THE GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1864, 11 June 1888, Page 3

THE GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

■» : The " Post," diaouaslng the debate on the Tariff says :— The members of the Government seem to have remarkably little to Bay In favor or defenoe of their own proposals. The two Ministers who have spoken m the debate on the Tariff ■aid little or nothing to justify the imposition of each a Tariff on the country, or to combat the argument so forcibly used by many of the speakers on the other aide, that it has not yet been ■atlsfaotcrlly demonstrated that the exigencies of the situation oannot be met by any other means than the imposition of crushing taxation through the Oaatom House. There have been many suggestion! offered, m the Honse and through the press, as to how financial equilibrium might be restored by the adoption of other leas objectionable means, and m a manner which would prove less oppressive - to the people. These suggestions have not hitherto been deemed wor.hy of much consideration or notice. The Ministerial attitude so far appears to be that their proposals are the perfection of wisdom, and chat modification or alteration m any way would be * departure from the highest attainable standard. This la not altogether a wise attitude, under the elroumitance!>. If none of hla as yet ■(lent colleagues do so, we trust that when the Premier cornea te reply he will place the House In possession of the reasons which seem to the Government* sufficient to render their own proposals preferable to any of the alternative courses proposed for bringing about the desired object of establishing a balance between expenditure and revenue. Amongst these means may be noticed the raising of the school age, the limitation of free education to the fourth Standard, the increase of stamp duties by the adoption of a sliding scale with regard to receipts, the imposition of a duty on the totalisator, the reduotlon or abolition of tLe property tax exemption, and farther departmental reduction by the abolition of the Audit Department and consolidation of offices, the non-renewal of the San Francisco mall contract and various other similar retrenchments.