RETRENCHMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1596, 29 June 1887, Page 4

RETRENCHMENT.

It is sufficient evidence that m proposing to carry out a policy of retrenchment the Government are faithfully reflecting public opinion to f\pd that the Opposition also sound the same note. It is true that the latter profess a willingness, if entrusted with power, to retrench more vigorously and thoroughly than Ministers are supposed to be ready to do, but we fancy tbat the country will prefer deeds to words, and if so, will rather trust those who have the courage while m office to propose a cutting down policy rather than those who, when m office, declared such a policy to be impossible. Ministers proposed last session a reduction of •■£._: 50,000, which Major Atkinson declared lo be not nearly enough. We agree with him m that view, but we do not forget that when Major Atkinson was on the treasury Benches he absolutely refused to attempt a reduction of even He is now crying " Codlin's your friend not Short," but we fancy that he will cry m vain. We believe that Ministers really mean what they say, but they must go farther than they propose m the direction of retrenchment if they Would satisfy the country and meet the necessities of the situation. If they do not, then others must take their place, but the country will be only leaping out of the fiyingpan into the fire if it accepts an Atkinson administration m their stead. We have said that the Ministerial scheme of retrenchment does not go far enough. Sir Robert Stout insists that the Education expenditure shall not be reduced, and if he persists m that insistance he will find it a fa.al mistake. For m our opinion, and we lhf»!c, m that of the country generally, it is absolutely imperative thata reduction be made m this and m other directions j and, as we have shown m a previous article, by raising the minimum school age to seven years, and imposing a school fee for the fifth and sixth standards, a nett saving of something like could be made m the education 1. ote. By the abolition of Education Boards this might be increased to a total of very neatly £100,000. . Then, again, we are strongly cf opinion that the number of members m the House of Representatives should be reduced to sixiy, and the number of paid Ministers of the Crown to five. The difficulty i as to the increased area of the country electorates resulting from the reduced number of representatives must be met by raising propoitionately the per-cen-tagc of population allowance. The salaries of Ministers will also bear reduction by 20 per cent, and a like reduction may also be made m the honorarium. These, with some small further reductions m the Legislative department, would make a further total saving of £15,000. We are satisfied that by the exercise of a rigid economy m all deparl ments of the public service still further savings may be made to the tune of fully ,£85,000 more, so that altogether it would be possible to relieve the burdens of the country by a sum cf £200,000 over and abovo the reductions contemplated by the Government. If this were done there would be no necessity for any additional burden of taxation, and all that would remain would be to revise and readjust the existing taxation, so as to place the heaviest eiid of the log on the strongest shoulders. Under such a schepie, revenue taxes should be raised mainly upon luxuries, and while articles of necessity which we cannot produce should be admitted free, the production of articles which can be raised or made | m the colony, should be encouraged ' and assisted by protective duties upon similar articles imported from abroad. If, m addition to this reform, a graduated income and land tax were substituted for the present property tax, we should have placed our finances and our fiscal system on a sound and satisfactory footing, and could look forward to a period of financial equilibrium, instead ot constantly receiving deficits, and to a period of progress, instead of stagflation and depression.