be to encourage and foster such a spirit by the enactment of liberal land laws and a generous administration of the same. The Minister of Lands should know by this time what the temper of the country settlers ,the class most con cerned , is on the subject ; and as Mr Valentine pointed out, the Minister's statement on his visit to Lawrence sometime ago, that those who from sentiment desired to have a patch of freehold should be allowed to have it, clearly shows that he was aware of the distasteful nature of his measure before a country audience. And we believe it is more than probable he will yet discern che wisdom of bending to the popular storm, which his proposal has caused, and quietly drop it from his revolutionary programme.