THE FIRST LESSON.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 142, 17 December 1901, Page 3

THE FIRST LESSON.

TO THE EDITOR Sxe, —Why do wa support a Government that is always im-king laws mat are arbitrary, de potic and tyrannical, laws th.t no one requires, no one understands ? The schoolmasters have school committees under their thumbs, and toe committees must do as directed by them. A father or mother has no control or jurisdiction over their own children. Even if a crowds perching they must go to school. What grand scholars we shall have soon, taught by some bullet headed schoolmaster who i< in the possession of learning he c«n’t impart to others. You may be father or mother to seven or eight children, and no matter whst position you are in you shall keep these children "fed, clothed and sent to school wit h a - i many books and slates as they can carry, but the chi’dren shall not be allowed to earn one'-penny. What is causing a decrease' in the birth rate ? Ask your grandmother. Is it not enough for the tiller of the soil to do battle with the changeful seasons, insect and bird pests, without being hounded to earth by the despotic and tyrannical laws of our very Liberal Government. Why do the Government try to crush and snuff out the strawberry industry in this district ? Under the new Act for accident, you must insure the pickers &• d packers of fruit. A grower with ten acres must employ 25 hands at, least for pickmg and packing. Insuring 25 at 10s each costs £l2 10s ; casual labour for the rest of the year, £2 10s ; a total of £ls or half a ton of strawberries. Two tons spoilt for dessert by goldfinches, a h as of £6O. (These are not exaggerated figures for ten acres). But as I have managed to live for a good many years without cither the schoolmaster, his pupils and strawberries, I can, or shall try to live without them still. . What man with common sense respects the law? Are there any simple laws that anyone can understand ? Do not

lawyers magistrate*! and judges g ftf fntrrred in the™. One man aava it mean? this ami another it means that. The all wise Seddon save that when n judge of the Supreme Court «avs it means that a farmer Is an indu*trinns nerson following any industrial pursuit, it will he time to amend the Act. Are 'he Member* of Parliament trnstworthy and honest? No! No mm that ag-nes to serve hh master for £240 per annum and then raises his own ‘crew a matter Of £6O a year without first sending in his resignation tohis emnloyer, stating that he ean’t serve any longer for the first-named sum, is either trustworthy nr honest. Will the Government Auditor pass this little sum as 0 K ? Under snnh rotten laws a man and woman with a large family are worse off than the animals in the field, for the lamh, l he foal, and the calf provide partly for themselves by grazing in the fields with their parents. But the children shall go M> school n-dil they are 14 years old and shall not he allowed to help to provide for themselves. Thus endeth the first lesson. I am, etc., Oppositionist. ,