TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17836, 8 October 1929, Page 9

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

A ROTARY GATHERING

CAPTAIN RUSHWORTH’S SPEECH.

TWO SIDES TO THE PICTURE. “The Relationship between Tow: and Country” was Hie subject of • spcecli given before Hamilton Rota i i-ians last night by Captain 11. M Ruslrworth, M.P. As in his speech a j Morrinsvillc seven weeks ago, th leader of the Country Party stressei the difficulty of making farming pa; under present conditions and urge* the need for lowering the cost of liv ing. He attacked especially the heav ; Customs taxation and the high rates of finance. Replies were given by Mr J. IT. Fow (Mayor), Mr J. A. Young ALP., and Air T. 11, Henderson of th Farmers’ Union. The Rotary Club had invited a larg< number of professional and busines: men and farmers for the evening. Pro ceedings opened with a dinner ant •community singing. The president of the Club, Mr F C. House, in introducing the chie speaker, explained that the ITotar; Club had taken for its main object fo: tliis year I lie fostering of closer relation's between town and country. Captain Rushworth congratulate! Ihe dub on the aim it had adopted j There was undoubtedly somethin? ; wrong in t.hc country. It was a mistake to consider only one symptom o tiie trouble, such as unemployment. . A serious matter was the reduction ir the number of farmers. It had beer stated that there were 80,000 farmers in the Dominion, hut after a great dea of asking he had been informed b; (the .Minister concerned that the num- ; bet* was now only 59,000; he believed, however, that 'there had beer 80,000 farmers some time ago and th( number had diminished. Other seri--1 ous symptoms were the holding oi | large amounts of “frozen” New Zeaj land -capital in London and the investing of other large sums from here ir i Australia. He had also hoard rumours that commerce was stagnant, lie believed all these troubles were ,interrelated. Why Farming Does Not Attract.

Loss Ilian 22,000,000 a-cres of the 00,000,000 a-cres in the Dominion, said : (he Captain, was being farmed. A great deal of the remainder could be used if the conditions were favourable. ‘ The reason why people were not eager j to,'take up farming was that the re- ; wards and amenities enjoyed by the | people -on the land—especially those far back—were very much less than in other occupations. Conditions in ' the backblocks sometimes were almost unbelievable. lie toLd of a man dying on a far-back farm. His wife lrad herself had to dig a hole to bury the body and then had had to walk -two days with her two little children lo ihe nearest habitation. That was an instance. Tiie margin between the gross product and the cost of production was shrinking, despite the fact that production had been greatly increased by fertilising and better farming methods. One -cause was that Britain was returning .to the gold standard. That meant tfiat, when the process was complete, New Zealand producers would have to accept lower prices. Hence it was necessary to reduce the costs of production. The Captain proceeded to argue, as in his Morrinsvillc spcecli, that the price paid for farm land had no bearing on the -cost of production at all. lie corn-pared tiie plight -of the farmer whose costs were altered through artificial means after his purchase with that of a -person who had bought brewery shares and then found them made worthless as the introduction of prohibition. If prohibition should come—(ho did not expect it) —then the reason for failure would be this external factor, and not that the person had paid too much for the shares. Wages

| entered Into costs -of production very - largely, not only directly but indii rectly; for instance, what was paid in | county rates went mostly in wages for 1 labour. Some people wished to at- ; tack wages in order to bring down j costs, but he pointed out that, whilst I he considered the wage-earners on a better wicket than the farmers, he thought they wore not so well off as they had been before tiie war. lie mentioned a worker in Auckland whose , wage had increased from 8s to 14s ! fid a day since 1914, but whose rent had risen in considerably greater proportion. Under the Arbitration Court’s regime increases in wages follower! increases in Ihe cost of living, and the wage-earner was always a little behind. He did not. regard the wage-earner as tiie principal cause of the trouble.

The rise in the cost of living, the Captain believed, was largely due to the enormous taxation imposed on the necessaries of life. The amount raised in this 'country by indirect taxation was between nine and ten millions. or 2i times what came fro.m direct taxes. In his figure for indirect faxes he was not including excise but only Customs duties on imports. The proportion was far too high. As Adam Smith had pointed out. long ago, taxation of the necessaries of life produced artificially the same effect as inclement climate and poor soil. Land which was valueless now could be given a value by reducing the cost of production. If that were -done, land in occupation would also rise in value. That was why he had said on more than one occasion that It would be a sign of returning prosperity when they found land values on the up grade.

