The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1887.
We have heard of late a great deal about the enlightenment of the age, the progress of civilization, and the urgent necessity that exists for higher education to enable us to keep pace with modern developments m our social and {olitical institutions. We keep on congratulating ourselves that for a young colony we have m these matters &)ne fairly well, and are not far behind the spirit of the times. Our legislation for he last few years has exhibited a tendency to deal more and more liberally with the people . Such being th« case, few of our readers will credit thit under existing legislation it is possible that for the nonpayment of an annual rate of a few shillings, an owner who happens to be away from the colony is liable to have bis land, which may be worth hundreds, if not thousands, of poands, sold by auction 1 Yet such a contingency may arise under the provisions of the Rating Act of 1876, The Auckland " Evening Bell," when recently drawing attention to the operation of this Act, remarks that it " exhibits an arbitrary arrogance not m iccordance with the spirit of colonial institutions." Our contemporary illustrates his remarks thus : — " The other day for 7s 7d a plot of land somewhere a^out Epsom was sold off, bringing ;£js an acre. No doubt the surplus is hell" to the credit of the owner, who maf be at this hour looking forward to retirn and end bis days on that plot of ten 3, to return and find himself landless We see again that the Borough of Onehunga issues notice on the 12th of July, among others, to five owners, who are no doubt far away, and who owe two of them a shilling each, two of them two shillings each, and one of them three shillings, and for these sums their lands are to be sold. Of course there is a twelve months' notice, but m all probability there is just about as much chance of the owners seeing it as if the notice was issued only the day before the auction." We fully endorse cur contemporary's further remarks ; "we care no 1 , what the expediency may be that is alleged to wan ant this, it is a piece of arbitrary tyranny and indifference to oilers' interests that is disgraceful to the colony, and mayfcwell be pointed to as confirming the bad character which Nesv Zealand appears to have acquired m the matter of finance." Had the present Ministry introduced and passed an Act containing such a provision as this, we should have been chary of giving them the slightest modicum of sipport, however able they might be m other respects, as this very fact would inccntestibly prove that they had not the interests of the people at heart. The blame — we miget almost say the infany-r-of passing such an Act does not tttar.h to the present Government but o the present Opposition, who are movng heaven and earth to get into officj again. We trust, however, that the jood sense of the masses will put a stop to their power of doing further mischief for tbe present, and that when Pariament meets the Stout-Vogel Miristry will find themselves with a strong majority, and that they will lose no tifiK^n repealing this obnoxious provision, for independent of the wrong itselfthe very fact of doing such a wanton thirg rm^st have a demoralizing effect upon tbe public mind. £, Kbating'q CopoH Lozenges cure Coughs Asthma, Bronohitis. Medical testimony ;ats that other medicine is so effectual m the our of these dangerous maladies. One Lozenge ilone give ease, one or two at bedtime ensures rest. For relieving difficulty breathing they ire invaluable. They contain no opium nor my violent drug, gold by Chemists m Tins, Is ljd and 2s 9d eaoh
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18870805.2.3
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1628, 5 August 1887, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
649The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1887. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1628, 5 August 1887, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.