The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1885 Financial Statement.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1544, 6 July 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, JULY 6, 1885 Financial Statement.

Returning again to Sir Julius Vogel’s Financial Statement we will now endeavor to examine it a little more in detail. The Colonial Treasurer is such a master of felicitous language that he never employs a harsh or offensive term even to describe operations essentially disagreeable and unpopular. He never increases a tax, he only “ re-adjusts” it; and even for that he finds some happy reason about which we are called upon to rejoice. In his earlier career as Treasurer he prevailed on the House to re-adjust the Customs duties generally without proclaiming the slightest intention to increase them, and when it was found in the following session that the change had increased them to a very large extent, he called on the House to glory with him in such a gratifying proof of the “ commercial integrity ” of a nation that had submitted so faithfully to the payment of ad valorem duties. He now calls upon the Protectionists and the temperance advocates to rejoice over the increased consumption of home-made articles and the decreased consumption of ardent spirits, which, he says, have made a re-adjustment ” of the Customs duties necessary. But there is a reverse side to both these changes which should have attracted the attention of any statesman, and probably did attract the attention of Sir Julius Vogel although he chooses to ignore it. He is not the President of a Protectionist nor of a Temperance Association, and is not entitled to look at the situation from those standpoints only; nor is he at all inclined to do so; but in this case he wishes to show us only one side of the picture, and that, of course, the bright one. It does not suit him to tell us that the decrease in th 6 consumption of spirits and the lessened demand for other imported luxuries are a natural and necessary result of a decreased income by colonists generally and the wages classes in particular. So long as our laborers could constantly earn 8s or 10s a day, so long could we import our manufactured goods in spite of Protection, but when our laborers’ wages fall to the level of those prevailing in great manufacturing countries, or, what is much worse, when they cannot get employment half their time at any price, then we must necessarily manufacture our goods as we cannot afford to import them. So tnat nothing could more certainly indicate a lower degree of prosperity on the part of the wages class or a decreased power to employ by capitalists than the recent falling off in the Customs revenue. In other words nothing could more clearly indicate that New Zealand is impoverished by collecting having taxes to be regularly sent away to a foreign creditor, and is no longer able to bear the strain that a long extravagant administration and low prices have brought upon us. We sincerely hope and believe that some portion of the decrease in the consumption of spirits is due to the exertions of our temperance friends: but we must recognise that it is one of the symptoms that always accompany a decreased power to spend by the working classes. Poverty is not the best, but it is one of the most certain and universal incentives to temperance. That the present decrease in the consumption of spirits is not entirely due to the temperance societies is, unfortunately, shown by the Treasurer’s own Statement in a very significant manner. If it had resulted from the moral elevation ©f the people alone, there would have been no diminution of revenue in consequence. This was recently shown in the most gratifying manner by the English Budget. When the English Chancellor of the Exchequer had, for the first time, to declare that the action of the temperance societies had arrested the increase in the consumption of spirits, and brought about a large decrease in one section of the revenue, he was able at the same time to inform Parliament that the large decrease in the duty upon spirits was more than compensated by the increased consumption of comforts and luxuries that paid duties in other directions. When an intemperate man ceases to lose half his time and spend three-quarters of his wages in the publichouse, those dependent upon him cease to starve or to exist only on potatoes and bread, and their increased power to spend adds in many ways to the spending power of others and therefore to the wealth of the nation. But the case is very different when the man’s consumption of spirits is merely lessened by poverty, and those dependent upon him are left as miserable as ever. Thus if in our case the decreased consumption of spirits was entirely due to the superior moral power of the people even the Customs revenue would have gained in one direction what it has lost in another. But being due as it mainly is to the poverty induced by past extravagance on the part of the New Zealand Government there is nothing shown in the Customs revenue to compensate for the loss of spirit duty.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court ibis morning Mr I’. Bulioc'-t, J. P., fined a first offender 10s and with the alternative of 24 hours’j imprisonment, for drunkenness.

At the fourth annual meeting of the Canterbury Farmers’ Co-operative Association the Directors’ report showed that the number of shareholders had increased to 1,278, holding 5,770 shares. During the year L 1,350 of tho mortgage on the Association’s railway siding to grain store had been paid off. The nett profit for the year was L 1,347. It was decided to pay a dividend of 7 per cent, for the year. It was also resolved to raise the issue of shares to 8,000, and to give Directors power to borrow to half the amount of shares issued. The Springburn Purple t-tar, L.0.L., will hold a tea, concert, and ball on Friday, July 10 Air.-, Elliot will drive a conveyance from Ashburton to Springbarn on the evening of the entertainment, and we are requested to state that all Ashburton friends will be made heartily welcome.

