EDITORIAL

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 18 February 1914, Page 4

EDITORIAL

SIR JOHN FINLAY

SPEAKS.

The thorough manner m which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has opened the campaign against, the selfish side of the landed interest leaves nothing to be desired except more power to enjoy his tremendous invective so happy and so direct. The interest had hoped that he would have come to them ready to buy their acres which they will not use and will not permit anybody else to use at fabulous pieces. The offer of the Duke of Sutherland proves their attitude. Instead of millions they expected from a simple Chancellor of the Exchequer, they got the brand of Ananias and Sapphira. They stand convicted before the world of pleading low value when having to pay rates and citing high values when demanding exorbitant prices for their land. The in-! stance quoted are enough to make the world stop with a desire to send some great land owner to the gallows and to cause the dead of many generations to turn in their grave. They will have to face the music. Lloyd George has played the tune and is going to repeat it with variations until it has the desired effect. His plan is eminently sane. No hardship whatever for the men who rightly use their lands, and *or those who do but just bare justice. Justice clamours against permitting great cities to become " quagmires of human misery " for the enrichment of men devoid of any notion of duty. The whole of mankind must wake up at the sound of this trumpet and follow in the chancellor's wake with songs, and rejoicings and a great cry of the slum has gone past the poor, narrow undemonstartive though most zealous slum-worker. It has reached the highest political platform and it is boomed by the greatest Liberal trumpet that has arisen for generations. Here we catch sight of the manifesto given to the world by Sir John Findlay early of Jast week. Seizing opportunity of a meeting of the Liberal party he has howled the truth as he considers it to them. rlhey are about to get the last chance at the election in December next, and if they do not formulate a fine policy of Reform and Liberalism they will perish for evermore. The policy he declares presents a "baffling" subject to their leaders, so baffling it seems as to be almost impossible. Sir John himself thinks they ought to take a leaf out of the George Lloyd book not Henry—to build a policy thereon. But what are the George points ? Manhood suffrage and one man one vote. Welsh Disestablishment, Parliamentary, or Upper House Kef.orai, Home .Rule for Ireland and eventually for all the United Kingdom, the reform of the land system of Britain, and insurance against poverty Suchis the Georgian programme. But hero the Liberals claim that they have, achieved much of it and the rest is manifestly in a region entirely away from anything we know. It is a false pretence to call oracularly on the Liberal leaders to formulate policies on Georgian lines. A fallacy propounded of course can have but one end, to topple down the man to whom it is offered, This is the Findlay return for the help of the Liberals to his career as a politician. That, however, is a matter for the political associates of the knight to deal with. Our purpose in mentioning the matter here is to protest against any one pretending that the conditions of land holding aro accompanied here hy anything like the evils attending the, British system against which the George programme is directed. We require more land for settlement mcl want great estates broken up for the purpose. But we havo no '■ quagmires of misery " in our great cities or anywhere else.