WAIMATE CABBAGE GADDENS.

Patea Mail, 12 October 1880, Page 3

WAIMATE CABBAGE GADDENS.

Intending buyers of laud in the Waimate Plains complain that the sections arc too small, that they want " farms, not cabbage gardens, ■' and that the size of the sections docs not give “ a fair chance to the cash buyer. 5 ’ It is so seldom wc hear of the i; cash buyer” complaining of unfairness that wc pause a moment to consider the meaning of the term. He means simply that there will be more competition for sections of 50 acres area than those of 300 acres. But what docs this signify ? That there will be more purchasers for aSO acre section than for one of 300 acres. If not this, there is no meaning in the complaint. The question is how far Government is justified in adhering to business principles in selling laud for cash. This, however, has nothing to do with the selfish-

ness which complains of regulations which bring more purchasers into the field. In proportion to the size of the sections, t here will be people with the means to enable them to compete successfully. To complain of this is a transparently selfish feeling which is entitled to no weight whatever. The high and mighty notions expressed in the terra “ cabbage garden ” arc of course identical with the views of those who consider sheep and cattle farming the ultimate goal of the farmer on the coast. Fifty acres devoted to cabbages is an idea which a very great man with credit at the bank might express. The idea might be somewhat enlarged, and the thought directed to the disgrace of having to import potatoes from Canterbury.—Wang. Herald.