THE FARMER AND THE LAND

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 41, 12 November 1919, Page 9

THE FARMER AND THE LAND

Sir—Anyone .who takes an ordinary interest in the. affairs of the country cannot holp noticing the fact that before evorv election would-be M.P.'s, in order to catch votes, say that they would burst up tho large estates and put on a graduated land tax. The man that talks like this is a rule utterly ignorant of the subject ho talks about, and he also ignores the fact that most of the farmers in New Zealand, and not the small ones, by any means, although perhaps farming many acres, are in reality only owners ia name, they having to pay hundreds of pounds in interest each vear on mortgages, no matter how good or bad the season. Also the fact is lost siirht of that many farmers now owning lair-sized places have worked hard for many years, and saved to buy their land. But does tho prospective members think of this? Is there any consideration shown by him for thrift and hard work? No; ho stands up and loudly declares he is in favour of a graduates land tax—or, m other words, 1 am in favour of making things so hard for the man with land, that if lie is not bankrupt, he will verv soon be. And this is British fair play. None of us farmers has acQitired our laud by fraud. We hayo paid cash as far as we were able, mid taken mortgages, and how daro any man advocate robbing the landowners to catch votes. Another cry just now is the soldiers should get the land at pro-war values. Well, a great many of us farmers sent our sons, I myself sent two, and if the land should be sold at pre-war values, so should clothes, food, etc. Why penalise the land in particular? For mv Dart. 1 think the soldiers are not doing so badly buying lana, as some o,> their would-be champions try to make nut. I know one who bought- land at £b per acru about three months .ago, and he is now asking £15, and may lie get it, -.'tv I. So perhaps the gentlemen, with the graduated land-tax scheme will evolve something else to catch votes meanwhile—l am. etc., A THINKER.