MR BARCLAY, MP., ON AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION IN ENGLAND

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1983, 24 March 1885, Page 3

MR BARCLAY, M P., ON AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION IN ENGLAND

Mb Barclay, M P., addressed his con stitiieiits ni Letham the othci day, and after a few introductory remarks, said the fiist question winch the electors ought to demand attention to were those aUeoting the tenuie of land in Eng land. That was a subject which was coming more and moie to the front every day, whkh was pi easing itself upon the notice of the country, whethct the countiy wMied it or not. Euiy one, particulmy in the countiy ilistiiots, knew tint the agriculture of this uountiy was almost in a desperate condition at the piesent time, and had been gradually and steadily getting woisc foi some years past. Their trade, commeice, and manufactures were in a languishing condition, and although eveiy thing was cheaper now than ever it was before, distress was only too prevalent. But he did not in any respect despair of the future of the country. They had no refoims in times of pinsperity ; it was tunes of adveisity which discoveied weak pi ices in our social arrangements, It was tunes of tri.il which brought them more prominently under tin ir notice, and at the same time stimulated them ti those reform- w Inch w ere necess u y to giv e a new impetus to the welfare of the countiy, and to still further adjust ami mote equitably redress, giievauces and make fuither equitable airangements in 0111 social system which tiials in times of adversity point out have become necessary to deal with. That process was now going on. They wen- feeling pinched in several distinct quai ters. It was now for them to considet what were the defects in out soci.il system In the fiist place, it mint be oln ions to evetyone that the piesent state of the .lgiieiiitute of the countiy was anomalous. No doubt a gooil deal of the agticultiir- of the countiy was not all tint it might !>•• ; but there was no doubt that very gt eat progress and impiovement had been uiad< I in agncultuic during the list twenty or thiity year", and e.msideiing the con ditions under which fanneis had had to Cdiiy on their business, he thought thov. inipiovcments greater than might have been expected; but, notw ithst Hiding these iinpioveine.nK giain was htought fioin the other «-ide of the (,'lohe, and sold at i pi ice with whidi the farmers of this country could notco npite — k ie might also say even if they had no rent to pay Tint ccitnuily did seem a veiy extia ordinaiy state of things, and perhaps they would best understand and come to realise the difficulty of the fanner's posi tion if they compared the mantier in which he cariied on his business with the manner in which the other tiades and commerce of the country were can ied on Let them take as an example the manufacturer. There was not, so far as he was aware, any intuial id vantage for the manufautuie of jute goods possessed by Dundee, yet Dundee manufactuied jute goods and" si nt them m very laitre quantities to Ameiioa. We manuf.ietun these goods here and scud them over to compete with the Ameticans, and yet he did not know that Dundee had any special natural advantage over the manufacturers in the United States. Why was it, then, that the farmers in this country were unable it our own doors to compete with the farmers of the United Mates? Our land was more fruitful, and produced more abundant crop«. than the land m the United States. Our farmers, taken as a. whole, are the best in the woild — he had examined farms in the best parts of the world whete farming was cinied on with the gieate^t success — and our maikets were at our own doors. Why was it, then, that our fauneis could not compete with the fanners on the other side of the Atlantic? The manufacturer has absolute contiol of the taw nntei.al in which he deals H° has absolute fieedom t> employ his full -skill, capital, and intelligence, and to manufacture his goods on the most advantageous terms, to stll in any rnaiUets which he pleases, and to do anything in any manner which suits him; while if he invests his capital in his business it is perfectly secured, except, of course, from those risks which aie in lierent in eieiy business. What is the position of the fanner compaied with that of the manufacturer ? The farmer has only the contiol of his land to a limited evtent and for a ceitam limited time He is limited in the use of his 1 uid ; he can only employ his land for certain specified purposes He is only entitled to produce certain ciops His light to the use of the land in that ditection id limited ; and even of the crops he manufactuics, pait he is at libei ty to sell, and part he is not at liberty to sell. If he invests his capital in the soil, he has a good nsk of finding that it will be appropiiated by the laud lord before it yields a fair and full return to him. Now, the Agricultural Holdings Act embodied the principle that the farmer should be compensated, but the pro\ isions of the act failed to carry out the pi inciple which it declared to be a just one ; and so far as the practical working of the Agricultural Holdings Act is concerned, I think the most it ser\es to do is to declare what ought to be the just and fair principle as between the fai mer and his landlord in compenra tion for improvements. His general proposition was, that if the fanners in this country had the same freedom of dealing with the land as the manufacturer has with the raw matciial that he has to deal with— if he had the same security as the manufacturer has, and if he had the same settled feeling in connection with Ins business — he had not the slightest doubt whatever that the farmers of Great Britain would be Rble to meet the competition of the world — (cheers). Tliif general principle should be at the basis of any permanent settlement of this land question, so far as the cultivation of the land was concerned ; fiist, there must be a large reduction in the rent of land— (cheeis). That was a matter that ought to be settled between landlord and tenant, and with which the Legislature should not be c.dled upon to interfere. But a mere l eduction of rent would not affoid a permanent settlement of the question. Whate\ei was to prove a permanent settlement must lecognise tin* in tc tests of all classes of tin, community m the land of the countiy, and tnoie particulaily of all classes immediately connected with the cultivation of the land — the inteiest of the landlord, the farmer and the labourer— (applause) The interests of the landloul, the tenant and the labourer were closely bound to gether, and it was the inteiest of all that he recognised ; and the sooner that the landlord, the tenant and the labouiei recognised it, the sooner they might look for agricultural prosperity. He looked with great hope and confidence t<s the accession of the new constituency under the FranHiise Bill. Parliament was not to legislate in the interest of one cI.T-s. The landlords for centuries had hod the making of the laws of the countiy, and they had natuially legislated foi tbemsehes ; but now, when all classes would be represented, the legislation would be for all classes— (applause).

Why is an acquitted prisoner like a gun? Because he is charged, taken up, and then let off. A Gkrman railway was recently sued by the victim of a collision for heavy damages. The railway company put in the plea that it had already given him heavy damages, namely, a broken leg. Yet people say that the Germans are not humorous. Tkavku kr.s will bo pleased to learn that at the last National Convention of Baggage Agents it wai resolved that if a trunk didn't burst open after being bounced end o\er end four times and tumbled out of the caniage on to the platform, it Miould be delivered to its owner in its normal condition. IvnroPST'OV. — The main cause of ncriousnps'; is indigestion, and that i* ramfd bv weakness of the stoni irh. No one can have sound nervr* *nd vrocicl hcilth without i/sinff American ( o '« Hop Hitters to strenctnen the stoni ich, purify the blood, and keep tho liver .md kidncjs artivc. to carry off all the poisonous and w«sta nutter of tijo s/stcm Sea.