THE MAN ON THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 14 July 1922, Page 6

THE MAN ON THE LAND

(To the Editor) •** Sir. —I noticed a letter in a recent issue of your paper written over the signature of ‘■Back-blocker.” in which he asks the question, “Is the moratorium a sham?” Any liberal-minded individual must admit that he states a case which should be regulated, otherwise it proves conclusively that the Act is a sham, playing into the hands of the mortgagees. Just imagine a Government calling themselves “Reformers” sending the Valuer-General around the country with a staff at the ratepayers’ expense on the eve of an election to mediate between mortgagors and mortgagees, and making vague and impossible promises, when the necessary legislation has not been passed to back up such a misleading policy, which is only a deformity. It seems to be on a par with the administration of the Advances to Settlers Department. What do you find on. making application for assistance here

similar state of affairs exists. I will "it. a case in point i A family takes up land in Taranaki in 1920 and pays £l5 per acre for it. partly improved land which when cleared will grow the best of crops essential to dairying. They graft and slog for two years clearing more ground and fencing, •greatly improving the place. They make application to the Government for assistance through the State Advances. , Department, to tide them over, and save if possible their deposit of £350 paid on the property. The mortgagee is a land agent and a non-producer. who threaten- to overwhelm this hardworking family. Now is he going to ,be protected, or are these real producers? To make matters • worse, the ; land is L.1.P.. the sale of which was 1 sanctioned by the Land Board, so they j are Crown tenants. On making ini vestigations T discovered that an M.P. 1 sailing under the Liberal-Labor flag, was able to get £5OO advanced to one i of his relation* under the Advances to ■ Workers Act when the borrower was • and is still holdinsr a comfortable commercial position, sitting in an armchair most of his time, and i« encouraged by • a svstem of thi* kind. Is this the • wav to develop loyal citizens of the i Empire? . Such case* should bp proI k .-ter and a better and more 'liberal i legacy left to th? rising oreneration. who i are being robbed of their birthright bv ! a svstem of land aggregation and • speculation. The returned, soldiers . have been treated in a similar manner. I Before we are going to vet good sound I liberal Government in New Zealand we ■ must get the noxious weeds out of

Parliament, which are a greater menace than blackberry and ragwort. The Promi-or -aye that land is only worth what you can produce from it. If that is so there is only one solution to the present conditions existing. and that is a re-valuation of the land, and a ;>e — ; system of rating, with some ur’.onniTy The earlv pioneers of this country i came her ’ to avoid conservative ideas. and th< very system they tried to | avoid is now being inflicted on the present and rising generation. The Peform Government are now on their knees, and now is the time to count ' them out. and fashion a new system .of Liberalism, composed of men with ■ pure blood, bone and muscle which , ; ntakes for normal mentality and good : j government. in place of the present conservative system of administration. ; which has done more tha— the war to create the present slump conditions. These are everyday arguments. but now is the time to organise and develop them ‘The last roan and the last shilling" was the cry during the war. Why not "One man. one farm" be cur motto? —I am. etc. R. L. SLYFIELD. Fit ?roy.