No practice of the Choral Society will fco hyld this evening in consequence of the election. A special meeting will bo held this week to consider the advisablenesi of winding up the Society. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Ashburton Borough Council will be held at the Council Chambers, Library Buildings, this evening at 7 o’clock. When Mr Wright addressed the electors at Ohertaey, Mr D. Todd asked the candidate if he woald be in favor of discontinuing the payments to the Rev W. Colenso, of Napier, in respect to the compilation of a Maori Lexicon. It may not be generally known that Mr Colenso has been engaged upon this work for many years, and has received numerous payments from the Government on account of it, but no Lexicon has, to employ Mr Todd’s words, yet appeared. We notice the reverend gentleman has been re-autho-rised to frank letters, and we presume another effort is being made to complete his protracted labors. We regret to learn that Mr S. Brown met with a alight accident by a fall from his horse this afternoon, sustaining a few cuts about the face. The suffered was promptly attended to by Dr Rosa. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Winslow School Committee was held on Saturday evening. Present Messrs Harris (Chairman), Hayman, Williamson, Lovett, and Drennen. Mr Lovett propos d, and Mr Drennen seconded, —That Mr P. Grace be elected to the Committee In place of Mr Rainey, resigned As an amendment, Mr Hayman proposed, and Mr Wiliamson sec >nded, —That Mr B. Remington bo elected. The amendment, on being put, was lost and the original proposition carried. It was resolved to appoint a member to the seat on the Committee vacated by Mr Hayman. •Mr Lovett was appointed Secretary and Treasurer. The Chairman was requested to communicate with the master in respect to class singing Accounts amounting to H2 3s 4i were passed for payment and the Bank balance was reported as L 6 18s. The Hon John McLean, of Laghmor, has become a life honorary member of the Ashburton Rifle Volunteers. The Wakanui election in course to-day has attracted a large amount of attention, and notwithstanding the inclement weather polling has been actively carried on at the different booths. It is anticipated that the contest will be a very close one, the friends of both candidates pro fearing confidence in the result. At three o’clock 263 votes had been recorded at the' chief polling booth—County Sale yards - of which, it was generally admitted, Mr Wright had secured a large majority. At Rakaia, at the same hour, 210 votes had been polled, of which a substantial majority were regarded as favorable to Mr Ivess. The result of the election should be known in Ashburton shortly after eight o’clock this evening. At a meeting of the Committee of the Ashburton Rifles on Friday evening, Captain Douglas relhd a letter from the Under-Secretary of Defence Department intimating that the sum of L 250 has been granted towards the erection of a drillshed in Ashburton, It was decided to ask the Committee of the Ashburton Guards to attend a meeting on Tuesday evening after drill, to consider what steps should be taken iu the matter.

Some interesting mementos of the siege of Gibraltar have just been landed at the Royal Arsenal Woolwich, from Her Majesty’s atoreship Wye. They consist of three guns and a mortar which have been recovered from the French and -Spanish ships sunk in the bod of the Mediterranean. These vessels were, no doubt, sunk by the fire of the British, under General Ellis, between the years 1779 and 1783 The war trophies thus singularly rocovered, after a great lapse of time, have been brought home, by order of Her Majesty’s Government, to be preserved as moinontos of one of the greatest sieges on rec rd. For close confinement, want of air, sedentary habits and+>rain and nerve tire, trust in Hop Bitters (American Co.’s). Read Catarrh of the Bladder.— Stinging .natation, inflammation, all kidney and similar complaints, cured by “ Buchu-paiba. ” The N.Z. Drug Co., General Agents. 3 “ German Syrup.” —No other medicine n the world was ever given such a test of its curative qualities as Boschee’s German Syrup, fn three years two million four hundred thounud small bottles of this medicine were distributed Jree of charge by Druggists in the United States of America to those afflicted with Consumption, Asthma, Croup, severe Coughs, Pneumonia and other diseases of the throat and lungs, giving the afflicted undeniable proof that German Syrup will cure them. The result has been that Druggists in every town i nd village in civilised countries are recommending it to their customers. Go to your Druggist and ask what they know about it. Sample Bottles fid. Regular size 3s. fid. Three oses wil relieve mv rase.—f