THE POOR FARMER.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2781, 10 May 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE POOR FARMER.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib,—The farmer's growl is so frequent and so enduring that it has become proverbial. Those who think, however, that it has no foundation except in his own imagination, will find on a further enquiry that such is not the case—it is founded on fact, as I shall endeavour to show in as few words as possible, The fact is that the farmers have been growling from time immemorial, but for the life of them they cannot tell what they growl about. Some of them will tell you that they have cause to growl over their taxes, but as they fail to particularize and only complain in general terms of the weight of taxation they are listened to but seldom, and then only with very sceptical ears. It is a fact nevertheless that all the systems of taxation now in vogue press heavier upon the farmer than anyone else; and this for several reasons. In the first case we must remember that the farmer stands between us and our mother earth, which supports us. All wealth comes from the earth, and in taxing wealth we must necessarily tax the source of wealth ; and in taxing the source of wealth we must tax the farmer, Arrange the tax on what system you like (except one) and it must fall chiefly upon the tiller of the soil. True, a very large amount of wealth is derived from the earth in the form of minerals, but this form of wealth is protected and a very large proportion of this protec-

tion comes out of the farmer's posket. We will suppose that a farmer expends say £50 on a supply of water by means of a ram. Our paternal Government will not allow him

to do any such thing, until he has paid a licence of something about £10 in the form of customs duties, primage, etc. I suppose that farmers have such a dangerous mania for improving their farms by mechanical appliances, that it is necessary to enforce a

penalty by way of suppressing such mischief. Nor is this all. The merchant who imported the piping:, etc., requires interest on the amount invested in the customs duties on his poinds. This, of course, must be paid by the farmer who makes use of tho goods. So out of the £50 paid by my friend for improvements to his firm, considerably over £10 of it consist's of a penalty or a license intended to discourage his enthusiasm for improvements. Other trades must be protected, but so far from agriculture needing to be protected it is necessary it should be fleeced lest it should become too vigorous. But the fleecing does not end here. My friend has raised the value of his farm by ±.'SO, therefore all his rates must bo raised in proportion. The more he improves his farm, the more must the paternal Government punish him. Of what use is the Government if it be not a terror to evil-doers? Therefore, let farmers beware! But, though their crimes are so great, greater still is their punishment. They are condemned not to eat or drink anything beyond the produce of their own farms, without paying a fine for so doing. Nay, they are even forbidden to clothe their bodies until they have bought a license for so doing from the Customs office. Let us ask also how the farmer is affected by the Property-tax. If his property is of less value than £500 he is blandly, but deceitfully, told that he is exempt from this tax. If he is worth £500, or more, so muoh the worse for him. But, in any case, he pays the Property-tax, and with interest added to it. His manure merchant, and the other tradosmen that he deals with, have the Property-tax levied on their goods, and it is the buyer of those goods that pays the tax —not the seller. The seller requires also interest on the amount of capital invested ]n the payment of taxes, which he pays in advance, on behalf of those who buy his goods. In addition to all this the farmers must supply the railway revenue. If the railway is so badly managed that it will not pay, then the farmers must pay a heavier freight than otherwise necessary in order to make it pay. Prices of produce may go down ad libitum, but freights are as unalterabjo as the laws of the Medes and. Persians, It is often asserted 'hat agriculture js the backbone of the ooiintry ; it seems to me that at any rate it is the backbone of our present taxation. Farmers will some day waken up to the fact that the most just and rational system of taxation must be levied on the unirrprovcd value of the land, and I upon that alone. Such a tax, would fall I

much lighter upon the farmer than our present system, It could be raised at a tithe of the present expenses; it would encourage improvements, and it would annihilate land speculation, whicli is tho farmer's curse.—lam, &0.,