FUTURE REFORM POLICY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 257, 24 July 1920, Page 7

FUTURE REFORM POLICY

Sir,—Now that the voire on the noconfidence motions have shown that the Reform Party has a good majority, and that tho Labour Party intends to supplant the Liberals and will make a strong bid for power at the next election, the Government should look to the future and act so as to secure the support of tho moderate it embers of the Liberal Party, in order to prevent Extreme Labour attaining power 111 the newt Parliament. Tho chief asset of the Lilieral platform is the denunciation of tho large estates; but the leaders, though in absolute power for 21 years, of late must have seen that to break up tee estates and to convert a lot of wage-earners who_ supported them for the hope of receiving something at other peoples expense, into small farmers with a stako in the country, was not as good for the party as to denounce tho large landowners at election times, and to leavo them alone at other periods. Since the war many- landowners have sold parts or tt<o whole oftheir land for soldier settlement, often at pre-war prices, but Others havo not only kept their land, but kavo bought more, in spite of appeals to sell from the Government and returned soldiers' associations. When large properties have been offered for subdivision by auction sale, in most eases the land has been bought by speculators or neighbours. As these large landowners have had an unparalleled opportunity to reduce their properties at good prices sinco the war ended, and trove not done so, some steps sliould bo taken by the Government to reduce estates of over tlio value of, say, ,£25,(W0, unimproved value, for a start, probably by increasing the graduated land tax on over that amount on a rapidly increasing scale. It is doubtful whether many of these large properties pay current rates of interest on the present prices they would realise for land and stock, and tho owners would probably have increased net incomes if they sold. To stop the speculator, the Government should consider taxing profits made by speculators in buying and selling the fame land since conscription caino into force, as many soldiers had to sell out for what they could get, and since buy at a. greatly increased price. . After studying the r.pecches and writings of the Labour Party and trado . unionists, it sems hopeless to expect, that waste-earners will increase production or Bettlo down. New Zealand has proba'fly h smaller proportion of wage-earnetl than other civilised countries, < and tl'.o aim of those who wish to avoid Bolshevism and revolution should bo as largely as possiblo increase tho number of persons working for themselves oil. smalt farms or otner industries, 'small contracts or co-operative associations. Farmers should aim more at feeding and supplying themselves than" in selling articles to middlemen to mako huge profits out of. New Zealand is preeminently a small farmer's country. The mora factories we have, the more trouble ana danger of class war we shall have also. Everything is done now to ' boom tlio large' towns, and to draff people iuto them from the country. In the city q! New York it is estimated that at least 20,000 new bouses are required to house the people who cannot get them, wliilo 21.000 farm houses are vacant and abandoned in the State of New York alone. It would be interesting to know how many houses aio vacant in the count 17 and on the farms in Now Zealand, whilo people are demanding many thousands to be built in the towns. The Government should also endeavour to settle as much wasto land as possible, aften reserving tin? good bush for forestry, and should do much more to restrain profiteering, especially in local manufactures, such as woollen goods and boots. The Reform Party .vns a splendid chanco if they act wisely to acquire and retain the support of the sane and moderate majority of tlio community, but tlio ■extremists will be-against thom whatever they do, or however much' they may pander to them.—l am, clc '