MR RIDER HAGGARD ON AGRICULTURE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10138, 8 November 1910, Page 3

MR RIDER HAGGARD ON AGRICULTURE.

Mr Rider Haggard, who is this year the president of the Wavcncy Valley Agricultural Association in North Suffolk, presided at the luncheon given on the occasion of the annual show. Sir Thomas Elliott, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, was present. Sir Thomas Elliott claimed credit for the success of the Board's endeavours to stamp out foot-and-mouth disease in England. His advice to agriculturalists was that which was given by Benjamin Franklin when arrangements were being made in the revolt against tltat country which led to the formation of the United States—'"'Friends, Ictus all hang together, or we shall hang separately.'' Mr. Haggard on the previous night had told him a tale of stirring adventure, in which he said the great Chiefs of South Africa had mouths or voices at their disposal which expressed their sentiments. Agriculturalists were a slow-speaking and long-suffering class, and eouk! not themselves find appropriate words to say what they thought, but when fchoy got a gentleman like Mr Rider Haggard, a man of letters, to put things a-« thcy wanted, then agriculturists 'ight to make the most of him. (Che., .s.) Mr Bidder Haggard said he regretted that so many matters connected with the land had become burning subjects that it was almost impossible to discuss them at a gathering like that. Til ore was one great' subject which occupied the minds of all

—he did not even mention its holy name (laughter)—but there were minor matters, such as credit banks, which had become dipped'in the fat of partisan feeling. Small ownership they could not discuss because it had become a matter of party discussion ; even sugar-beet concerned the Excise. There was not much room for the independent investigator who sought for truth. Still, he could venture to seek it, and for that reason he was sailing on the morrow for Denmark to look into these matters for himself: and he promised that whatever he wrote when he came back would be a true and unprejudiced account, without any partisan view, and would be directed wholly to the elucidation of the truth arid to showing how that might be brought into play to aid English agriculture. He did not think that even now our population, especially our town population, realized what agriculture meant in the national life. They thought much of their trade, their cities, gas lamps, and music-halls, but they did not understand that all these things were fundamentally based upon the land. Unless the population were kept upon the land and kept in a prosperous condition, sooner or later the country must fall. That was why the agriculture of England was such a tremendously important matter to the country and the Empire at large. Agriculture was an ancient trade. , He supposed that Adam was the first small holder. (Laughter). He imagined 'that Adam worked on a small ownership, not as a county council tenant; at any rate, ho managed to rear a numerous family. (Laughter.) He mentioned that to show that at the bottom of everything was the land. A cultivator of the land was a benefactor to his country, and the man who reared a large family on a piece of land which he cultivated was one of the country's saviours. For those reasons agriculture should receive every possible help and support. He was glad to think that within the last score <-- years it was beginning to receive that consideration which was its due. (Cheers.)