CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8473, 27 June 1907, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In your to-day's issue I notice that the delegates from t.He Land Settlement League had interviewed Mr A. W. Hogg, M.H.R., on the subject of workers' dwellings and closer settlement. Hisjreply, in face of the letter he received the other day from the Minister of Lands, requires some explanation at his hands. The Minister said definitely that "he did not desire that any land should be purchased for workers' dwellings in the Masterton district." He says nothing about high prices, yec we are told by Mr Hogg that "this is the reason why land has not been acquired." Now, Sir, this is all so much bunkum. I make bold to say that land can be acquired in the Masterton district for workers' dwellings at very much less than was paid by the Government for land for this purpose in other parts of the colony two and a half years ago. This excuse is too thin, and its application to closer settlement won't stand investigation. To advance this as a reason for the delay presupposes either of two things— (l) that Mr Hogg does not know that land values have, been going up, and are going up, and the delay to acquire will mean, when the Government does so, that the price will be stili higher, or (2) that he goes on the principle that you can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but he must remember he cannot fool all the people all the time. It must, have been palpably plain to some of the delegates that Mr Hogg was "hedging" in is reply to them. I think they all knew that workers could, if they owned a section, borrow sufficient money to build a house from the Government. How many workers are there in Masterton who have no section and very, little prospect of ever having one? How many are there who virtually are living from hand to mouth, who »n weather like this find it impossible to make ends meet, who pledge their future earnings to the grocer, baker, and butcher, in the hope that better times may come along. It seems to me thatj our politicians live in a different sphere than" us ordinary mortals, when they talk in his. strain. If the League takes the reply from the Minister as final, then they might as well disband. If they wait until prices will admit, they will find their last state worse than their first, and it will be weary wait—something like Mr Hogg's doleful tale. Let the League go on its way irrespective of the or Mr Hogg's views, strengthen the hands of the Council and their numbers will move both the Minister and Mr Hogg.—Yours, etc., G.D. Masterton, June 24th, 1907.