THE MALIGNED "BIG MAN."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1389, 15 March 1912, Page 8

THE MALIGNED "BIG MAN."

FUNDAMENTALS OF LAND OCCUPATION. A covering note attached to the following letter runs: "A few casual remarks by a casual reader from the masses who does not own one acre of land, or much more than its equivalent in cash." The remarks in question aro as follow:—"Of late years a certain section of the public, who may he described as the 'have nots,' and a number of newspaper editors have persistently spoken and written of the owner of rural property with.the primary object of creating industrial strife or political capital, until the frequency with which theso outbursts against 'capitalists' and 'land monopolists' have been repeated would leave the unthoughtful to believe that the country is in the iiands of a few unscrupulous people who are standing in tho way of progress. Tho misguided people in question aro quite at liberty to their opinion, but from the writer's standpoint the vapid outpourings with which the public are being bombarded lack the force necessary to carry conviction. The uttor foolishness of continually raising the cry of rural capital against. labour, and town against country, cannot bB too strongly condemned. It would appear from some of the published statements of men and writers who presume to give a lead to public opinion that they have entirely overlooked the fact that 85 per cent, of the exports from the Dominion come directly from the soil. This being beyond dispute, would it not be to tho general well-being of the community if, instead of devoting their talents to destructive criticism, these malcontents and disturbers of the public welfare wero to use their tongues and pens in the more sensible direction of fostering the best interests of the producers, and in creating a bond of fellowship between all classes of the community. No thinking or observant person will deny that there is room for the better management and adjustment of tho people's estate, but why continually assail the producer, as though he, and lie alone, constituted a menace to so-called national progress, and the happiness of tho inhabitants of the Dominion? The Interested Agitator, "For tho time being it suits interested agitators to devote their attention to the person, who, in their most polite language, is called the 'squatler'; the man who sits still and does nothing; but particular pare is taken to avoid specific details. The 'squatter,' we are told, holds huge areas of land that are not nmdo to produce to the utmost or carry tho population that it is capable of. This contention is readily granted, but it should not Ira forgotten that with few exceptions no land in New Zealand is doing that. There are, unfortunately, some lands held in bondage for speculative purposes, but they are distinct from that which is in occupation. Thoso who are clamouring for the early subdivision of large estates will see the consummation of their desires as soon as the necessity-for closer settlement asserts itself, which is not yet. In the meantime the present occupiers will continue to be, as they have been in the past, tho source from which the bulk of the country's internal revenuo will ho derived, independent of tho valuable assistance that their position enables them to give to the general well-being. Have the good services rendered by theso alleged 'undesirables' in the past been forgotten? Time was when a 'capitalist' who had the pluck to invest his casli or mortgage his estate and take up virgin, uncultivated land, far from the haunts of civilisation, was welcomed by the Minister for Finance with an empty Treasury. Markets were in those days unknown, and it is a well-known fact that when one survived tho ordeal of pioneering hali'-a-dozcn went bankrupt or were forced to liquidate their estates. Had it not been fur tho cash that these early 'land-grabbers' were able to command hew many of the men who were sent into isolated districts on smaller farms would lmvo been able lo get a footing? Had they not been able to supplement their incomes by going to work lor'the big man on the estate, where would they have been? Indeed, many of our most successful men of to-day owe their start in life to tho experience gnined and wages saved on these places which were dotted about all over both islands. The Pioneer Landlords. "It would be instructive and highly entertaining to know at this stage of the Dominion's progress what amount of capital was invested and lost by these early pioneer landlords, and what ellpct their speculatijns have had on present-day agriculture and elliciency in stock-breeding. Where were the foundations of the famous studs of purebred cattle, sheep, and horses laid, about which present-day admirers at show rings are so proud? Who bore the expense then? The same people who aro doing it to-day, the big landowners, with tho possible exception of a few dairy cattle which have in recent years beeu impjrted by dairymen. Ninety per cent.- of the entries of stock (except dairy cattle-) como from tha piucb.-attas.ked

'monopolist' landowner, who is (he only man that can all'ord the necc.-siiry outlay of cash necessary to maintain the high standard of breeding by the infusion of new blood from abroad. During the past few decades science and inventions have materially altered tho whole prospect of rural life, and to a great extent made conditions easier for the man on the land who is fortunate to be near the centres of population, but it should be borne in mind that a great deal of the haul (lint is now being successfully treated is the diiect result of vast sums of money that were sunk in improvements by investors in the early days. It is not suggested that past or'present holders of large estates invested their hard cash, or that they run their enterprises for purely philanthropic reasons, but it must be conceded by reasonable and dispassionate men that where tho big man is getting the pennies the cuinlry is getting the.pounds n« the result of his pi'Dgressiveness, notwithstanding all that is said to the contrary. As already stated, when the necessity arrives (for which there is abuiuhnt proof by the number of land sales that are daily advertised) largo holdings will give way to smaller areas. Possibly, if all the land were held in five aero blocks, and each acre was producing its utmost there would still be the same cry from the wearer ot the red tie nnd the wielder of the misguided pen. These individuals have, however, to live, and they have evidently chosen a form of occupation that brings them li monetary reward for congenial work, but it is deplorable to think that so much energy is being devoted towards fostering enmity instead of unity."