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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4041, 18 February 1892, Page 2

An extraordinary amount ol uncon-cern-is being displayed by farmers in this distriot with regard to the ravages of the Hessian fly. The pest is known to have existed ior some years. It has spread with alarming rapidity from farm to farm, from field to field/ until now it is to be found in every, part ol the district,

If allowed to thrive it will inevitably end in the ruin of the wheat farmers generally. And yet there arc those who'do not appear to care one iota whether the work of destruction prooeeds or. not. . Cap suoh people as these bo classed as farmers ? Thoy see the enemy approaohing.they know that poverty stares them in the face, and yet they will not raise their hand to protect their own interests. Farmers, be wise I Band yourselves together and determine that your common foe shall be extirpated,

As inetanco of the injurious man. ner in which the threatened taxation is affecting the interests of farmers has just come under the notice of the fe.iwatu Times, which oan vouch for the corMt-nesS of the faots, The farmer in question owns land, the pvoperty-tax valuation of which is £6OOO, and in order to carry out necessary improvements he raised on it some time Ago ihe suni-pf £3000; The mortgage expired recently, and as interest had. teen regularly paid on due dates, and the securjijr had become enhanced in value,lie naturally expected there would be no difficulty in regard to ronewal. But he reckoned, without the capitalist who has been bowled at andde nouueed by fclioge }n nowejitill he, has thought to depart as'speedily as possible, To the suYpiwof'the farmer the company, an English one, declined to renew the .'loan and requested payment, as, they are withdrawing lail.capital now invested'.by them in New Zealand, Government having reduced tli6 T imprbYihg farmer

to tins position lie naturally turned to the Government Insurance Department to obtain the money Required. But although Government rates the property at £6OOO for taxing purposes, the department would advance only £I2OO on it, This being insufficient to repay the English company's loan of £3OOO, the farmer has had to borrow elsewhere, iiid it is almost needless to say that the rate of interest he now has to pay is muoh higher than that previously paid* This is how Mr BaHance's wonderful scheme of finance relieves the farmer from the burden of taxation.