The Banks. Another important factor for the farmer was t.hc cost of money. The Captain spoke on the lines of his Morrinsville speech of the largo profits made toy flic Bank of New Zealand last year, in a time of depression, mentioning that tile total profit was almost •as high as that of the Bank of England. which served the whole Empire. He had been called a Bolshevik for daring to mention what the hanks were doing. lie told of the disappointment he had felt that Sir Joseph Ward had done nothing to interfere with the grip that the financial institutions had on our industries and that, instead of reducing ihc taxation on the necessaries of life, he had increased it by doubling the primage duty. He realised that it would he impossible to remove that taxation suddenly. But if Hie burden were shifted over gradually from indirect lo direct taxation, it would cost the country less and we would know what we were paying, and it would take the burden off those least able to hear it and place it on those best able to bear it. The taxation could be passed on by the workers. the professional men and the traders and It came sooner or later rm to the shoulders of the cxp-ortitig , primary producers, who could not pass |

it on as they hart to sell their produce in the world markets. The fanners usually dirt not know the reason for their "difllculies but felt a general grouch against other sections of the community. It was a rotten thing that men should have to take Ihcir wives and children into tire milking sheds to help with the work. What would he thought if il were suggested that men on tiie public works should take their wives and children on to the joih to help pick up rocks? The Brighter side. Mr J. R. Fow, Mayor of Hamilton, said the picture drawn by Captain Hushworth was not, lie thought, a true picture of the majority of the farmers. lie had felt that most of them rather pitied the town-dweller. Townspeople envied them their freedom and healthy life, and the prospect of retiring to a town like Hamilton. (Laughter). Still they recognised that the farmers were as good as themselves. The day had passed when farmers or other workers should have to put up with the conditions of the past. The amenities of life on the farm were heller than they had ; beenMr J. A. Young’s Reply. j

Mr J. A. Young, M.P., said he had j a bright outlook and a confidence in j his fellowmen. He pointed out that j in town businesses as well as on the i farms women often iiad to help until j an undertaking was well established. : There was much in the speech with l which he and others would disagree. ! However, it was the man himself , rather than his opinions that counted, i and Captain Hushworth was held in : high regard in Parliament. Replying to the Captain’s criticism i of the Government’s policy in relation ; to tiie Bank of New Zealand, Mr j Young said Hie men nominated by | the Government as directors were ; chosen for their integrity and know- j ledge of finance, and they had a free j hand to do what they thought best for j tlm community. He (Mr Young) j would dread (lie establishment of a i Slate hank under the control of politi- | cians. He was glad of the success j of the Bank of New Zealand and had < confidence that whatever Sir Joseph j Ward might do in regard to hanking i would he on lines of safety. I Mr Young disagreed with Captain } Hushworth's theory that the price > paid for 1 he land was not a factor in ; Costs of production. -He pointed out j that, even if a man paid cash for a j farm, lie must reckon that 111 0 investincnt ■ was costing him whatever it could have earned for him in some [

oilier business. It must be calculated on a business liasis. He agreed that farmers could not pass on increases in ihe cost of living, but said that to reduce the cost in a democracy was very difficult.

A Farmer's View. Mr T. 11. Henderson, president of the Waikato Farmers’ Union, said ■ Captain Hushworth hurt shown rather I tiie dark side of the picture. He (the speaker) had been a pioneer in the backblocks, and il was not all gloomy: I if he were a young man, he would j tackle it again. (Applause). He agreed wilh the Captain, however, Hint the I cost of living had risen very seriously | and had created a difficult problem for | the farmer. If costs of living and j wages could he brought down, it I would enable more land to be opened. | But they did not wish to hurt the ! labourer. He desired to see cmploy- ; ment provided for everyone, but said a difficulty arose from the fact that many people insisted on “hanging about the towns.” There were thousands of acres that could he brought into cultivation, even with wages at ; the present rates, by tiie right class : of farmer with the proper financial j j backing. i Mr Henderson added that the hanks j

hod helped him greatly. Without their help he could not have been as successful as he had' been in farming, lie went on to congratulate the businessmen of Hamilton on flick- town, which was a credit to the country around and a pleasure to visit. He expressed hearty appreciation of the notary Club's effort to bring town and country people together. The president brought tiie meeting to a close with a speech of felicitation.