Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1895. THE MORTGAGE LIFTERS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 4988, 29 March 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1895. THE MORTGAGE LIFTERS.

If we take into consideration mildness of climate, picturesqueness of scenery, and productiveness of soil, there is perhaps 110 country in the vast British Empire to compare with our own little Colony. Nature has showored her gifts upon New Zealand, and it is sad to reflect that this highly favoured country is mortgaged to the hilt. New Zealand simply reeks with mortgage; as a community wo are pawned for a good round sum, ns individuals we are in the clutches of the money lender for an amount not less in rotundity than our public indebtedness. There is scarcely a local body of any description anywhere in tho Colony that is not smitten with the plague of mortgage. Our semi-pub-lic institutions, such as Agricultural and Horticultural Societies, are all more or less in pawn. If we look at our clubs, we find them suffering from tho same complaint, football aud rowing, boating, athletic and kindred institutions of clubland, are under the thumb of" Uncle." Tho powor and inflnonco of tho " tote " is sufficient to keep the racing clubs of the Colony fairly clear of the mortgage business, but unfortunately our churches arp unable to show a clean sheet, The mortgage thread is interwoven in the public, private aud social fabric, and is a serious aud menacing handicap. We are in the '-'enviable position of being a great -■n.tioii, and sleepingorwaking debtor 1.. o ])ijg a ti ons 0 f we must mt>.

debtors or bankrupt. m; 0 The interest on our piio..' . alone amounts to £1,761,994 per annum, and this vaststreamof interest annunlly leaves our shores. How does New Zealand pay this money ? Is it paid in coin or in kind ? To pay in gold it would take nearly two years' output of our gold mines. No, we do not make our interest payments in gold, but in products of a varied character, But in this list, protcetiou-manufactured boots and shoes, tweeds, wire, nails, and wax vestas find no place, but such exportable commodities as frozen meat, butter, cheese, wool, tallow, and wheat are the articles with which our interest due to the foreign money lender is paid, The more we produce and the greater the variety of our products the more easily will we be able to pay our way, The mortgage

lifters of this Colony are tho pro-1 ducora, and the burden presses very | ] heavily on them as the price of produce falls. The natural resources of ] tho country are what we rely upon i to carry us over tho border line between solvency and bankrupt, we , should therefore help our producers and encourago them in every possible way. In the great markots of the world Nw Zealand produce is pitted against the productions of other countries; our butter aud cheese must fight their way with similar productions from Victoria, New South Wales, Canada, Denmark, franco, and other places. The skilled intelligence of (.lie great globe itself is pitted against our producers. What steps are we taking to foster production, to increase tho volume of our exports ? What aid are we rendering the mortgage-lifters of the Colouy? None whatever; on the contrary, the best efforts of the Government are directed in crashing tho producers, The cry of the stragglers, whether raised consciously or unconsciously, is that they shall lie allowed to enter into tho production contest free, as far as possible, from hamstring restrictions and stupid regulations, which may hamper or cripple their productive efforts, The Government takes immeasurable credit for the cheap money scheme, but tho inordinate length of time it takes to get loan money from this long-winded Advances to Settlers office, wears out the patience, and in a measure renders abortive the benefits that might be derived. Hvery week, we hear of thousands of pounds having been passed by the Lending Hoard, for , accepted securities, but not a red . cent has as yet reached the borrowi ers. To add to the troubles of the producers, the cost of living is to he , increased; and to pander to the Labour Parly, customs barriers are to be raised, In shut out all chances of obtaining cheap boots and shoes and clothing. Protectionists i|uite ( overlook the producers, whose lot, with falling prices abroad, and restrictions lit home, is far from enviable. The natural resources of the Colony are not being developed as tlicy should be, simply because the Government is either incompetent to undertake the work, or fails to appreciate the importance of doing so.