CORRESPONDENCE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3488, 30 March 1912, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

SOME IMPORTANT MATTERS.

<TO THE EDITOR.)

Sir, —There are, of course, very many important subjects that deeply concern the public; but I write to you now because of a short paragraph in your issue of the 22nd instant that particularly arrested my attention, as it referred briefly, but clearly, -bo two or three matters of far-reaching interest and importance to the public, but which arc by many people, it may be said, not given that serious eonsidcration such things should receive from those most" concerned, or are not looked at from a broad point of view, so. far as the best interests of the community as a whole are affected by them.

The item of news I allude: to was in reference to recent remarks of a Taranaki settler, as to. the buying and selling-in the Tvapuri district of farm lands, or it would be more correct to say the increase in value of a particular farm in recent years; also the profits of land dealers, and the enormous loss to the State of unearned increment, which really and properly belongs to it,and should, and could have been used for the benefit of the people had such lands been retained by the Government. The settler referred particularly to good farm land which had been offered to him about a dozen years ago at £8 ail acre, while to-day it could not he bought under £65 an acre. And ho sketched the striking moral that might be drawn from the case in these words, “Now,” lie said, “suppose the Government, that is the people, to whom the soil belongs, had held on to the lands, what would have happened? The unearned increment would flow into the national treasury, there would lie fewer very rich people in the community, but there would be large numbers of comfortable settlers, holding farms at a low rental from the Government. Taxes oil' food and clothing through the Customs would be done' away with, there would be no need for foreign borrowing, and there need be no landless men in the country.” The case is very well put here, and it would lie difficult to dispute the truthfulness of the settler’s words, which are to my mind, worthy to be printed in gold, and many copies made thereof, which being nicely framed could be hung on the walls of many thousands of homes throughout the Dominion, thereby inducing really serious thought to he given to this exceedingly important aspect of a national question or policy. It has always appeared to me that a mere freehold is attractive to many people mainly because the posesseor of'it lias the privilege to sell at a profit when he chooses, and thus scoops up the whole increment of value which mostly is a result of the community’s labor, and of which only a very small fraction belongs to the individual owner of land. The genuine settler should be well satisfied with the possession of an absolutely assured right to occupy land for use at a moderate rental, fixed according to its productive capabilities. Judging by what is daily to be seen, it is probable that in a greatmany cases the loud cry for the freehold tenure is inspired by individuals strong desire to get hold of something that he can sell to others at a big profit. But it should be clear to most people by this time, that the interests of the community as a whole should always override those of the individual members of it, when such are in conflict. Reform in the method of dealing with the lands of the Dominion is urgently needed in this direction I think.

There is also another consideration of importance in this connection. When land is sold one would naturally suppose that the buyer should only have a right to the use of the surface. But what is the practice in vogue even in this age! Experience shows that when coal or other things of value may be discovered deep down in the earth, the buyer of its surface ; claims these things, also- The troubles of coal miners, and the so-called owners of coal mines, we know, are just now of absorbing' ..interest to the nations of the world, and there are many curious and painful aspects of these matters to be noted as far as both classes of these people are concerned. It seems that owners can close down a mine, or stop all work in the mines they hold, if they choose to do so. One person r.C ..«vner has the power it seems to throw one thousand or even ten thousand, other persons out of work, to the injury of .the Stato and the workers; when such an one, as it appears to me, did not even buy the coal at all, he merely in tlie lirst place only bought the surface of the land. Can such a thing be at all right from a national interest point of view ? If such a thing by any process of reasoning can be claimed to be right, as time goes on we need not he surprised if those who own the land and claim also the rocks and minerals for a mile or so running downwards below the surface, will perhaps some day be putting in a claim, or assuming they have a perfect right to all the atmosphere above or over their various territores, .and, may be, in time wo may even hear of them calling for tenders from skilled workers,' to build or construct a kind of Jacob’s ladder to enable them to escape to the upper regions in safety and comparative comfort, when the coal miners become too troublesome in their efforts to obtain justice. So we are constrained to ask: When are all these private monopolies to cease? Or when shall we as a people be able to evolve a condition of society where the individual interest must always

be understood to ho subordinate to the general good ? I suppose, such a time may he coming, but really It seems to be coming vory slowly. . And how distressing it is to think that the grimy work of the coal or other miners should he at all in these days. Working as they have to do in a stifling atmosphere, surrounded by. dripping walls, perhaps a thousand or more feet down from the surface of the earth and the sunlight, working all the time at hard physical toil; and as- we well know there are millions of them so engaged, all running risk of instantdeath, for almost every week we read accounts of mining disasters. At McCuvtain, America, 64 dead bodies have been found, while there are 70 still missing. And to such hard working people with all their risks and discomforts, a minimum wage of 5s a day is denied to them so far. The marvel is that- such a condition of things is considered necessary, or is allowed to exist. Alas! that such seems to he the case. But it is-hope-ful to note that some writers think that before long coal mining will not he required, and will become a thing of the past, long after the mines are worked out, as other cleaner and more constant forces or powers of Nature on the earth’s surface, will be more fully utilised than at present to assist. mankind in doing the necessary work of the world ; such as the power of running streams and rivers -electricity, the flowing tides, atmospheric currents, solar heat and such like. In such event the coal miner can also escape upwards from his dreary and dangerous work, and he can again breathe the free, pure air of heaven, and perhaps even be able to attain to a 5s mninram wage when working on the surface of the globe in the coming happy age.—l am, -etc., OBSERVER.