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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 71

The Wage-Earners

The Wage-Earners.

He would now speak of the advantage of this scheme to the wage-earners. He had shown at the beginning of his remarks how the system of selling land had operated against the wage-earners; that it had swollen their ranks by preventing men with very small capital from going and working for themselves on land. Thus it reduced the wages by increasing the competition for employment. On the other hand by forcing them to pay the enhanced rents, which were continually going up, for the land upon which they lived. Thus it would be seen it this relief were afforded the condition of wage-earners would be immensely improved. By removing the difficulty of settlement the next comers into New Zealand would be able to go and decide upon their pieces of land and start upon them without any premium. There would be no selling value to the land and the next comer could go upon the land without taking anything out of his pocket. The consequence would be that fewer of those who came to New Zealand would join in the competition with the wage-earners. The result too would be an immense increase of production, and the wage-earners would be benefitted all round. (Applause.) There would be a benefit also by the entire remission of taxation, and they would not pay any more ground rent than they were paying now. He (Mr. Withy) did not care whose writings on political economy were studied, it would be found thus, that every bit of taxation and every bit of rent in any country was absolutely paid out of the proceeds of industry. (Applause.) Could the land-owner pay taxation unless he got it out of the proceeds of industry? If he had nobody on the ground working it and paying him rent he would have no cash. Thus the only way in which he could pay his taxes, if he did not work himself, would be by cutting off a strip of his land year by year and giving it to the collector. That was the only way in which he could pay his taxes, unless he got it out of the proceeds of industry. It might be [unclear: his] own industry, if he cultivated the [unclear: land] himself, or the industry of his tenant if be let the land for rent.