SIR G. GREY'S SPEECH.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2557, 29 November 1888, Page 2

SIR G. GREY'S SPEECH.

TO THE EDITOR, Sir, —When Sir G. Grey stumped the country upon Piako swamps and I'atatere, both these transactions were completed, and could not be undone. Now he is making stump speeches upon the unearned increment. in cities. That is also a thing of the past, and cannot be undone. It is beautiful to talk about millions of unearned increment, which, if the people had it, would feed and clothe the hungry and naked, but it is pure rot to talk about a thing of the past, and what cannot be undone. Now, it may be said that in the future there will be no unearned increment, and that is what Sir G. Grey is striving for. I say in the future there will be unearned increment, and that in spite of all creation. I will show how it will be so. In tho now uninhabited islands of tho Pacific Sens in the distant future there will be large cities. These cities in a manner will first of all be founded by adventurous spirits settling down on what will be the site of the future cities. By-and-by by degrees others will join them, and in tho course of time there will be formed what ivilJ be a city in its incipient state. Can it be conceived that these, the founders of these cities, will be troubling themselves about the abstract rights of the future. Not at ail, they have like all new people in a new land, t< o many of present practical difficulties to contend with to think about the future, and so in these future cities will unearned increment arise, and what is more Mr Editor, I am not prepared to say that it is wrong that these should be so. Mr Editor, it may be said that Sir G. Grey's speech may tend to save the future unearned increment in the cities of New Zealand. Now, 1 say if New Zealand is to go on in a slow and sure way I reiterate the word sure, I say the unearned increment will bo very little. If any of you take a city frontage at its present value, and you put, a fair interest upon the present price, I believe that the unearned increment will not exceed this interest. I pay no attention whatever to fictitious values which are sained during the madness of gambling. Mr Editor, it may be said that one day I say there is no unearned increment, and another day I say there is, but this is easily explained. When the unearned increment was stumped, it was never applied to city property, and in the first letter I did not apply it to city property, as it had not been applied to it when the cry was stumped. It was the big estates that the cry was applied to. Mr Editor, glad am I that Sir G. Grey is not going Home to stump Home Rule at the country's expense. The Editor of the Herald tried hard, very hard, to work this dodge. Ho (the Editor) came out in this style, 0, if we could only get Sir George to submit to the great sacrifice of going Home, if only for one year. All the same, Sir George was gasping to go Home only if possible the colony was to pay for the trip. In this both the Editor and Sir George has been defeated. Thß Editor of the Herald understands this dodge of 0, if you could only get him to commit the sacrifice that I think he, the editor, must bo the son of a Scotch Minister. Mr Editor, when a church in Scotland is vacant, thfi presbytery appoint one of their own number to preach in the church and preach it vacant. Now amongst the Ministers there are always some one desiring a change. Very likely he is not pleasing his present congregation, or the salary of the vacant church may be higher. One Minister will want to do another a good turn, and in a kindly and friendly way he will take it upon himself to advise them in the selection of a Minister to fill the vacancy. He will say, ah my dear Christian friends, I know one soul-saving Christian Minister, who, if if he could only be persuaded to leave his present dearly-beloved oongregation and commit the great sacrifice of doing so, it would be a great sacrifice, but my friend might look upon it as a call from God, and he might think it was his duty to do so. The poor deluded congregation think they are going to get a great prize, all the time it is a dodge and an oracle that is being worked upon thein.— Yours truly, JjARAfJfI,