FARMERS POLITICS IN A NUTSHELL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1671, 24 September 1887, Page 2

FARMERS POLITICS IN A NUTSHELL.

TO THE EDITOR. Fir, — Will you permis ma to state briefly a few plain reasons why the farmers of Canterbury should v..'ta aga'nat the present Ministry. The instances L ah^ll quote admit of no equivocation, no sophistical explaining away, and no direct contradiction. In order to relievo tha Treasury, and - virtually to deceive the country aa fir aa retrenchment is conoacned, the charges hitherto paid from the Godsolldated Revenua for hospital and C laritable Aid, amounting t01£60,000 a year, we c adroitly put by the present Government on the occupiers of land. 2. Sir Julius Yogel promised a saving of tax »! ion by the absorption of the Sinking Fund, whereaa that Bum has been spent, and m addition, a further annual liability of £200,000 a year has been Incurred, making an increased aanaal charge on the colony of £450,000 a year, add to this £60,00) a year already [ referred to as shifted from the general taxpayer to the occupfera of land would make the total £510,003. 3. The proposed Protective tariff. Such had finauoa and wasteful expenditure needed some disparate expedient to gull the people to aocapt Increased taxation m the shape of import duties. The cry of Protection to local industries is the expedient, notwithstanding that Sir Robert S;out deolared that Protection was nothing less than robbery by the hand of the iaw, and Sir Julius Yogel atated almost aa strongly the folly of suoh a policy. If Protection is legalised robb3ry, who are the people to be robbed ? Certainly, before a 1 others, the farmers, who caa have r»o single product protected, for they have and they must have for at least a hundred years an immense surplus for exp >rt But such patent folly hid to be supported by aome noDßßDs'oal reasons. The value of a home market is paraded before the farmers. Sir Jjliua Yogel think the farmers veritable fools to accept such a transparent delusion. \f there were three times as many manufaotnrera as there are farmers, would the farmers get a fraction mora for any produce 1 ? Moat certainly th^y would not. The home consumer would uob pay a higher price thin the exporter. But Sir Julius Vogtl does not stop at a home market and its bent fits to farmers, but he cooly aia'.ea that if New Zealand consumed all it produod, we could pay tha publio creditor — How?" by some echeme of giving a cheque (post dated, I presume) on their Banker, and transferring the mmey to London. Wonderful slaight of hand when we have only £2,000 000 of gold m circulation In this Oology a-id oar annual liabilities are over £6,000,000 Of all the rubbish that has baen talked during this election contest this appears the greatest. (4) The Riilway Charges :— The present Governraen. pruposea to borrow £2,000/ 00 to make a railioad into the barren wilderness of central O.ago and from Auckland harbor to Ktipara harbor, two of the best harbors m New Zaaland and through useless unoccupied oountry. These railways would m all probability not pay five shillings per oent m fifty years time, and as a consequence the charges on the Canterbury lines would be kept up to pay for such follies. If no further extension of railways were mad?, but little more borrowed money would be required, and as traffic increased on the railways so would the freight rates be reduced. I was m Parliament only one session, and I Boon saw who were the Intentional enemies of Che ccoupiers of land, and further I also saw, what the following figures prove, ttoat most of the membera of the Ministry were selfish adventurers aod faddists, with little or no true patriotism m them, Mark these figures. Money drawn as travelling allowances and expenses In travelling :— Per day. £ b. d. Sir Robert Stout, 114 days at... 515 9 Sir Julius Voael, 75 days at ... 3 6 0 Hon Mr Ballance, 128 days at 5 3 0 Hon Mr Riohardson, 42 days at 8 9 0 Hon Mr Tole, 84 days at ... 2 11 0 Hon Mr Buckley, 68 days at ... 6 6 0 Hon Mr Reynolds, 33 daya at 2 8 0 ! The actual sum taken for these and like expenses exceed the like charges drawn by the late Ministry by £4 000. Messrs Tole and Reynolds, you will Bee, are evidently honest men and worthy to be trusted with the public purse. There has been no Buoh exhibit ; on as the above since Sir George Grey's Ministty, when one of his chosen friends sent m an account of £803 for oab hire. Now Sir George Grey says the present Ministry have gone "head over heals " with their finance. I cannot but believe that the electors will uphold the conclusion arrived at by our own representatives m Parliament — that they could have no further confidence m this Ministry. I am, etc, John GEiaa. Longbeaoh, September 22, 1887.