RETRENCHMENT.
TO THB EDITOB
Sir,— Tbe '• Outs " are always very anxious for retrenchment, but when they are "Ins "they have a happy knßck of forgetting all about it. The Atkinson partp are now eery strong advocates of economy, bub if they should defeat the j present Ministry they will ba as extras gant as ' ever. The following tx'raots from a speech delivered by Mr Purnell at Kakaia, on Oct. 29th, 1881, will give a good idea of the sorts of economy we may expect from thoae gent'enen. "From a political pitnt of view the Ministry appeared to have no backbone and no dißtißct polioy of their own. . . . They ann~unod a deficiency of £900.010 at the end of the financial year, The next year a deficiency of £600,000 had to be met. . . . Retrenchment was not a proceeding which commended itself to Major Atfcinson's mind. Had Mhj >r Atkinson been allowed his own way add^onal taxation to the extent of £250,000 would have been impored. " On Novembar 30th, 1881, Mr Purnell speaks thm :— " Major Atkinson a^id he woulc try and Bave £50,000, bnt he was particularly careful to explain ths>t it wou'd be a most difficult task to efface such a saving, and that be m ght fail m tho attempt. Fortunately the House took the bit In its teeth, snd the Government saved not £50,000 but over £300,000. Had Major Atkinson been allowed his own way the colony would now have been paying a quarter of a million more taxation than it is doing.*' This was pretty strong, and, no doubt, quite correct. | Have thoae gent'emen changed since then 1 Have they any moie backbone now than they had then 'I 16 the present Ministry ' be defeated these are the very men who will take their places- They cannot do anything m the way of retrenchment till they are compelled by the House. Are they fit to be Ministers 1 Tho electors of the whole colony should take good care that they do not get the chinee to again to practice their extravagance. Further comment would spoil this matter. I am, eto. , TAXATION.
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Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1665, 17 September 1887, Page 2
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352RETRENCHMENT. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1665, 17 September 1887, Page 2
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