THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Southland Times, Issue 1350, 20 December 1870, Page 3

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

... . . . . . - ■» (From the " Evening Star/) • ; "Let us talk about the state of the nation, or something that we all understand," said Squire ' "Western; when Thwaekum and Square were discussing theological theories. This has been the pride of every Englishman and every Scotchman from time immemorial. Every man. of those free and independent races is a born geniu3, so far as government is - .concerned ; and can tell to a line how far its province extends, and where its action should stop. "With this instinctive knowledge in their brains,, one often wonders how it is they differ in opinion bo much; why country members — settlers, as they are pleased to term themselves—imagine that they have interests differing from those of the rest of the community, and are at all times ready 'to' howl down those who buy their pro- j duce, widen markets for them, and enable j '. them to get better profits through j cheapening the means of production. It i is very odd that these men contrive to bamboozle the working men, and to make them believe that for.a young community ! ■- to itand still is the best way to get rich, j . Mention to these men a loan for the con- j giaruction'ofrailwayß,and they immediately cry out tb^t it is burdening the working

classes with taxation, and they are already too heavily taxed. There is not a man amongst them who would not be able to see that if a bank would lend him some money at ten per cent, interest, and not ask him to repay the principal until he had had time to get an extra area of land into eood cultivation, he could employ more labor, raise more produce, and, if a good farmer, reap more profit than his own limited capital enables him to do. He would be still more inclined to go into the speculation if a rich , friend would come "forward and become security to the bank,, so that he could obtain the money at five or six per cent. If anybody came and told, him that by such a process wages would be reduced, and thus his workmen be taxed, he would laugh at him, and say, " How on earth can wages be reduced by giving employment to a greater number of men ?" Now we are supposing this settler to understand his \ business — to be one who knows that land , was made to provide food for animals, and animals to provide food for land ; that J to take plants and grain off the land, without putting plant and grain food back into it, is to reduce his farm to barrenness. In order to keep up this circle of feeding and reaping, he would require to have his farm properly divided, and each division fenced; he would need farm building 3, barns, feeding sheds, -tanks for liquid -manure, open sheds, cart sheds, stables, piggeries, machinery of various sorts— everything, in short, to save labor and material, and to utilise every scrap of produce. Even if all these were well arranged, it would be needful that roads should be made for easy transport of produce and manure to different parts of his farm ; and the better they were, the less labor of man and horse would be required.. The Meat Preserving Company at the Taieri are so conscious of this, that they intend laying down tramways. ; "We suppose this objector, who fancied increase of work meant reduction of wages, seeing all this apparently costly outlay, might say, " But you will reduce wages, because your own men cannot do the work, and you mu9t bring in men from another district." iThe natural reply would be, "I cannot do without them, and as I cannot get them to wok for nothing, until I have my work done I must pay them such wages as they ask. When I have done with them, somebody else will want them, for there is plenty of land for other farms, plenty of gold, plenty of everything lying about, to give work to aa many as like to come." " But," says the objector, " you are borrowing without any prospect of paying the money back again. Tour loan will bring you to poverty." The reply would be, " I have ! not laid out one penny fooliaMy. I have not wasted money in a war of law for the purpose of ruining my neighbor ; I have taken care not to spend one penny that will not, sooner or later, come back again with interest ; and every year I live, my farm becomes more valuable, because more productive, and because there are more people to be fed. If I have laid out money- on hm'idingaJJiey-^are-Jihere^-and worth the money ; if I have invested it in fences, shelter sheds, or baras, they are there, and worth the money ; if I have laid down tramways, their cost has been saved ten times over, for I need so many horses fewer and thus can fatten so many more cattle for the butcher." Out intelligent settler- woul~d~~"undoub~tedly speak the truth. He would not be one who would want to run his cattle over a Hundred, but would say if he had the offer—" i^o thank you ; I want them to feed my land."' "We suppose there are a few even amongst Mr Reid's " tail " who could see thus far ; but when these common-sense views are applied to a Province instead of a farm, they are shortsighted. They can see how nice it would be to have a friend to give security, go that the bank would lend money at a reduced rate jof interest ; but they cannot see how nice'it is for the General Government to become security for the Province, so that money may be had at two per cent, interest less than we are authorised to pay^ They can Bee the advantage of good roads, even about their farms ; but they cannot see beyond their farm boundaries, and perceive in prospect their produce, after being- run with ease along tracks carefully made and preserved on their own farms, placed upon a smooth railroad, and whirled alc«i£ jfcfi.ajp_ort of shipment, put on board a vessel, and sent, as food to lands less productive and needing supplies. But while we are on the subject of loans, we may as well remind the people of a secret that is not sufficiently thought of by men who talk glibly about" centralism and provincialism. Our I opinions as to localisation of expenditure are too well known for anyone to suppose that we have any other object than the welfare of the province. . "We are too deeply impressed with the .vital importance of the questions remitted to the people for consideration, to allow party feelings to enter into the discussion of them. " Measures, not men," must be our watchword. Upon the subject of loans, then, when men. talk of borrowing on provincial security only, they either mean to hoodwink the people for their own profit, or they do not know the history of what they talk about. On the 31st December, 1867, the debt of the province was £723,300, and the average rate of interest 6 6-10 per cent. But that does not really represent the case. In consequence of bad provincial management, and provincial loans not being negotiable in the English market, Otago, notwithstanding its princely estate, its mines of mineral wealth, and pastoral and agricultural riches, had to accept as little as £80 some years ago for its £100 'debentures. That is to say, Otago bought £80 worth of money with £100 worth of credit, and on condition of. paying interest, on £100 until the principal was repaid. Very nice pickings had some wido-awake gentlemen, and very much they would like more of them. It looks very nice on paper that loan of £500,000 at 6 per cent, interest; but when we know that little more than £400,000 (we speak from memory) was

really obtained, we shall see that instead of 6 per cent., we are really paying above 8| per cent, for it. Tet there are shortsighted men who want to perpetuate this system. "What we want our readers to have, is a clear understanding of the matter. "We are told we can have railways made for us at once, at a low rate of interest, and without paying any additional premium, because the General Government will be security for us. Let us take them at their word. Every estate in the province will be more valuable in consequence ; we shall be able to keep a larger population in comfort and happiness — and the more people that come, the lighter will be our taxation. Nor will work cease when railways are made, for more land can be profitably cultivated, more townships peopled, more houses required, more furniture, more eatables, more drinkables — in short, more work for all classes.