The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-05-26
Taxes out of Community Values.


community which he monopolizes.
HON. w. P. REEVES CORRECTS The
NATION REGARDING NEW ZEALAND
PROSPERITY.
To the Editor of The Nation:
SIR-As one Of your readers I was
even more amazed than amused at your
article CT Sept. 10 entitled "a Striking
Illustration. % Verify it is striking IL
lustration, but not Of the ways OF tie
New Zealand government. It does but
afford an example Of the ofhand rla,i-
ncr in which even newspapers OF the
highest standing and ability VIII print
the most extraordinary and laugaa5lc
inaccuracies when writing Of farczE
countries. New Zealand is a long way
off and is co5 a very big country. L S
somewhat smaller than, the British l.:
lands, and IFS population is considerably
less than 1000, 000 For these reasons
one would have no cause to complain if
New Zealand were regarded by you rs
an outpost CT civilization too insight
icant to be referred to. But since ycu
have chosen to refer to it I submit that
one has every reason to complain t!sct
you have laid before your readers Sc
ries Of misstatements so comically mac
curate as scarcely to be worth categor-
ical disproval. Your article begins by
some general remarks about the position
of Australian political parties, remarks
which seem to me to be the reverse CT
correct but which are more or less mat
tiers of opinion I therefore propose to
confne myself to what you assert to be
actual facts about my own colony.
First as to your statement that the
governments of New Zealand has taken
possession of the land on the Henry
George principle" suppose you must
mean to refer to our repurchase statute,
. the Gland for settlements act, - a sketch
of which you go on to give. In no ether
way has our government taken posses
sion of the land. Now, the total amount
SO far bought by the government under
that act is less than 100, 900 acres, and
the area Of New Zealand is more than
65, 900, 600 acres. Moreover, it so hap
pens that with one solitary exception
every piece Of land bought by the gov
ernment has been acquired at the desire
Of the private owner thereof. So far is
the New Zealand legislature from hav-
ing adopted the principles of Henry
George that believe there is one single
taxer sitting in the New Zealand parlla-
ment aud only one. He is an able young
man of high character. but his position
at present isilonely. Next you go On to
describe Our system Of village settle
ments. A very lurid picture Go you
give I learn from it that these settle
ments were established in the year 1893;
that they are composed of groups Of Lot
less than 20 persons; that each group is
governed by boards Of trustees exercising
unprecedented powers; that each mems
ber of each group is entitled to a gov
ernment loan Of about $50 Of our mon
ey: that the boards possess despotlc au-
thoritv and have used it in such a way
as to create intense disccntent; that l
commission appointed to inquire into
the villages reports that the govern
ment advances have been exhausted and
that some Of the communities are as
much as S65Oa head IL debt, while land
has been left untitled and the settlers
are in many cases at c>.ch others ears
and bitterly dissatisfied with their con-
dition.
To term this sketch inaccurate would
be fla1tery. From beginning to end the
story IS a pure myth. The New Zea-
land village settlements wee for the
most ,art founded i'll the years 1883 and
1886. They are not in airy case governed
by anv board of trustees. Rightly or
wrongly, their constitution IS rot COM
munistic; it is not even cooperative.
The individual settlers have legally
nothing to Go with each other They are
ordinary neighbors, nothing more. They
are not specially governed by anybody,
bnt are as free as other citizens, free to
come and go rs they please, earn what
they can, spend what they choose. The
settlements on the whole, are admitted
to be financial and industrial successes.
The amount of rent and interest IN :;r-
rears is very small The value of toe
improvements effected on the holdings
is large and steadily increasing. Ncs1-
little money has been advanced to the
settlers since the year 1887 and III le
case more cham 81 0 per head. You would
not find ore settler owing $3.50 to 1;l2
state or anything near that sum. No
parliamentary inquiry such ai you ce-
scribe has been held, nor Is; there any
call fer any such investigation.
As to your article of Sept. II cn
"PcDulisn III Australia, l 'io not pso-
pose to waste ycur space and my own
time il di~prcyins tie counts Of its wild
and sweeping lndict2:ent. Sufficient TO
say that, 50 far as New Zealand is con-
cerned, ID strikes have never teen &C
companied By inrrder CT lncendiarlsla;
(2) the population cf cur cities IS hCt