myth (based on Robert Burns) for the elderly. They gave Scots a path to assimilation and cultural integration as Scottish New Zealanders. The settlement of Scots in the Deep South is reflected in the lasting predominance of Presbyterianism in the South Island. 1890–1914 Politics The pre-war era saw the advent of party politics, with the establishment of the Liberal Government. The landed gentry and aristocracy ruled Britain at this time. New Zealand never had an aristocracy but it did have wealthy landowners who largely controlled politics before 1891. The Liberal Party set out to change that by a policy it called "populism". Richard Seddon had proclaimed the goal as early as 1884: "It is the rich and the poor; it is the wealthy and the landowners against the middle and labouring classes. That, Sir, shows the real political position of New Zealand." The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals. To obtain land for farmers the Liberal government from 1891 to 1911 purchased 3.1 million acres of Māori land. The government also purchased 1.3 million acres from large estate holders for subdivision and closer settlement by small farmers. The Advances to Settlers Act of 1894 provided low-interest mortgages, while the Agriculture Department disseminated information on the best farming methods. The 1909 Native Land Act allowed the Māori to sell land to private buyers. Māori still owned five million acres by 1920; they leased three million acres and used one million acres for themselves. The Liberals proclaimed success in forging an egalitarian, anti-monopoly land policy. The policy built up support for the Liberal party in rural North Island electorates. By 1903 the Liberals were so dominant that there was no longer an organised opposition in Parliament. The Liberal government laid the foundations of the later comprehensive welfare state: introducing old age pensions; maximum hour regulations; pioneering minimum wage laws; and developing a system for settling industrial disputes, which was accepted by both employers and trade unions, to start with. In 1893 it extended voting rights to women, making New Zealand the first country in the world to enact universal female suffrage. New Zealand gained international attention for its reforms, especially how the state regulated labour relations. The impact was especially strong on the reform movement in the United States. Coleman argues that the Liberals in 1891 lacked a clear-cut ideology to guide