MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWERA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1611, 16 July 1887, Page 3

MAJOR ATKINSON AT HAWERA

Major Attkfnaon addressed his con* stitaents at Hawera last night, He estimated the dtfiolt ai between the presort t revetiae and expenditure at about £18,000 or £i 9,000 a month, or between £220,000 and £230 000 » year. He characterised the Estimates as extravagant, and said that the savings claimed by the Government were counterbalanced by incomes m other directions The not increase was, ho said, m round numbers £50,000. The Governent really proposed to increase taxation by £325,000. The Government inaiated on the Houae agreeing to this or being dissolved, and the House ohoae the luttar. The Government looked on increased taxation lightly, aa evidenced by Sir J. Yogel at Auckland and Mr Ballance at Wanganui having declared that as the people m 1882 paid 50s per head on Customs dutieß, it was no hardship to ezpeofc them to pay the same now. They did not «eem to realise that | the people paid leas now than In 1882, \ because they oonld afford leas, and that I the doty of the Government was ti reduce expenditure to meet the demands of the peop'e, instead of increasing taxation to meet the requirements of present expenditure. Now, ho trover, that the Government were faoe to face with the constituencies, they had changed their tune, and the Premier now declared that he saw his way to reduce the expenditure by £100,000, or m >re, it he went back with a majority. Could there be a greater justification for the action of the Opposition m defeating the financial pro poaals of the Government last session, -everi at the cost of a second session. The real issue between the Opposition and the Government was whether there was to be effeotual retrenchment before increased taxation. THE GRADUATED PROPERTY TAX. To a graduated Property tax, however, he decidedly objected, on the ground that It would huve a pr» jadlilil effect on the Golouy by preventing capital comlr>g to New Zealand, and he especially objected to it at a time when capital was urgently needed for carrying on cjlonieing. The great difficulty now was that land was burdened too heavily with mortgages, and if the latter could only be freed from heavy encumbranoes, it would at once put a new face on things. To prevent oapital coming to the colony at a time like tbli was iuloicM, and he believed such a tax would prevent this, fur though the tax was only proposed at one-sixteenth of a peony, the fact of suoh a tax being imposed, and the probability of any unscrupulous Treasurer Increasing it to meet a difficulty, would effectually ptevent ca t lUlists sending money here, or coming here themselves. Gradual duties were not unjust, and he himself had imposed them, but that was a very different thing to interfering with property of persons during life. PCBLIO WOBSB. As to public works, it was quite olf>ar that we nould nut suddenly stop borrowing, while it was especially clear that as increased taxation could not be borne borrowing mutt be greatly curtailed. As to public buildings, including school buildings, we could not at present bear the oharge for them, and unt'l we could get time to turn round and reduoe expenditure and oharge as many of these things upon revenue as possible, we mast charge them upon loan ; but we must make up our minds to lessen the oharge for these considerably, so that we could afford to put them upon ordinary revenue. Bleotors must make up their minds for a great reduction of expenditure m this dlreotlonTHI LAND QUESTION. As to the land fund h« pointed out that while the late Government hed left the fond m oredit to the amount of £80,000, last year there was a debit balance of £64 OCO, BO that m three years the fund had gone to leeward by £136,000, and this was irrespective of the expenditure on pillage settlements. He believed In deferred payments and perpetual lease experiments, but not to the extent of disturbing the finance of the country, and he held that land In freehold should be sold m limited areas. He spoke strongly m favor of the settlement of the land, as the salvation of the colony depended on it, but to a practical settler he could see no advantage m the schemes of the Premier and the Minliter of Lands, who had no praotfo'l knowledge. Village settlement! would be of great value so long as they were treated as homes for working men, who had no ready earnings for a livelihood, and could simply fall back on their sections when employment was eoarce. It was hopeless to expect a rann to make a living off 20 or 50 acres of bush land, and settlement of that kind could only end m disaster. As to Sir Grey's Land for Settlement Bill and Mr Ballanoe'a Land Acquisition Bill, while not pledging himi self to vote for either, he preferred the former, and would be glad to approaoh the question with the desire of arriving at a deoision not unjust to individuals, while advantageous to the State. EDUCATION After dwelling upon the importance of educating the children of the coloty so that they might be the future governors of the colony he said that he believed that boys of exceptional capacity should have the opportunity, no matter what the rank of their parents, of obtaining the highest education that was possible to be acquired. The whole question or the relation of the secondary echools and the University to primary education must be considered with a view to rendering higher education more effective and yet cheaper than it was at the present time. As to the primary schools, he approved of what was known at the " Nelson system," and he believed that if it bad been adopted the education system would have been better appreciated, and many of the present d-fficulties would have been avoided . Aa to the cost of education, nothing must be done to break down or do away with the compulsory education of every child to a certain degree, but m the condition of the colony It was necessary to look the whole matter itraight In the face, to see whether it was not possible to get what we require ai a considerably less cost than at piesent. RETRENCHMENT. With regard to general economy, the whole scale of colonial expenditure must .be reduoed. All salaries, from the Governor downwards, had been fixed at a time when the oolony was m a more flourishing condition. They were Incomputable with the present condition cf the oolony and mutt be reduced. He would commence with the Governor (of course applying the rednotlon to the next Governor), reduoe Ministers by, say 20 per cent, the Council honorarium to £100 and the House to £150, and then review the whole of the salaries throughout the colony. He wished to do no injustice to the present officers, but be would warn everyone else that they must prepare to meet the times. Then there must be fewer local conveniences whioh oarrled ex* pongee. This was, theDj he feared, the greatest difficulty, THE TARIFF. If, after all possible reduction had been made, there was still a need for further taxation, and he feared there would be he would revise the Tariff, not as a Protectionist nor as a Freetrader^ but first m the Interests of the revenue, secondly m the interests of the consumer, and thirdly m the interests of the manufaotarer. CON*: LDSION. He concluded by an appeal to the electors of the Colony to remember that this was one cf the most important crises m the history of the Colony, and that the weal or %.© woe of the Colony for years to come depended on the manner la which they discharged their tcoitj

The meeting lasted till Ions; after midnight, and after a long discussion about the Stratford Railway and other local matters, a motion of thanks was negatived by 64 to 54 m favor of a vote of no confidence