FARMERS' POLITICAL PROTECTION FEDERATION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 354, 22 April 1911, Page 5

FARMERS' POLITICAL PROTECTION FEDERATION.

i To The Editor. Sir, —I have read with interest i your leading article of Saturday, j April Ist, on the policy formulated ' and published by the Farmers' Political Protection Federation. It sounds ; to me like the cargo in a ship's hold | that has shifted and put right on her ! beam ends (i.e. on ono side). What ; interested me mostly was plank seven, | "To combat any legislation of a So- ; cialistic rature." .Now, Sir, as long ias the Government give l ? all sorts of encouragement to settle on the land, gives advances to settlers, keeps clown trusts, and various other meas- ! ures too numerous to mention, the farmer receives them with open arms; I but if the Government says that hours lof labour shall be shortened and i wages increased, he feels quite i shocked, and says "Oh, no, there is j too much of the smell of Socialism i about that." The farmer seems to , forget that he has to depend on the consumer for all the headway he is going to make so I think he ought to ! look at things in a fair manner, and ■■ let justice be meted out to everybody. ; There are a good many farmers who ought to be thankful to the Government for their "legislation of a Socialistic nature." If it had been of a conservative nature they would certianly be carrying a bundle on their backs and a billy in their hands now. This No. seven plank reads to mo like the man who said to the waiter: "Put all the gravy on my joint, and don't put any on the other fellow's, he can eat his dry." I hope some abler pen than mine will take this up, and give the Farmers' Political Pro--1 tection Federation a good, sound literary threshing. Hoping you will : insert this in your valuable and widely-read paper.—l am, etc., i FAIR PLAY.

SPECULATION RUN MAD. To The Editor. Sir,- It is quite evident from the prices paid at the sale of leases that some people have a very big opinion of the prospective values of land here. No sane person can contend that the prices given represent the present value, and while we have bona fide residents trying to get sections on which to build, values are being rushed up by speculators, to prohibitive prices. I hope that the incoming Borough Council will give the ratepayers an opportunity of voting as to whether the rating should be on the unimproved value, or as at present. This I think would help to steady the position.—l am, etc., ONLOOKER.