King Country Chronicle Saturday, April 1, 1911. FARMERS AND REFORM.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 349, 1 April 1911, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, April 1, 1911. FARMERS AND REFORM.

i The policy of the Farmers' Political Protection Federation, as formulated and published this week, is not one particularly calculated to set the Thames on fire. No farmer will have : any quarrel with the proposal that Crown tenants shall have the right to obtain the freehold on reasonable ; terms, and the legislation of past ! sessions has gone some way in this ; direction. But if it is desirable that Crown tenants shall have that option, it might be thought that large land- '. owners wouldd be willing to extend \ the same facilities to their tenants. I Plank two in the platform asks that i landowners shall be relieved from | taxation if they place settlers on their lands. Yes, quite so: but let those I settlers acquire the freehold, and taxj ation ceases as far as the original i landowner is concerned. Plank three i asks that farmers be relieved of taxa- ; tion, in proportion to wages paid. That seems reasonable and just. A business man arrives at his net profits i after payment of wages and all other i charges, and farmers should be : treated in the same fashion. Plank four speaks of facilities for investment, but as most farmers have plenty of openings in their own holdings for investing any savings, it hardly : affects them. The policy of the country is for the State to own the | railways. It is often severely criticised, but on the whole, we prefer it : to private management. Consequentj ly, to advocate privately-built lines is i a hopeless policy. Differential rail- : way rates on timber will probably continue, so long as we have an important milling industry employing an enormous capital and a large number of hands. The construction of all public works by contract is a pious aspiration. Take our own borough. Tenders were invited, and we know with what result. Plank seven, to combat any legislation of a Socialistic nature, while at the same time we find farmers asking the State to assist in controlling the meat trust and to improve the standard of supervision over butter, meat and other exports, needs explanation. "Socialism," like that blessed word "Mesopotamia," is open to various interpretations. If it is desirable that the State shall assist the framer by experimental farms, the grading of butter, the giving of preferential railway rates for the carriage of poultry, eggs and fruit, the making and maintaining of arterial roads, public schools, post offices, telephones, and all those public services which have done, and are doing, so much to brighten country life and make it more attractive, then by whatever name it may be called, we shall have to have more of it. What our farmers, through their Union, should aim at, is the getting of more and more of these facilities for the districts

they live in. If they co-operate one with one another and agitate for greater facilities, then they have the power to insist upon the strongest of governments listening to them with respect. If on the other hand they leave their affairs to one or two salaried oHicials to manage, they will get im attention. Nothing hut clone person:)! devufmn to their own cause c:m 1: in the farmer to gain hi;: deserts. 1L is significant of what, has been left. unsaid rather than sal.!, in this cautiously drawn up document, that the question of tantl's or no Urid's, duties for protective', or duties for revenue purposes, is dismissed in exactly seven words: "to resist any increase in protective duties."