Sayings of the Week

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 21, 18 November 1908, Page 3

Sayings of the Week

Since the Government had inaugurated the lands for settlement policy 182 estates had been purchased comprising I, acres. How many of those acres were near Napier? A sum of £3,217,254 had been spent in acquiring land for settlement. Where had it been spent? Everywhere but in Napier— Napier was "to let.”— Mr. J. VigorBrown, Napier. Many people get their politics from their paper. I trust that the editors of this country realise their responsibility in this direction. — Mr. Gardner, Manawatu. e * « » Farmers could get medical advice gratis for their beasts* and it was high time that a poor man should get free medical advice for his wife and children. Every person in New Zealand was said to be worth £355, and it was the duty of the State to save that money to the country, and that little home from being broken up. Medical advice should be given free by means of a system of State doctors for people who would sign a declaration to the effect that they were unable to pay for it.— Mr. Vhalk, Port Chalmers. Mr Ngata he had known from babyhood, and his speeches were an intellectual treat to those that heard him. He was an M.A., and 1,L.8., a polished orator, a barrister and solicitor, and one of the noblest representatives of the native race that New Zealand had ever seen. — Mr. A: Ij.'D. Fraser, Napier. • « • • Buying your votes with your own money. It’s hard to beat a Minister, my word it is. They coine along with a few smoodging words, and £lOO here, a metalled road there, a post office here, and so on.—Mr. liarton, Gisboriu?. « « * • The poor man’s bicycle had a tax of 20 per cent on it, while half of the rich man’s motor-car came in duty free. The duty on silks, satins, and so on was reduced. The poor,spin’s packet tea paid 2d. a lb., while fire' rich man who could get his tea in bulk was Jet off duty altogether.—Mr. Byron Brown, Porirua. This is the usual Socialistic tack, that a man who employs labour is an exploiter ami robber. As a matter of fact, he himself worked as hard as any man in his employ. He took his turn at the linotype machine, and all his permanent hands were paid higher wages than the awards demanded. As for himself, he drew no more wages out of the business than the men, and he earned whatever he got by his own effort.— Mr. R. A. Wright, Wellington. There is one power in this country that is greater than all the newspapers put together—the platform.— Mr. F. M. B. Fisher, Wellington. * * * * The Government seem to think that Pelone is a pocket borough, and that they “can do as they like with it, but let us show them that it is not so. We want our just- and rightful dues, and I' think we have every right to be regarded as a centre, and that we should have full facilities.- I —Mr. K. U’. Short, Petone. - * * * * People say I look 100 closely into things. I don’t. The real defect in this country is that other people don’t look into things as closely as I do.— Mr. F. Fisher, Wellington. * * * * I believe that a representative Parliament should be composed of business men,- legal men, and industrial men. — Mr. George Winder, at Hataitai. • * * • I have, at times, been fearful of what looked like, a tendency to substitute Government intervention, a sort of State paternalism iii all things, for individual effort and self-reliance, which process, if deemed to have no limit, must lead inevitably to an entire dependence on the State instead of upon ourselves. — Mr, 11. It. Williams, Johnsonville,

They were paying £3.000,000 a year in Indirect taxation and excise duty, be-

cause it was easily collected. They did not know they were doing that, but in every £4 they paid the man behind the counter they paid £1 in duty, and yet they did not seem to bother themselves about it.—Mr. 6'. E. Dart on, Gisborne. « * • • If you dispose of the whole of the land in the Dominion—our public estate —to strangers just- now, you place our boys and girls of to-day in a worse position for the future than were the old settlers when they first came to New’ Zealand. — Mr. F. Lowry. Parnell. « * * * The only portion of the liquor question which was a political question was that relating to the majority. That question was being unfairly brought up at the present time. — Mr. F. E. Banmc, Auckland. • « • « If you want to know ray views on No-license, I am in favour of national prohibition, and no liquor in private houses.— Mr. Nicholson, Auckland. * * * • The native lands were only breeding noxious weeds at present, but it was not the fault of the natives, but of the wretched system. The titles should be individualised, and the land dealt with, giving the natives a fair share. It was waste of opportunity to have vast blocks of lands and thousands of natives idle. — Mr. W. F. Massey. • • • • There was but one road for a man who desired solely and disinterestedly to promote the best destinies of his country. It should be as clear to him as the King’s highway, and along that road he should guide the country, no matter what the people said or thought of him.— Mr. Herdman, Wellington. * « • • T am. insperfeet sympathy with all the reasonable aspirations of Labour., I believe that it isspossihle for master and man in this country to -live and thrive and be happy in this country if let alone. I believe it is possible for Labour to get his fair share of the fruit of. hjj hands, and the employer a fair return. for the investment of his capital. , Hut that state is not to be obtained-by irritating legislation, nor will it be accomplished while each looks on the other as his natural enemy. I look forward with great confidence to a very much better understanding between Labour and capital in this country.— Mr. R. B. Williams, Wellington. There are many people who live, or hope to live, on the amount of strife they can stir up between employers and employees.— Mr. Fisher, Wellington. Unlike the Government and their labelled voting machines, if I am elected to represent this constituency I shall take my seat in the House fully recognising and appreciating that I am the political servant of the people, and therefore duty to the master must take precedence.—Mr. W. T. Young, Wellington, • • • • It is commonly’ supposed that people in business are rapidly making fortunes. Colour is lent to this idea because they always wear a smile. A pleased look is merely part of their business. As a matter of fact, the average business man is just able to pay his way'. The reason why business is bad is to be found in the fact that there has been over-borrowing and a drop in the prices of some of our products at Home. And the prospects of an improvement in the near future do not seem to be very bright.— Mr. Wriyht, Wellington. It makes my blood boil to hear the Socialists and labour agitators yelling at the unfortunate farmers who happen to bo getting a few pounds more in a good season. How would those Socialists and labour agitators like to work on for n whole year and never know whether they were tn l>e paid or not. as the farmer has to dot Let those men go out into the bush and carve out homes for themselves, nnd there would bo no talk of single tax. The best citixen of all is the big-hearted fellow who goes into the baek blofks on to some small (ration, and takes some good country girl with him

