MR. BARNES AND HIS POLITICAL VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 640, 18 October 1909, Page 3

MR. BARNES AND HIS POLITICAL VIEWS.

Sir,—Tour correspondent, Mr. J. B. Morton •Barnes, appeals to the electors to. oust the Government at the next election, and give the Opposition a turn, as the latter party would "put a stop to reckless extravagance and borrowing, . and from the point of. view ' of commercial prosperity and national welfare would /undoubtedly bring about a'change for the better." ' Allow me to inform, Mr. fiarues. that his charge of "reckless extravagance" cannot l truthfully be levelled against the Ward Administration.; On the other hand, the Government have shown a commendablo desire to practise economy by its wholesale retrenchment policy, which no previous Government would put into operation. We have a Scotch Ministry. Surely that ought to be a/sufficient guarantee that the "bawbees" will be jenlousb guarded; -Mr.'Barnes should bo fair and givo credit where it is due.- Then as regards borrowing, how would Mr. Barnes and the progressive Tory Government that he. wants us to pi uce in power—by the way, I have never heard before of a "progressive" 'i'ory Government —how would .thev , l-uu, the countrv without •borrowing? Are they progressive enough to tax land'.values-pretty-stiffly, and so raise all tho revenue required for '■ defraying the cost of government without .borrowing? 1 fear not. So they cannot bo called "progressive." Their policy, if they have one, must of necessity be a retrograde one. It must be one entirely i inimical to the "national welfare." It could • bo nothing else, because Toryism only benefits the wealthy fow—the large landowners and other greedy, ..marauding monopolists. Toryismnever has benefited the masses, and certainly never will. : ' . . • . What we. want is a Government- that will •give the people .a goad deal more of the wealth 'they create by ' collccting ' the. people-value • of,

land and swooping away tho abominable Customs duties, which aro cunningly hidden away.in the prices. of commodities. Wo want direct, not indirect; taxation. This policy is too transparently honest to suit the Opposition, and oven some so-called Liberals. They • aro quite satisfied to allow tho' many '..hundreds of iniquitous taxes on Labour to remain like so many leeches.on the backs of tho wage-earners, who, of course, are tho. least able to carry tho burden. As Mr. Barnes says, let us havo n "respectable individualism." Well, wo will get this so soon as the workers havo-brains enough to unite for the purpose of .knocking the fat leeches off their backs und of demanding that the community-created valuo of land shall go into the public till instead of into the pockets of social parasites. Until they do this no real progress will bo made.—l am, etc.,