The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, JULY 23, 1901. FARMERS AND POLITICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 164, 23 July 1901, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, JULY 23, 1901. FARMERS AND POLITICS.

'Die position of the farmer is coming in for a good doal of attention just now, and both sides in politics are beginning to pose strongly as the farmer’s friend. Whether the settler will reap any advantage from this battle remains yet to be seen. The Auckland Herald takes up the subject to make a fierce attack on the Government. “Although,” says our contemporary, “the country settlers have not been entirely ignored, they kayo every reason to contend that in no" single particular have they received that consideration to which

they are justly entitled, and that the energies of the Government have been devoted to legislation which is hound to press heavily upon them. One remarkable difference between the town-unionist and the coming countrj'-unionist is that the latter recognises the national interests as being akin to his own j lie wishes to

see the country settled, lie desires technical education, he knows that only by increasing his production, opening better markets, cheapening processes and improving the quality of his output can he be advantaged. Doubtless any class is apt to exaggerate its claims to national consideration and in seeking its own advantage is prone to overlook the "rights of others ; but while this may some day be true of the farmers at the present time they are quite fully occupied in tabulating their real and pressing grievances.” Continuing, the article states: “ Because the Farmers’ Union ventures to oppose a policy which has hold back our North Islaud settlement, delayed railways, made high freights, prevented road-making, limited dairying, and disastrously affected the population increase of the entire colony, Mr Seddon bans it as a political organisation and his political henclnuen reecho his comminution.” The critic

hits on one strong point in alluding to the fact that no amount of labor legislation will help to increase prices on the London market :—“ We can put a Customs wall round the colony and by excluding foreign competition can wring from the consumer the wherewithal to enable the awards of the Arbitration Court to be carried out. But though we can compel our New Zealand farmer to pay sevoral shillings extra for a pair of boots wo cannot compel the London buyer to correspondingly pay more for butter or the Yorkshire buyer to sympathetically raise the price of wool. When wo are in tho trough of the great wave of prosperity which has swept over the civilisod world and of which misI government has prevented us from feeling the full effects, when markets contract and prices fall, then we shall be taught the meaning of this economic law. Meanwhile since there is no way bj' which tho Stato can help the farmer except by expediting his industrial activity and thereby increasing the output of national wealth, he is one of those whom the Government should strain ovoiy nerve to multiply and encourage, instead of neglecting him whon ho is unprotesting and berating him as a political agitator the moment he forms a union which is necessarily beyond Mr Seddon’s control.” It is to.be hoped that the increased attention given to the farmers’ interest will be benoficial. In any case, it can hardly do harm. The Government are coming in for some hard knocks, but they can stand that. It is timo the needs of the country settlers were more hoard of.