THE MINISTER OF LANDS IN HIS WAR PAINT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 4, 17 May 1889, Page 13

THE MINISTER OF LANDS IN HIS WAR PAINT.

TO THB EDITOB N.Z. TABLET.

Si 8, — The Minister of Lauds, in his speech at Wyndham, made several statements that should not be allowed to pass witnout challenge, and a demand made on him for explanation. I refer particularly to his remarks regarding the Crown tenants, and his proposed method of dealing with them. To me, it shadows forth a serious staieof affairs &moDg the settlers of the Colony, to find that in this portion of it alone tbeie are no less than 3,300 of thorn in arrears with their payments to the Government. Naturally one is compelled to aek ; What is the reason for this state of things: Mr. Hichardson supplies the reason according to his lights, viz., that they, the tenants, are unwilling to pay, though perfectly able to do so. It is impossible all these settlers can be arrant rogue* aad dishonestly iodine i in their dea'iags regarding rentals, as the Minister of Lands would have us beiieve. From my own experience among the settlers of Otago, for many years acting: as an occasional valuer ot property, I have not the slightest difficulty in arriving at quite a different conclusion as to the cause of all this accumulation of arrears. The reason is plain and patent to any one who is at all conversant with the subject. There is no necessity for libelling the character of all those unfortunates who are in arrears by the sort of mud-slinging indulged in at Wyndham ; and assertions of that character, let me say, aie totally out of place. Kay, more, the public man who gives currency to accusations of that kind (even if he had grounds for them, which I totally deny) is unworthy the name of a statesman. A statesman, did I say? God save the mark, but some of our statesmen here are wondeiful productions. They seem to grow like Topsy, ready made in all corners of the land. Everyone of them is a statesman here, or fitted to be one, according to hi 9 own showing. Hence the muddle our unfortunate country has been dragged into. These islands of ours are a perfect Paradise for quacks in all trades and professions. This is their happy hunting ground. A.nd the most contemptible quack of the lot is the quack political. We have a perfect surfeit of political quackery here, aud behold tae result : The country burdened with an immense debt in proportion to its population, bound hand and foot to a foreign creditor, drained year after ye»r of immense sums by way of interest to satisfy the foieign bondholder. And all for what ? Why, in order ihat some or our Heaven-born ceniuse?, our brilliant statesmen, might each in their turn carry out their own particulnr/«<£.« or empty theories, aDd indulge in ttieir favourite pastime ot political jobs and jobbery ; all being done, of course, io the interests of colonisation aua *ettlement. So long as foreigu money was procurab c at almost any pricp, so long did the saturnalia last. Land in this part of ihe Colony was inn up to enoimous prices, (prices far beyond its real value), by spiculators oi all giades and characLeis. The Government of the Colony, following the example s;t tbecn by ttese specula'iug gentry, raised the price of all tLeir lands to double and treble their values, and as they weie the largest hollers of tha arti^l ■ in demand in lact bad almost a monopoly of the market, lhey caiefully followed the example of Uie<-tler Jews, embarked m the s«ne pttne, and only doled it out in small areas at a time, thus creating excessive competiou, and tue buyers wcie then pitted against each other to bid for its possession. We all know what result followed, and whnt is following us io the present hour, viz, biuken-down and bankrupt settlers in every poitiou of CKago. lv my hmred circle of acquaintances, I can point out about thirty of these victims now ie*ideut about Duaedin, 6onie of them earning only a imre pittance, jutu t sufficient tc keep toem and their families from the poo- bouse, and to my own kno* ledge some of these men had a fair amount of capital and all nicessary txperieuce in farming. The high prices demanded for land has been, and is, the curse of this part ot the Colony, and the excessively low rates for produce during the last seven year* or so have terribly aggravated the evil, and rendered it thoroughly impossible for settlers to fulfil their bargains. This is the tiue explanation of the difficulty with our settlers, aud everyone who has the slightest knowltdge of ihe subject knows it to De correct. Mr. Kicbardßon says many of those in arreais aie holding land at tips t prices. Well, what it tLey aie I Does thai assist his case, or justity him in branding them as dishonest '/ I maintain it does no', bucex-ctiy the reverse, as it 13 notorious that tor years past a'A ups.n prices, as a rule, were far beyond real v iluea when told by the Government ; and they knew it. It never was a quebt.on of settlement at all in dealing with the waste lands h(.re. It wus always a treasury question, viz ,t j extract all they possibly could from the uufoitunate buyers, anu leave them to their late. 1 cuallengo Mr. Rich^rdto ito contra iict these btati - rnents. 1 wul point out hundreds of cases of laud laken up at upset prices where it is impossible for a man .and his family to make a living on it and pay even the upset price. 'Ihen he says the arreais are mo»ly amoug mm who are only paying a fair price. This sort of price never existed here. What does foe mean by a fair price ? Why does be not explain this r Therd are several statements laid down by expert writers on this subject as to the fair share of the produce of land that should go to the landlord under certain conditions, and ihe poitim that should accrue to the tiller of tlie soil. Does he refer to or quote any of these as to what is a fair price for land ? No ; he gives no data of any Bort. His statement is therefore only a mere empty assertion. It is taking fur granted the whole question at issue, if be meaus the land was fair value when bought, say, six or Siven years «go. Then, if it was, vis no longer fair value as things gu now. And, let me add, if a man can judge from what is going on in other parts of the woild as to Dew bouices ot supply aud mote competition m the world's market, this same land that he considers so valuable aud discourses su glibly about

will be actually of less value by-and-bye than even it it now. Mr. Richard eon, in hia concluding peroration, entreats the young men of the Colony to leave the towns, *oin to the country, and carry on (as he very aptly say>) the Battle of Settlement. Aye, it is indeed the Battle of Settlement. *' I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word." To the bu.k of settlers it is in truth, literally speak* ing, a battle for a bare existence, and with all the odds arrayed agi.inst them, he advises them to hew out homes for themselves in the wilderness! under, do doubt, hia benevolent auspices. Oh, shade of the great Artemna Ward where are you ? Behold, here is a master mind of the gennine Flapdoodle Order, in fact a past master of tbe art, who is even now invok'nt? the vengeanco of the law against 3000 settlers already planted on tbe land, aud whom with one hand he is preparing to drive out root and branch to take refuge in tbe towns, their only resource ; wnile with the other hand he beckons to and invites fresh victims from the towns and cities to replace them. Can the powers of humbug go further than this ? It reminds me of the old l«dy'u invitation to her ducks : Dilly, Dilly, Ditty ; come in and be killed. I willingly acknowledge that the present Government, taken collectively, ate immeaeurably superior to that t hey replaced in many things. They deserve every credit for their efforts to curtail some of our mischievous expenditure. They are also entitled to a laige meed of praise far their several sensible improvements in the land laws. They have put an effectual stopper on poms of the empty Socialistic theories so prevalent on the land question during the Stout-Vogel regime ; but in many of these things I can easily discern the workings of a different mind to that of Mr, Richardson. — I am, etc, R. M.