484 AGRICULTURAL CREDIT.—DAVIDSON. 
Nothing need be said regarding the political aspect of the 
proposal, though that is the first which occurs to most people. 
What would be the relation between the borrower and the 
government about election time ? Would concessions be made 
to partizans, in the matter of time, if the interest was not ready ? 
It must be admitted that there is no evidence of similar discrimi- 
nation in other business conducted by the government. After 
extensive enquiries, of Liberals regarding Conservative admin- 
istration, and of Conservatives regarding Liberal administration, 
of the Intereolonial Railway, I have heard of one instance only 
of discrimination in freight rates in favour of a partizan, and 
that was in the shape of a tacit permission to overload a car. 
That is rather remarkable, and along with it we must take the 
fact that advances to settlers are generally repaid in full— 
though this is not so remarkable, for these men are not voters, 
Still there remains the general impression that politics would 
inevitably enter into the question of government loans to 
farmers, and politics are already so complicated that both parties 
would fight shy of such a measure. 
To sum up :—The farmer need not look to any amendment 
of the banking system to provide him with cheaper credit, 
though possibly an improved banking practice might help hima 
little. The European system of agricultural credit on a co-opera- 
tive basis could not be adopted in this country, and need not be, 
for our farmer is not as helpless and as much subject to the 
usurer as the continental peasant. The results of this co-operative 
system do not place the European on as good a footing as the 
Canadian farmer now has. No government will ever attempt 
the task of lending money to make the business of farming 
profitable. The action of governments in relation to agricultural 
credit has been confined to lending on mortgage. This is, in my 
opinion, not desirable in Canada, either for the Dominion or for 
the provinces. The safe line is to develop the present activities 
of the government on behalf of the farmers, for cheaper credit 
is only one of the conditions of success. 
