THE REAL ISSUE BEFORE THE COUNTRY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1622, 29 July 1887, Page 3

THE REAL ISSUE BEFORE THE COUNTRY.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir, — In the Hou«?e of Representatives, on the 25th May last, the leader of tbo Oppoßitj»n moved, as an amendment to the motion made bj the Colonial Treasurer, for the Recond reading oE the Customs Dutiee Bill,— '•That, m the opinion of this House, the tariff and the other financial proposal of the Government are unsatisfactory." After debate the amendment was carried by a majority of 42 to 38, whereupon the Ministry, instead of resigning, asked His Excellency to grant a dissolution, m order that they might take the sense of the country upon their financial proposals. The dissolution was granted, and now the electors are asked to say '• Yea " or " Nay " to the financial proposals of the Government, as embodied m their Budg t, nnd upon no other question whatever.

I invite the attention of the electors of ABhburton and Rangitata to this plain fact, because the Ministry and their newspaper organs, discerning that the common eonse of the people is altogether adverse to these financial proposals, are endeavouring to raieo a variety of side iegueß and parly crite m order to deetract the electors' attention, and lead thorn to vote for Ministerial candidates. The country, however, has been deliberately asked to expresa an opinion upon certain definite proposals, ann the answer of tbe constituencies will be regarded as given for or against those proposals jnst as they return Ministerial supporters or the reverse. < The constituencies should pay no heed to the promises of retrenchment which | are now being made so freely by Minister s and their late supporters m Parliament . Had these gentlemen been m a majority when the division upon Mojor Atkinson's amendment was taken, there wou'd have been no real retrenchment, but tho country would now have been paying needless additional taxation at the rate of £325.000 a year ; it would have been paying a bastard kind of protective Customs Duties, heavy enough to press severely upon the consumers, but not sufficiently heavy to effectively stimulate local industries ; and it would likewise be suffering from the imposition of a progressive proper ty-tax, than which I cannot conceive any measure more prejudical to the interests of farmers and working men, since its inevitable effect would be to cause the withdrawal of much of the capital already invested m the colony, aud to prevent men with money coming from other )and to settle m New Zealand, thereby caußi'ng a rise m the rate of interest, and a dimination of the fund available for the employment of labor. Cen acybody believe that c&pitulists would be such born idiots as to sett c m a colony where they would be subject to special taxation ? I have ventured to draw ' the attention of my fellow-electors to these points, because it seems to me to be of vital importance that, when polling-day arrives, we should know really what questions we have vo vote upon. — I am, etc., CUAfI. W. PrjRNELL