40 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL souRNAL. [1 Jury, 1901. 
actions of that fossilised body. I know, for one, it is not a safe thing to get 
money too cheap. In the 1893 crisis there was a firm in the West Moreton 
district that acted in a munificent manner towards their clients. They voluntarily 
charged no interest for four years—not one shilling. There were men who were 
able to appreciate the blessing and took advantage of it. They reduced the 
principal. Other men loafed on the generosity of that firm, and at the end of the 
four years they were a great deal worse off, and had not one good word to say in 
favour of the firm that had stood by them. Surely our administrators have 
some judgment of human character, and although there are men who will 
impose on their generosity. yet the love of home and freedom is a British 
instinct; and if the best of us get the ghost of a chance we will make our 
homes our own. ‘Lhe best thing the Government has ever done has been the 
repurchasing of those splendid estates and placing them, on the easiest possible 
terms, within the reach of our young population. We have two of these 
estates near to where I live, and although it is only five years since they were 
cut up, there are now splendid homes on them. We have been twenty years 
under the old system doing what they have done in five. I borrowed £500, 
and now these men have got better places than I have. ‘They have done in 
five years what we have been trying to do in fifteen and twenty. When the 
Government grips this question like men and places before us a system of 
cheap money, tt will be one of the greatest blessings ever conferred upon the 
population of Queensland. 
Mr. T. E. Covtson (Rosewood) : Like my friend who has just sat down I 
started at the beginning. To make a home for ourselves is a British instinct, 
and if we see a chance of making one, well, a chance goes a long way. There 
are any amount of men who, if they are given.a chance of getting a piece of 
land to make a home, will seize that chance. Many of us have had to borrow 
money, and we haye generally had to pay through the nose for it. We found 
it like a millstone round our necks that was dragging us down, but with deter- 
mination, energy, and perseverance, many of us have been able to free our- 
selves. Some of us have now increased, however, and for myself I may say I 
have nine or ten sons, besides daughters. The point is now, How are we to 
place these successfully upon the land? I had the pleasure of seeing the cheap 
money scheme that was drawn up by the late lamented Mr. Chataway. It 
apparently came to life in the Assembly, but when it reached the nominee 
Chamber it was thrown out. What could you expect when that House is 
composed of a lot of gentlemen who are lenders of money? We know this 
very well: Those who have money to lend want to make the best use of it. 
The principle, however, is already established by the Government: money 1s 
already lent out to start co-operative dairies. My experience is this, however: 
You may eall it cheap money, but it is not so. It is hedged in with so many 
red-tape restrictions that it is often cheaper to get the money privately. One 
fact I would like to impress upon you is, that there are any amount of people 
who are starting working up a home whom a little financial assistance would 
save from years and years of struggling. The farmers in the West Moreton 
district were some years ago placed in a very happy position. As Mr. Burgess 
has already said, Cribb and Foote never charged a shilling interest for over three 
years. I took advantage of that and made my sheet clean. Mr. Burgess says 
he would never again borrow money. I can re-echo his sentiments, for I 
remember once borrowing enough in ten minutes that took me eighteen years 
to wipe off. 
Mr. A. Morrar (Radford): It must be understood that I never for a 
moment advised anyone to borrow money. We have had a good deal of 
talking about the dangers of borrowing, but that has nothing to do with cheap 
money. ‘This cheap money involves a great principle. It is to ney those men 
who by necessity are compelled to borrow money to keep out of the hands of 
usurers and untair storekeepers. Because we have these men—I do not 
say there are many of them. ‘This talk of the disadvantages of borrowing, &c., 
are away from the subject altogether. I was rather disappointed in Mr. 
