THE SOURCE OF WEALTH

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17220, 1 October 1927, Page 13 (Supplement)

THE SOURCE OF WEALTH

“ PROPUTY, PROPUTY, PROPUTY.”

(By Marama.)

If we go back in history we find that •land was always considered to be a source of all wealth. In feudal times the King granted land to the barons on specific conditions. They were to administer law, maintain order, provide him with an army when required. They did not always live up to their duties any more than we do to-day, but this was the theory on- which they worked. The land was supposed to belong to the King, who granted the use of it for a specific consideration. Changing customs did away with these obligations. The King administered the law in all important matters; a professisonal army was instituted, and those who had grants of the land kept them with but a small tax as their one obligation. In course of time came the Napoleonic wars, when the country was hard pressed for money and land owners compounded for their land tax on easy terms. Land had turned full circle, and from being a liability it had turned into a privilege and the owners were not yet content. It was decreed that no man could sit in Parliament until he had an income arising from land. The decree was not observed any more than older laws were, but this was the theory. It was considered to be a law of nature that no man was fit to ? sit in Parliament unless he owned That had to serve for all the ■ knowledge or virtues which might be supposed to he required by legislators. Pride Qoes Before a Fan. A It commonly happens that when a position of supreme privilege has been readied it begins to decay or fall asunder. History shows it in this instance. At the beginning of the last century land was the source of wealth, of privilege and of power. During the Napoleonic wars most of the great houses of the English nobility were built from the rent of land swollen by the protective Corn Laws. Nemesis overtook the proud landlords. First came the abolition of the Corn Laws, which was stoutly resisted, partly because it was expected to reduce rents, and partly because it marked the first breach in the power of the land owners. The real attack came later. First land was made liable for death duties in the same way as other property; then the death duties were largely increased. But more devastating than apy legal enactments was the improvement in transport which enabled food to be grown in one continent and consumed in another. The stately homes of England were mainly built during the Napoleonic wars. The last great war led to their sale, or to their being turned into hospitals, school or boarding houses, while heirlooms and art treasures are sold to pay death duties. Once more has the wheel turned full cycle, and land has fallen from its privileged position.

Idols of the Market Place. It does not seem as if man could be content without setting up some idol in the market place to whom power amd place is surrendered. The posi*on which land had and lost has been taken by the masters of the money interest. These are the men who control the vast aggregates of wealth; not always rich men themselves, for somehow great possessions and great wits seldom go together. Our complicated credit system is a tribute to the growing honesty of the world, for there have been few periods in history when it would have been safe to lend to such an extent. It is also an opportunity for extravagance, of which governments of all kinds as well as private persons take full advantage. The handling of all this mass of credit calls for much knowledge, much experience, much ability, and mankind acknowledges these qualities by rendering homage to those who possess them or are supposed to possess them. It is a question whether this acknowledgment of virtue is overdone in any way. When land was King its owners were feted; now money rules its controllers are the great men. We hear of those who leave politics to become bank directors. Those who sit in high places are accustomed to walk largely by the advice of those who control the cash. When the managers of the State Banks of England, France, Germany and the United States' meet the air is full of rumours, for which there may be no basis, but then these men have the power to do things, and have no constituencies to which they are responsible or Houses who may pass votes of censure. The Man Who Can Is King.

In all ages the man who knows is supreme, although time may show that Ills knowledge is - worth little. In ancient Egypt the priest held sway, aqjfi the same has held good in many • stages of civilisation. The middle ages ■. was a time of bloodshed and violence when material matters were the first consideration. Land was the first channel through which this operated and money has followed. The mystery inrn who control the aggregates of cash that arise from endless small deposits are the captains of our souls, tiic masters of our fate. They decide which interests shall flourish and which shall fade and when times shall Pc good and when they shall be bad. It is supposed to be a democratic age in which men govern themselves. To some extent they do so politically, but it can scarcely be contended that they do it in the realm of economics, which for the average man is the more important of the two. Moreover, it is not yet recognised that there is anythin"' to be learnt about the control of currency. Men light strenuously about Labour and Capital, and use bitter words, and indulge in much hatred, as if they were shipwrecked mariners on a raft quarrelling over the last biscuit, when both are victims of the same fate. Some day, of course we shall learn how to control currtnev, and thereby avoid the whips Ld ccorns of time, but it will not be at any early dale, for it is not yet general) Y* understood that there is anyfhin"' to learn. When that lesson is learnt we shall he able to avoid many t!|P evils of life. The sight, only too common., or a man who has been nrosperous during most of his life, nnd fails on evil days at the last, may he'much rarer, and will not come from circumstances beyond a man’s control, vwniijnm until we can learn how to Wc ' U lirp rr . on rv. both our own and that 1 V!. community, we must remain ~ creatures of circumstance, and in . render obeisance to those who musl , , ■, (tie country or Hie blind, rS-oyo,,