THE PRICE OF LAND.

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1785, 22 July 1926, Page 5

THE PRICE OF LAND.

SiT, —Much .has teen said about the price of land at the present time. The hanks and! men in high financial circles all say the price of 'land is far too high, and imply that when the price recedes 'the country will start to improve. Let me tell you that the price of land is not the only thing that is too high. It is not, as these people would have you believe, th'e only cause of the present depression. ' <? When you come to review the profits the bank's have made throughout the last six or seven years, and the way they have added to their reserve and watered, their capital, you wonder where all these profits have come from. Well, whether directly or indirectly, they all come from the land; and that land must he a pretty goodl pack-horse to carry the whole load and yet pay the high rate of interest that keeps the banks in such a prosperous position; that pays for all the public works, such as main highways, harbour work, local body improvements, etc; all of which are indulged in to a greater extent than the country can afford, and all of which must be paid for out of the land,. There will be no real prosperity in New Zealand until the farmer gets relief in the way of cheaper money and a. little protection from the Government, which he deserves. Let any union appeal for higher wages, and it almost invariably ge-ts them; and the higher wages either directly or indirectly come out of the land. The Meat Board, which was formed 'by the Government with the idte'a of helping the farmer, has failed miserably to give our meat and lamb the protection they needed at Home, and, by refusing to grant thle sale of the Wellington Meat Company’s works, and providing no alternative measure, ha s throAvn the meat and lamb industry back to a worse position than it was in 15 to 17 years ago, when the farmers started building works to protect themtselves. Not only hav’e the farmers lost the money they put into the works, but the object for which that money was spent is also lolst unless something .i s done ‘to relieve th'e position immediately. The Government could help to a very great extent and encourage greater production by making all money lent on farming security at to 5 per cent tax free. It could repeal the land tax as alt present constituted, charge a nominal graduated land tax to prevent land aggregation, and, charge the farmers income tax on +heir profits. The Government must also curtail the extravagant expenditure that is going on at present on roads, harbours, and public works generally. That there would, be a tremendous outcry from the banks and financial iins'titu;tion s is certain. But if the position is looked at fairly it must be 'realised that New Zealand can be made prosperous only by increased

production, and that can be don'e only by providing 'the farmer with money at a rate of interest which will show him a profit for his labour. The Government must realise that there can be no real prosperity in New Zealand until farming securities are again made the attractive investment they were before the National Government issued tax-free debentures and raised compulsory internal loans, thereby robbing the industry of the capital it needed for carrying on and, development purposes.—l am, etc., FARMER.