A SMALL FARMER'S VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1497, 20 July 1912, Page 6

A SMALL FARMER'S VIEWS.

Sir,—Wo see a good lot about the farmers and high wages, ;but I don't think the little farmer with a large family ever gets much chance 'to qir- ins views. .It's, a funny thing,': if you look about this district you will libtico. the small farmer has the large family, and the largo farmer is often cither childless or clsa a bachelor' or absentee. Well, the high wages just suits the little farmer,- for his boys 'havo to go out to work, and I have six of them, end if the big man can't pay them, they goto town. ..Th.o,..big.man:could;pa,v them if ho did not give .w much for his land. Wen I caino to tho Seventy Mile Bush over 30 years ago, the wages for labour were one shilling per. hour, and it is tho same yet. We gavoone pound,per nexo for. forest land, two pounds for felling, another two for grossing and fencing, and then by the time you put up a small house and sired it would havo cost us about eeven> pounds per acre. We sold our butter to the stores for sixpence per pound; how wo get one shilling per pound foi butter-fat, besides a bonus. Now, the people that bought the land then nsd stuck to ,it can well afford to give a fair day's pay for their Work, bnt recent arrivals that are giving twenty to thirty pounds per aero are really milking for the mortgagee, and. really ought to bo pitied for their sad wail. Well, if the ticvernment would make every owner livo oa his place, and Dot allow him to work it on the share system; which often means a family all working for what tho head ought to receive, for I have, read in eome old book that tho labourer is worthy of his hire.—l am, etc., at present, A FORTY-ACBH FAKMEB,