A REPLY TO MR. VICOR BROWN.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 913, 5 September 1910, Page 8

A REPLY TO MR. VICOR BROWN.

. Sir,—Mr. J. Vigor-Brown's-speech iu the Houso recently ■is'.so full-. of- in : . accuracies that "it is only-;fair "that''a : 'few of them at any rate should'.bo corrected. ! V' {'■ .'.; ' ' Ho states;" Wo were told that every settler' on' the Hatuma '-'.Estate 1 , was. going to .be 1 ruined. .Where are they tp-day ?■( They .are all,• wealthy -people.'' As a matter of fact I'attended an auction sale of furniture',.etc., of two-bank-ruptsettlors on tho , Hatuma: Estate, just, two years after these same'settlers had been congratulated, on acquiring tho best portions of Hatuma. Tnr deed,'tho'greater'number of tho origi-nal-settlers "on Hatuma, are. no longer there, but a goqd -many others' aro no*, there, profiting.by the original expenditure. One.farmer left his' farm, stock,, also his debts—the Hatuma Lake was dragged for him, but he could never be found. •'.* - ' ; •'. - 'Then 'again: "Going back to .'the Tongoio Settlement, that has.bee'nVemihently successful." That, statement has yet to'be proved, as I would back.the blackberries-against any settler.-'. "Another run.the Governments bought'was Clydebank at Wairoa. Tho man who owned knew.him personally— is dead now." 'I/would- like to inform Mr; Brown that the man, who owned Clydebank,, and who;still .owns, apportion of it, is as much alive irow. as" Mr. Brown is.. . . Mr. Brown again asks: "Why-should that man have the. right to acquire a greater area of land than he- already holds?" I should like to ask Mr. Brown why he-should have' the right to. acquire moro than one hotel. .As a matter, of fact.. he is' credited ! with -controlling about' a score. , , It 1 would appear nowadays as if the only people in Now Zealand were those who, had to do with -hotels, ; as - they have risen to tho highest ■ positions in tho Dominion. Any landowner, however, is held up to public obloquy. One begins to wonder now whether it is the landowner or the publican, who has mado Now Zealand what she- is.—l am, etc., ■■',•'■■ '■ A HEAVILY-TAXED SETTLER. Napier,' September 1.