THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1892. ANTI-POVERTY SOCIETY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2354, 10 May 1892, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1892. ANTI-POVERTY SOCIETY.

We have received the annual report of the Auckland Anti-Poverty Society, the President of which is Sir George Grey. It is needless for us to say that we sympathise with its objects. We believe that poverty should not exist; that there is enough and to spare for all; and that bad laws, dishonesty and injustice are the causes of the want and misery of this earth. We like the Auckland Society for another reason ; we like it because of the simplicity of its rules. Political Associations as a general rule lay down platforms, and any one who cannot subscribe to every item on their programme is looked upon as an enemy. It does not infrequently happen, too, that some items are most impracticable, and consequently the societies often do a lot of mischief in splitting lip the people into sections, instead of uniting them. When the present Government brought forward their Graduated Land Tax proposals a society in Wellington condemned them because they did not go the whole length of Henry George's " Single Tax " ideas. To do that would be a fearful jump all at once ; it would be too violent; it would create a panic; and do an immense amount of harm. Reforms such as that cannot be brought about in a day or a year, it may take an age to do it with safety, and it is well that this is the case, for hurried reforms always lead to reactionary movements. The Auckland Anti-Poverty Society has very wisely

avoided such dangers ; it has practicallyonly one rule, which runs as follows : "The object of the Society shall be to spread by such peaceable and lawful means as may be found most desirable and efficient, a knowledge of the truth that God has made provision for the needs of all men during their residence upon earth, and that involuntary poverty is the result of the human laws that allow individuals to claiin as private property that which the Creator has prgvided for the use of all, and by every consistitutional means to wage an active warfare against the conditions that in spite of the advance in the powers of production condemn so many to degrading poverty, and foster I vice, Grimo, and greed." This lays down no stringent law ; any one can subscribe to it, and yet the society in its report says that it is meet- ! ing with strenuous opposition, which, however, it looks on as a cheering result. It says : " The first colonial borrowing schemes were promoted zealously by owners of property, in order to open up and improve their lands, eo now we find the same , people forming themselves into National (!) ' Associations, with the 'sole object of ; deluding the public and holding on to i their unjust privileges, Courting, as we i

do, the utmost publicity and fullest discussion of our principle, we rejoice whenever our opponents state them fairly, but ii!) fortunately, owing to the inherent badness of their own case, they are driven to try to equalise matters by misrepresenting ours ! They never tire of calling out "confiscation !" "robbery!" " spoliation!" -asserting with the most barefaced disregard of facts that we desire that the Government should oust settlers from their holdings without any compensation whatever. This is the way our opponents state the case for us. Now, we most emphatically deny that there is one word of truth in their statement of our case." Of course there is not, and there never was a word of truth in such a statement. He would be a lunatic indeed who would hamper farmers, or do anything to injure them in any way. Sir Robert Peel used to say that whenever he wanted extra taxation he went to the farmers for it, because they always submitted to be fleeced as patiently as their own sheep did. It has been so in the past in New -Zealand. The farmers have been fleeced by the large land-owners, speculators, and money-rings, but it is to be hoped that the present taxation will open their eyes, and that they will now see who their real friends are. Half the freehold land of New Zealand was escaping with a tax of less than two pence per acre, while many farmers paid wj, many shillings. In this way the large land-owners were not paying their legitimate share, but were shifting it on to the shoulders of the struggling tiller of the soil, and now, when their trickery has been found out they are very angry, and are endeavoring to make the farmers believe that the Government contemplates confiscating all property in land. This will not do. Farmers are not so foolish as to believe that anyone outside a lunatic asylum ever thought of such a thing. There has been a good deal of talk about land nationalisation, but that only referred to Crown lauds. The Government do not believe in selling Crown lands; they believe in leasing them, so that the rents shall go into the public revenue, and thus lessen taxation. It is difficult to understand how any one can oppose this with the exception of money-lenders and lawyers. Money-lenders, of course, could not lend on a perpetual lease, and lawyers would not have transfer deeds, mortgage deeds, and so on to make out. These two classes would lose by the perpetual leasing becoming the recognised tenure of land, but every other class would gain by it, and all the absurdities about making the land one's own is nonsense. We have to congratulate the Auckland Anti-Poverty Society on the good work it is doing. By means of lectures, debates, and newspaper controversies they are opening the people's minds to the injustice and fraud frequently practised upon them, and in this way they are doing an immense amount of good. We hope the Society will spread, and that its branch will extend to every town in New Zealand. There is no reason why poverty should exist in a fruitful country like this if its affairs were rightly managed, but when a few are reaping all the fruit of the many's labour poverty is unavoidable.