The Wairarapa Daily WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1891.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3852, 8 July 1891, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1891.

We remember an ancient print which depicted a sagacious jockey who dangled at the extreme end of a long pole a bunch of carrots just a few inches beyond the reach of the nose of the noble quadruped which he bestrode. How that animal did go ! animated by the idea that he was ever about to gobble up the dainty which he could see, smell, and almost taste. If we were to imagine that tho rider of the animal was the Hon J. Ballance, that the bunch of carrots was the big landholder, and the quadruped the sagacious working man, we should hay) a very fair idea of the political game that is now being played by the Premier. Does he not dangle the big landholder in front of the working man's nose when he wants him to " gee up," and does not the working man, when he sees the deeoy, gallop his best, and turn to the right or the left according as he is guided by the astute jock. Will the working man ever eat up that delectable bunch of carrots the big landholder ? He may some day, but the bait will be dangled before his nose for many a long day before he is allowed to taste it. Even now Mr Ballance does not permit the working man to do niorp than nibble at the big landholder with his " bursting up " tax. He is taking care that no serious injury shall befall tue bunch of carrots, which must be kept intact as a make believe to encourage the sagacious animal to carry his master.' But supposing that the animal, through some carelessness on the part of the jockey, did some day get hold of the bunch of carrots and devour them, what would be the result ? This is a point that has not perhaps been considered by the intelligent reformers of the present day. They get the idea say, of bursting up a Beetham or spme other big man, and dividing his estate .amongst a . t 4 or go of themselves, k7 T«f »- td bs the outcome but what wu-. of this division of spu.. .;_

big money owner would retire with the money value of the property he had to surrender, and the estate would pass into the hands of the new men. The Government, we will say, have been in the habit of collecting a thousand pounds a year in direct taxation from the property, and it will, whoever be the owners of it, still want this sum out of it, and the hundred little men who succeed the big one will have to find ten pounds or so per man for the necessities of the State In other wonis " bursting up " the big man means that the little men will have to pay his taxes for him. Now this is a thing that Liberals are not good at, one which probably they do not even contemplate, but one which must come to pass whenever

the sagrcious animal succeeds: \h devouring the caraots. The ;uia of going for the big landholder is -i thought, bat they do uod quite realise that in taking over assets they uy'ust also take over liabilities. No J' -v. I ' ,K they would be splendid hands to manage assets, but we venture to affirm that their weak point would be an incapacuy to meet liabilities. No ofce knows this better than the Hon. Vir' Ballance, and he will take pretty gojod care that the bunch of carrots jQnly rubs the animal's nose, and ttyd the clever quadruped is not allowed to seize it between its teeth. Mr BaU lance's policy measure is virtually a Bill to enable the smaller landholders to pay the taxejwiov? contrOut: 1 by the big omss' is '