THE PREMIER ON CAPITAL.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1716, 20 August 1879, Page 3

THE PREMIER ON CAPITAL.

[By Telegeaph.] [EEOII CUE OWN COEBESPONDENT. - ] WELLINGTON, August 19. Sir George Grey made a great point when ridiculing the benefits o£ capital at the Arcade meeting. It suited for the moment, but it would appear that on calmer reflection he thought it might not servo so well at Canterbury, and has carefully cut it out of the speech in the “ New Zealander,” which purports to be verbatim, and no doubt was so originally, as it was taken down by his private secretary, Mr Mitchell. Now of the way the “ New Zealander” reports Sir George Grey on “Capital” this is a fair sample:—“l say with regard to these two great sources of capital, we first of all have the earth to deal with —earth, dumb, insensible, without passion, without hopes, without fears — senseless absolutely. That great senseless mass has been for years the cire of judges has been for years the care of legislators, has been for years the care of those who love to possess it and to keep other men from it. It is admitted that for the last three hundred years the decisions of our judges have gone against their follow men, and to give the power of the earth to the few men who always manage to grasp it in their hands.” [Cheers.] Contrast the above with this extract from the report of the “ Post,” which, according to my memory is mostly the very words of the Premier, if not exactly verbatim : —“ Then, again, no policy should be adopted which would frighten away capital from New Zealand. In a new country, generally speaking, very little capital was required. What was it that created all capital in the world ? The earth and human labor applied to it. Ho urged that it was much bettor to have a largo number of families in possession of small estates than a few capitalists in the country. Therefore let them not be in the least alarmed by people who had realised their money in New Zealand, saying that if they followed a certain political course that would frighten them and their capital away. Let them go. The country would bo none the worse for

the loss. [Cheers.] He told them further that positively there might be too much foreign capital in a new country. He instanced the case of the Banks, who lent money to certain favorites of theirs, which enabled the latter to take up the best blocks of land in the province of Canterbury at £2 an acre. The result was that the poor man who wanted a small farm had to give .£5 an acre for the land on deferred paymonts, and to pay 10 per cent, upon the latter. Very few of the men who took the land on those conditions had ever recovered themselves or been able to hold up their heads. It would have been infinitely better if these poor men had been left alone for a year or two until they had saved more money and bought forty or fifty acres of the land at £2 an tore, and so been free from debt all their lives. With the earth to work on and their own arms to work it they could not fail to create capital, and they could not frighten capital away from the country.” Thera is nothing to correspond with the above extract in the “ Now Zealander’s ” report. Then take a few words from the running report of the “limes”: —“They had then proceeded to say that no policy should be adopted in the country which should frighten away capital from Now Zealand. Let them consider this question very seriously. The people who wished this state of things were those who had amassed great properties through their connection with the Legislature. In a now country very little capital was required.” _ Even the “ Chronicle ” has some report of Sir G. Grey’s remarks on capital that are not to be found in the so-called verbatim report. It says:— ‘ ‘ They should not be alarmed at the cry of the large money-holders saying they would leave the country. The fact was, such men were of no advantage to a country. It was possible to have too much foreign capital in a country like New Zealand. When foreign capital existed in abundance, the greedy monopolists bought up land in large blocks, and held them for speculative purposes.”