The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume xv, Issue 4776, 30 April 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 1884.

A most disheartening " harvest home " speech has just been delivered by Mr J. C. Firth at a holiday meeting on his Matamata estate, and we cannot help noticing several points in the speech, and in many instances, regretting the cause of their delivery. A bad time has fallen upon the land .under this ownership—according to the landlord— and several hundreds of acres of grain have been destroyed through inclement weaiher, and on account of this it is deemed necessary that labor's price should be reduced. It is pointed out by the proprietor that labor J has all the best of it; capital retains 1 the shell, while labor obtains the oyster. All this is very absurd. Hitherto, in fact at the present moment, labor has no greater privileges than it merits, and although Mr Firth"may have had 'a bad season, a badly managed estate, or by a combination of really fortuitous circumstances, an unfortunate year with his Matamata property, we cars only sympathise with!.him, and wish him " better luck '" next season, but we must entirely dissent fronj his expressed views at the " breaking up " of his grain season. We must object in this direction. He has spoken about the relations existing between capital and labor, and very properly says that it would be highly injudicious to discourage the existence of capital amongst us; and asks the people to look at bolh sides of the question; why, this very thing he fails to do himself. It would, of course, be absurd to do aught likely to drive capital from our shores, but it would be ten times more dangerous, if the future of the,colony is considered, to send away^our labour. The acquisition of acres has been too succesfully —we regret to say—the aspiration of the colonial capitalist, and it is improbable that any serious'national calamity will follow a clear demonstration of the fact that tbe land, in small workable blocks in the hands of the people, can be made to yield profit, where it cannot in blocks of over half a million of acres with one owner, an army of managers, overseers, &c, and in tbe majority of instances a first charge of interest on account of money borrowed for investment in each case. It certainly is a matter of regret that Mr Firth should deem it necessary, amid the cheers of his employes, to announce that he woulii havo to dismiss several of them and reduce the remuneration of others. Such self-denying enthusiasm on the part of those who were told they!had to suffer, seems to be truly remarkable; yet; we mast congratulate' Mr Firth on the satisfactory condition to which he has brought his laborers, who appear to have so heartily applauded! his expressed opinion that labor must be made more subservient to capital than it now is. The Matamata landlord'congratulated those who attended the banquet given' by him to his servants, upon the change of times, and the difference !,in ancient ai d modem ideas ; \ reminded them of the ola days of despotism, " when monarchs ruled, and tyrants held their sway,'- and cautiously remarked that the body of the people in addition to their privileges, which—it may be remarked—were wrung from the despots referred to, they had grave responsibilities placed in their hands. All this is perfectly true, and as a rule at the present day the people are alive to those responsibilities, and are not less

likely to carry out their obligations by a reduction of wages or any curtailment of their privileges being inflicted on them. Altogether taken, Mr Firth's specious' argrments, whether delivered with a view to oiling tho bearidg9 of reducing machinery, or ia the way of preparing his employes for calamity in the way of want of employment, has done no good by haranguiDg them, and causing it to be published that things are in a bad state .northwards, that farming is unprofltable ; | that land ia not productive ; in fact, the worthy man has, whether intentionally or I not, done no good to the district ; yet, his statements in many cases are easy of answer and confutation.