MR HAWKINS AND THE WORKING MAN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 921, 10 November 1881, Page 1 (Supplement)

MR HAWKINS AND THE WORKING MAN.

; ~ •" • l [Tojtbe Editor of the Daily.] ■ , ;. Sir,—l am so out off here from the jouhdof the public voice, that it is not -lUIto-day that I hear that I am supposed "jii~be the'foo of the email settlor and the porting man, and that this' opinion has peen gathered from what I said at Mr Benall's meeting as reported in your issue pf th?;2oth ult.' I am not sure from what part of my •peech as'reported, this opinion is derivod. It would hardly have been the opinion of my audience, because at this meeting I paid a just and meritod tribute to the working man which was not in the report. . " The only pnint which I can see is my declaration that "tho question of the squatter is the question of New Zealand." I do'not know if it is the practice here to tear an isolated sentence from tho contoxt. It is often dime by interested pertons for the purposo <>f misreprestMiliiiK a speaker or writer, but inch tricks on!) serve till they are exposed, Let any one of my small settler or working men friends read tho context and they will see that the whole argumont is simply this—the bigsheepfarmers, riinnwners, squatters ' (call them what you will), are sulleriii" heavy losses from the rabbits, It \w been ascertained that sheep pasturage, to the extent of hundreds of thousands of acres has been so destroyed by rabbits; that a loss of over half a million a year has occurred to the colony. Now the first direct loss falls on the ■runowner; but only the first loss. The joss is felt—must be felt—throughout all olasies in the colony. What I wanted to impresson the small settler and working man was his entire community of interest with the runowner, and in this sense, and .this only I said—l repeat it" the interest of the runholder is the interest of New Zealand;" The runholder is one who . invests large capital in the colony, and who spends all he can borrow, and ill he can make, and who gives all his time and all energies to improve the freehold he has bought, and often to the publjo work of the colony. The more he prospers the more hesnends, A good wool leaion is followed by fencing, bush falling, teed sowing and draining; all meaning the'employment of the working man and tha accession of more trade to the town. Let my friend the working man be oandid-let him be just to others, To whom is it that he looks for employment, to town squatters or to the country runholders ? What is his complaint then, ghd what 1b the working man ? Does he complain that the runowner goes into the labor market and getß his labor at the best price he can ? As well mi«ht the runholders complain of the working man that he Mils his labor as dear as he can; as well might the tradesman complain that working man goes to the shop wlierobe , dan buy his goods best and cheapest. "What grievance the small settler has against me I have no idea, whatever, nor :what grievance he has against the bi» settler or runowner. The runowner takes lip hill country, unfitted for small farm settlements; he clears it, sows it, fences it, and by degrees opens up the communication between it and the town. The irqal! settler oannot live under such cqnditjons. If he is to thrive he niiv.it hare a, larger proportion of flat land, good jand, and a road which all the year round wjll give him ready access to his market town. The proofs of this are before mo; it is one of the great errors and injustices of past New Zealand Governments that they have effected small farm settlements Without any regard to these conditions, and have thereby ruined m-iny industrious hardworking men, I would set the yery cream of tho Government lnml.i for '.B,mall farm settlements, wherever I could find it, makinn productive country which no one else could «etanythin« out of. and thus adding to the general prosperity of the colony. The day will come when the U« runowner wili be un exception, and when the Small settler, if he is now fairly dealt liv, will become tho back-bone of the colony ; j)ljt at present tho runowner is oponi'ig up hmd for small settlers and wm kins,' men, Rnd to quarrel with tho runowner and try to pull him down is no more or less than killing the goose that is laying the golden eggs, Ibis letter has already run to an inordinate length; it is impossible to say all and everything within such limits, Let me appeal to the sound sense and discrimination of the settler and working man. I have, for years in England, been the Representative of over 2,000 voters, some 1500 of whom were working men. I have, from the time I first bogan tc

think on politics, in'heart and by conver»ion< been a Liberal and a Eadical. " The ". Ethiopian does not change his skin, nor fjoes the leopard his spots." What I was ; then lam now. The change to southern ikies has not changed my mind. Bqt I never have flattered and neyer shall, My tongue has been too long used to speak 'my oonviotions to train it now to crooked wordß, te flatter or cajole an audience. Mr Eenall and his friends may play upon ' your prejudices and misrepresent my opinions for their own ends. The day will tome, if life and health is given me, and if the sun should not hide itself from me, when we shall know each other face • to face, as men should know a tnan, and I shall thon have no tear as to your judgment between suoh as Mr Renall and my- ' IPlf. I am, oto., R, S, Hawkinr.