The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1914. THE REAL MAKERS OF PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 49, 18 July 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1914. THE REAL MAKERS OF PROGRESS.

If there is one topic ;>n which public speakers love to dwell, it i.s that of the progress and prosperity of the Dominion. It is a sure raiser of that applause which speakers regard as the salt of life, nnd whether or not they claim a share (th.y mostly do) in the gratifying result on which they dilate in grandiloquent term--. there is always a stirring up nf the patriotism which is found very much on I''.' surface at public functions. The head of the Government, 'Ministers in general, and members of Parliament, municipal and local government magnates, and every other speaker at public functions, all manage, to make what kudos they can out of the marvellovs progress of Xcw Zealand, and especially is credit claimed by members of both of the leading political parties for the legislation which each of those parties has either initiated or supported. Without doubt State assistance, especially in t':e form of cheap money advanced to the settlers, has heen a potent factor in developing the resources of Ine Dominion and hastening its progress and prosperity, and if the Liberal Government had done no other great work, that alone would entitle it to the lasting gratitude of the country. P, v fostering the dairying and farming industries and placing them in the best position to compete . against the other suppliers of the world's markets considerable impetus was given to progress. The real factor, however which overshadows all others has heen the settlers themselves. It is to the grand pioneering work of the early settlers, as well as to the. stout hearts and strong arms of their sons, that this young country owes the largest share of its success, and above all to the thrift and energy of those who form the backbone of the country. No lavish outpouring of money from the coffers of the State, no legislation and Governmental administration, however wise and benclicial, would have availed vrithout the thew and sinew, the untiring industry, the pluck and determination of our settlers. Who would imagine that in comparatively half a life time our exports of produce alone have increased so steadily that to-day they touch upon £23,ooo,ooo—the product of soil tilled and cultivated hy a handful of the community! Our source of national wealth springs from the soil, and industrial and commercial concerns are rested upon it. It is to the settlers who, turning their backs on civilisation and its comparative advantages, faced the initial privations of an existence devoid of comfort, to hew for themselves and theirs a home out of virgin forest, that most credit is due. Far removed from neighbors and friends, denied education for their children, dreading the day that sickness might enter the rnoftree, these men and women struggled on year in and year out, living on work, taking their only relaxation in rest, and adding to the wealth ami prosperity of their country. This a.-peet of the case is all too frequently lo.t sight of. There is still ch .that should be done to lighten the hardships of the back-blocks settlers, ■and if tile grand work they are doing for the country were only recognised as it. should he, they would receive far more practical sympathy and encouragement than has hitherto been customary, for it is to them and those engaged on (ho land throughout the Dominion that New Zealand's present productivity is due, and it is to them that the country om» a debt of obligation that - '" ~ ~ , , JS can never be