THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2170, 5 June 1886, Page 3

THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir.— l am not very fond of mulling into print, and therefore I have waited patiently in the hope of seeing with a moie decided "cacoethes scnbendi," take up the pan to ventilate this interesting subject more thoroughly. Mr Filth seems to mo to have made too much of the sentimental side of the subject, and to have assumed too much in dealing u ith the practical part of it. Ido not for a moment deny his right to place his wares in the most attrac.tivo light beforo his customers, but I must •confess that I have been considerably surprised to see that your paper and other iiewspaper.4 have entered so cordially into tiis view of the situation, a view naturally biassed by his ownership, without one word of proteHt, or even enquiry into his statements. Before accepting the motives of his action .is chiefly philanthropical, it seems to tne desirable to look into the subject in the following manner. 1. Is the land so cheap at £."> per acre? In reply to this I would say that when the cost of puttin? up a house fit to live in, all outbuildings required, and of fencing the fifty acres properly, is added, it will bring the price of tho land up to at least £7, and probably £8 per acre, Now scores of really £*ood farms can be bought in the Waikato at the present time, with buildings and fences complete for much less than that. 2. Can fifteen cows be be kept on fifty acres, at such a profit ? Ido not think that fifty acres of any Waikato orThaines Valley land would keep iiftccn cows all the year round, and in milk too during the greater part of the time. Even if the grass was young, and consequently plentiful in summer, it w»uld not carry the cows through the winter, and how could ten acres be put aside for other purposes, when it is admitted by the best authorities that three acres of the very best grass-land are required to feed one milch cow through tho year. I think it would be much nearer the mark to assume that ten cows could be kept on fifty acres of such land. Then again it is taken for granted by you, that £7 per cow can be made out of the milk and the calf. But there's i.the rub ! I think £4 or £3 would be tho return for the milk, &c. As for the calf, how can that enter into the calculation, when its food is sent to the factory every day ? The best way to make the calf pay would be to let it " die young,"' before it knew the delights of hay-tea, ic. Ten cows at £5 per cow would give £50 as income, instead of £105, thus reducing the margin of profit to £24, and only leaving about 10s per week for the unfortunate family to live on, after paying the rent. I know it is the popular cant of the day '• to talk of everyone living on his own " bit of land," and growing thereon everything reSuired for his family, but how is he to lothe his children without paying numerous visits to the stores ? He would need more than 50 acres if he had to grow his own wool, leather, £c, &c, Mr Firth wishes to get rid of his land, and who can blame him for that, or for wanting a good price for it ? but the system he proposes is simply calculated to raise up a class of tenant farmers who will be very fortunate if they make a bare living after paying rent and taxes. They will certainly never be able to pay any of tho purchase money out of their profits. The scheme might suit people who have a few hundred pounds, and who want a country home after Mr .Fronde's sentimental pattern, but in this age of hard work tho children as they grow up have a high value in the labour market, and it Would certainly not pay to keep tfcem at

home to milkafcv cows only. There is still another aspect of the question, and that is, will the cheese factory in connection w ith tlio scheme bo a paying concern ? We inu-t not forget that home of the factories, sitna-tud in ically good distiicts, have n<>t paid expenses this seavm, though tho price nf cheese has been exceptionally high; thun lion will it be if chee-o goes down aginn to the price it sold foi a year or two ago ? The M.tt.unut.l tactory might ha\e to stop opeiations, and then indeed woiild thoiiftyam- men be stranded high and dry on the sand. My reason for wilting on this subject now is, that although this letter cannot afivct tho first settlement it m.iy cau»e both sides of the question to be lookpd at before any fiesh Bchemes, on the same lines, are carried out. In conclusion 1 must .say that I cannot underbtand why tho Government and other people are so anxious to place settlers on the unoccupied lands of the colony, n.s a cure for the existing depression. What is the u«e of increasing the production of perishable ai tides when the demand is not equal to the supply, and what justice is there in offeimg the land to new-comers on so much easier terms than the present settlers met with, thus injuring the latter by putting the new annals into competiwith them, on terms which will complt te their ruin ? If we saw tho.father of a family, living in a large house, some of the rooms of which w( ro empty, go into the highways and byw.ijs, and bung in .strangers to occupy his empty looms, giving them the larger share of his children's food, of which, to begin with, theie was not enough to satisfy tho cravings of his own family, wo should consider him cither an unnatural parent or a madman. Let the Government, then, open up foicign maikets for our produce, and let them especially encourage manufactures, and thus create a demand equal to the supply, and thon wo .shall see th.it as soon as thero is an opening for farmers thpy will come without special invitation, to shaie in the prospeiity of all classes of thejcomuiunity. — I am, Sir, yours &c. "Teriu FiimAf"' Waipa, June 2nd.

A reward is offered bv Mr Pcnnington, TamJihere, for the recovery of a lost horse. The usual Sunday services arc advertised elsewhere. Mr Tohn Knox will offer the unsold portion of Mr Philip's lurniturc at his auction mart at 2 o'clock this afternoon. Mr Piatt. Te Anamutu, and Mr T- Rrien, Kihikilu. ha\c raised the price of br<»ad to 4d m consequence of the rise m the price of flour. The directors of the North Now Zealand Farmers Co-operative Association hi\o made a call vthc 13th) of one shilling per share. An extr.iordin.iry vacancy having occurred in the Mangnpiko Road Hoard, an election to fill the same will beheld on Saturday, June 26th. Messrs W. J. Hunter and Co will sell at Cambridge on Saturdiv, the 12th inst., horses, 8x , «ilso, 640 ewes, now on road from Napier. On luesdny, the- 15th, they will sell at the Olnupo Yards COO head of cattle, as per adxer. tisrment. Yes ! It is certainly true. Ask any of your friends who have pui chased there. Garlick and Cranwell have numerous unaskked for and very favourable commendations from country customers on ihcir ext i-llent packing of Furniture, Croi kery, and Gl.t>s, &c. Ladies and gentlemen about to furnish should remember th.U G-ivlirk and Cra iwcll's is tub Cheap Furnishing Wh.irchuu.>c of Auckland. Furniture to suit all classes ; also Carpets, Floor Cloths and all Home Necessaries. If your new house is nearly finished, or, you arc doing to get married, visit Garlick and Cranwell, Queen-street and Lorne-.strcrt Auckland. Intending purchaspr" ran have a ratalojriii" spnt tree