NATIONAL NEEDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 July 1939, Page 5

NATIONAL NEEDS

WORK AND DEVELOPMENT IN NEW ZEALAND LESSONS FROM AN OLDER DAY. EXAMPLE OF THE PIONEERS. (By M. W. Welch.) Ideas expressed by Mr L. B. Maunsell in letters to the “Times-Age” recently on the subject of unemployment arc sound. What we want in New Zealand today is a person who will go on the land and work, as our old people did, with us to help them. Many settlers in the Wairarapa came from the Hutt Valley to carve out homes for their children. We have the Beethams, whose eld homestead in Park Avenue was recently burnt down, the Harris family. Farrellys, Mabeys, Eatons, Russells, Jacksons, Kembles, Edwards, Benge, August, Geange, and the Welch brothers, besides many others.

Two other grand old people I shall never forget are Mr Rayner and Mr Clement. The first-named was a pillar of the church. Every Sunday he and his daughters taught we kiddies at Sunday school and he often took the service at church till he finally left to take up land in the Wairarapa. Many of his descendants are with us today splendid farmers and respected by all. Mr Clement was in charge of all roads in the Hutt County, which in those days extended to Ngahauranga, so one can see the area he had to cover, mostly on foot, there being no motor cars or vehicles to get around in. He also was a great church worker, walking to all parts of the district every Sunday to preach in the Methodist Church, till old age prevented him from so doing. His family scattered everywhere, some being sawmillers in Taranaki, and one son, Ernest, a personal friend of mine, was appointed foreman of roads in the Taita district, eventually leaving there to go on the land. He died while farming at-Mauriceville, where two of his sons still remain to perpetuate the grand old name. Many of us can remember when Mauriceville was a Scandinavian settlement. What a fine lot of people they were—working from daylight till dark to convert useless land into the fme productive country which we see there today. Their children are here with us, a highly respected and in- . dustrious band who are reaping the reward of their hard labour Recently thirteen persons landed in Taranaki from Switzerland and were immediately given work on farms —work which they had been brought up to, and I venture to say they will not be long before they own their own farms. 1 These are the class of people who should be encouraged to come and settle here. How can we expect anyone to go on the land under a Labour Government, which will not grant a freehold title to any person? Had that great statesman, the Rt Hon Mr Massey, lived for a year or two longer, we would have had hundreds more on the land today. His scheme was to give any young fellow a block of land at no expense for two years—the settlers to improve the land and then be given the option of taking over the sections on freehold or leasehold tenure, but he died before his work could be put into operation. If I mistake not it was to be called the Homestead Act.

RAVAGES OF WEEDS. There are many difficulties confronting farmers today and unless something is done immediately, disaster will follow. While farming In the Taita, I saw the ravages of noxious weeds, and diseases in root crops and animals. ' Had precautions been taken ana a “clean seed” Bill been introduced, we would not have had such weeds as greasy weed, a frightful pest. Californian thistle, ragwort and others to contend with. Grain was allowed to come from overseas without inspection —hence our weeds. The Liberal Government imported many varieties of potatoes and anyone could get a few of each to plant. In those days we had four of the finest varieties of potatoes one could wish to see —Derwent. Brown River, Prolific and Fluke, the latter being a wonderful cropper. When the other seed was brought out an old English farmer at Taita said: “We will have the Irish blight here next year with these potatoes,” and we did, all our crops being wiped out. It was impossible to get a Fluke or any of our old stock again. With root crops, dry rot and clubroot were rampant, many crops being ruined with it. A neighbour and I decided to get burnt lime and sent an order for five tons to the Mauriceville Lime Works yearly. The effect was wonderful. Our root crops, after we had used the lime, were free of disease. Unfortunately today burnt lime is hard to get. I also got a lot of salt from tanneries after skins had been cured with it and found it a wonderful fertiliser. WONDERFUL FRUIT, CROPS. Our fruit crops in the early days wore wonderful. As a youngster I have seen peaches, plums, damsons and other fruit thrown to pigs. Smaller fruit was in abundance till some sense-

less asses imported thrushes and blackbirds, and fropi that time on fruit became a luxury* The same applies today with all the pests I have mentioned. Rabbits were brought out and liberated and in a few years the whole country was swarming with them, the Wairarapa especially so. On a property on the Opaki Road owned by my father and uncle Henry, known as Willow Park, now named “Rathkeale” and occupied by Messrs Maunsell and McLauchlan, respectively, the rabbits were as thick as bees. A large pack of greyhounds and other dogs was kept to keep them down, and on one occasion, when on holiday there, we caught just on two hundred in an hour. Skins, of course, were worth a little, but not much. Then the wise people imported ferrets, stoats and weasels to exterminate the rabbit, but the cure was worse than the disease, all feathered tribes, domestic and wild, being slaughtered in a frightful manner by them. Today, where is our game bird?

LAND IMPROVEMENTS. Now, Sir, these are many of the troubles old settlers and their families had to contend with and they exist today, perhaps more so, yet the old people carried on, improving their property under adverse circumstances, to make a home for their old age, and surely they are entitled to it. Yet we hear Labour members saying they are not and that any improved value owing to their efforts belongs to the State. If they sell, it should be at the original value. Perhaps I may be permitted to quote the utterances of a Labour candidate some years ago, when addressing electors. During his speech, he, in a melodramatic manner, said: “Ladies and gentlemen, to show spoils to the victors (of course there are none today) Mr X, mayor of such and such a borough, purchasd a block of'land for £3OOO and sells it to his Conservative friends for £6000.” "Shame,” from the electors. At question time I said: “Mr candidate, during your address, you stated that Mr X, mayor of a certain borough, which he is not (“Well, he is mayor of some place, anyhow,” he interjected). I said: “Yes, he is,” and named the borough and pointed out that he had bought the land 30 years ago, to convert it from a dense bush into a fine pastoral area. “Surely,” I said to him, "that man is entitled to the increased value of his property, after all the improvements he has carried out,” to which he replied: “No, ne is not. That belongs to the State.”,

I said: “You would term it ‘unearned increment,’ I suppose.” He said “Yes.”

“Very well," I replied, “you purchased a piece of land not far from here a few years ago to build on; would you take the same price today as you gave for it?”

"That’s a different matter,” he said, and I replied: "Yes, it hits you.” Had I not been at the meeting and been conversant with the facts, it would have been passed on as another blot on the escutcheon of those "enemies of the workers.” This man is now a Cabinet Minister, to which I say good luck to him; but let Labour members be fair.

They continually revile the Press, but read the "Standard,” in which paper I read 'm article pn’n why men could not be expected to

many not being fit for pigs and the naiuly U ror consu...puon. 'Uu. writer said he had seen a lot of it and sanitary inspectors should be appointed to deal with it. That is a direct insult to the farmers. Where would you get a more healthy looking lot of people than farmers and their children? Such tactics as these will not help to put people on the land, which is the only way of surmounting the difficulties confronting us today. If people would only think that running to the Government for assistance is being assisted with their own money, they would discontinue doing sa. There was no such thing with the old pioneers, who for many years had to barter for a living and came up bravely to weather the storm, ft is a crying shame importing so-called experts to take jobs here and by so doing inducing hundreds more to come and swell the list of unemployed. While this goes on we will get farther in the mire.