COUNTRY NEEDS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1830, 16 August 1913, Page 4

COUNTRY NEEDS.

The rights and wrongs of the oountry settlers were placed before Parliament in a forcible manner yesterday by the member for Taumarunui (Mr. Wilson) and the member for Pahiatua (Mr. Escott). Some superior people are inclined to sneer at the country member and to talk of his parochialism and limited outlook ; but, • as a matter of fact, all that can be said against him is that he puts first things first. Railways and roads and bridges arc of vital importance to the settlers, and to the people as a whole, and a good country member naturally makes full use of his opportunities to keep the needs of his district under the notice of the Government and Pauliament. His words aro the more effective because they come from ono who can speak from actual experience, and has a practical knowledge of the settlers' daily life and urgent needs. Though Mr. Wilson in his speech yesterday dealt with the Budget mainly from the point of view of tie small farmer and backblocks settlor, ho inado some vary sensible remarks in dofeuoo of those pioneers.

of settlement who, after long years of hard work in developing the country, are now decried. He protested against the attacks which politicians of a certain type make upon these men, aim ply because they havo been successful. Mr. Wilson also insisted that more must be done to make life in the backblocks comfortable and attractive. One way of doing this is to place the children of the settlers on an equal footing with city children in tho matter of education, and therefore Mn. Escott's vigorous plea for educational reform is sure to meet with the approval of those fathers and mothers who live far away from the centres of population, and whoso children have to travel long distances to and from school. Mr. Escott believes that something moro should be done for the school teachers, but

lie' sees through the sham criticism of those anti-Reformers who had very litfclo to 6ay about the wrongs of the teachers while th<yr own party was in power, but are now making a great noise with the object of embarrassing the Reform Government.