Homes for our Wage-Earners.

It is quite impossible to over-estimate the importance of placing our workers in a position to acquire homes of their own. Every man and woman so placed is directly interested in the maintenance of law, order, and the rights of property. The real strength and safeguard of any country is a large army of small freeholders, and all our efforts ought to be to greatly increase their number.

The danger to society comes from the great moving, restless mass who have no interest in the Colony beyond their daily wage. When that ceases they easily fall a prey to those curses of society—the needy, seedy politician, and the labour agitator.

To increase the number of freeholders, however, does not suit the politician who wants to manipulate the Working Man's vote. His desire is to keep him in the cities; his vote can be much more easily managed there. If he had an acre or two of his own he would be altogether too independent; he would not require to hang on to the skirts of one of "the party" to get a job on some co-operative works, for when he was out of employment he could be profitably engaged on his own land, but the "Working Man's Government" is not at all disposed to help him in this direction. This is now quite evident.

When in 1882 I invented the Stage System, my main objects were to enable the writers to live on holdings of their own, to enable them to travel long distances in search of work or of health, to promote land settlement generally, and to largely increase the railway revenue by greatly reducing the charges. That it will do all this is no longer a matter of my theory, but one of ascertained fact. The Government, however, appear to have now made up their minds to openly oppose this system, and this notwithstanding they have, one and all, voted that it ought to be introduced.

In his speech at Paeroa the Hon. Mr. Cadman is reported to have said that "he hoped Mr. Vaile would next session set forth his scheme to a Committee of the House. The evidence would be printed, and the people would be able to form some opinion as to the merits of the scheme."

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In order that I may not be a party to wasting the time and money of the country, I will at once say what will be my attitude if called before the proposed Committee.

If I am accorded the same position that was given me on the 1886 Committee, that is to say, the right to conduct my own case, to call witnesses, and to cross-examine the witnesses on the other side, then I will attend and render every assistance in my power; but if I am to be called merely as a witness, then I will only attend on compulsion, and no good will be done. There is an old saying about the horse and the water.

The Hon. Mr. Cadman, like his predecessors, appears to have fallen bodily into the hands of the superior officers of the Department, and their avowed object is to kill the reform movement by