to found a home and rear a family. And that is the man the town (Socialists and labour agitators would put their land tax on. That is the very man who should he taxed as lightly as possible.—Hr. IV. Richardson, Auckland. • « • • The difference bet ween the Liberals and the Conservatives is just the difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. — Mr. Wright, Wellington. * * ♦ • My idea of national reform is not by beginning cutting down the screws of the poor devil who gets ”/- a day. lam not going to urge the saving of money by whittling away the wages of any man. It is on the bigger questions, where hundreds of thousands of pounds are concerned, that money is to be saved.— Mr. Fisher, Wellington. « * « « The Government expects to drive the Labour vote when the Labour candidate does not get into the second ballot, to vote for the Government candidate. By this means they kill two birds, or, shall I say three, with one stone, namely, defeat the. Opposition candidate, keep out the Labour candidate, and get the Labour vote in spite of themselves.— Mr. It. B. Williams, Wellington. • * • * We are getting along all right with the totalisator. and it is a degrading thing for the people of the Dominion to recognise the liookmakers as a necessary evil. He produces nothing, he never works—never does a tap—but goes about scheming how he is to get money out of other people. Members of Parliament are fearfully blameable for allowing that sort of thing to be legalised.— Mr. Murrell, Wellington South. • * * • Having agreed, as we all have agreed, that the best education, and none but the best, is what we want for our children. how are we to expect to get it without paying this service the very best wages ' No pay that is in reason is too high for the moulders of the thought and opinion (in the formative period of their lives) of those who shall succeed us.— Mr. It. B. Williams, Wellington. » * * * There were farmers in the North Island who could stand at the door of their homesteads'and see the smoke from passing trains, but who were obliged to travel forty miles to the nearest railway station fok- lack of a bridge across a river.— Mr. Tanner at Linwood. • * * • I favour equal pay for women as for men, provided that the women can do equal work.— Mr. J. F. Brounw, Grey Lynn. • « • • The workers talk of capital as of an enemy. Supposing they were shown a reef carrying 9oz. of gold to, the ton in a deep level, what would they do with it! Capital would have to come in ami develop the reef so that the working men could receive their wages on Saturdays, and capital takes the risk of loss. -—Mr. IV. Richardson, Auckland. * * * * He would put the position of his opponent in cricketing terms. Mr Fraser has had nine innings, and he has never made a run. Never a run! 1 hope that on the 17th of November you will bowl him right out. — Mr. -I. VigorBroirn, Napier. * « * * It was a fact, whatever might be said to the contrary, that for the September quarter of this year—the first time in 15 years—the expenditure exceeded the revenue. The revenue for the September quarter of the current year was £2.038,521, while the expenditure was £2,065.239.— Mr. IV. F. Massey.

There were many no-license men who drank, and no-license men who kept liquor in their own homes, after depriving the people of the opportunity of getting liquor.— Mr. f. fi. Ilaume. Auckland. • • • • 'What disgraced Parliament was the entrance of men who went into the House in a state of intoxication. There were things that ’ occurred last session that would be unlit to be referred to in a mixed audience, and those things were well known and talked about. If lie were returned he could lie depended upon to endeavour to stop that sort of thing. —Mr. M'. Richardson. Auckland. • « • • History teaches us that no great country can let its agriculture decay, as we have let our agriculture decay, without ultimate ruin. The time will come sooner or later when reliance upon foreign food will prove to be the ruin of a nation so foolish and so neglectful of the direct teaching of Nature.— Wr. Holt Schooling. I do not object to any criticism upon the management of any institution under my charge, so long as it is fair and truthful, particularly the latter. I have nothing to apologise for or to explain.—Hon. 11. t'oirldr. ® ® ®