THE TEA DUTY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1880, 29 June 1888, Page 3

THE TEA DUTY.

•» The division on the proposed increase of tho duty on tea was not bo closo a thing as was anticipated would be the case, the majority for tho Government being nominally seven, but really eight, as but for Mr Walker being accidentally locked m and having therefore to voto m the same direction as his pair would have voted the numbers would i have stood 44 against 35 noes. The result is doubtless due to the firm stand of tho Government, who made it a Ministerial question, and m consequence secured tho votes of the Protectionists of tho Opposition which is easily understood, the explanation being that a defeat of the Government would have involved tho risk of the entiro unsifting of the present Budget proposals, and the possible advent to power of a Freetrade Ministry. Rather than incur that risk a number of members, who were known to object to the tea duty, accepted the inevitable, and voted with the Premier. For ourselves we should greatly have preferred the rising of the duties upon articles of luxury, instead of imposing a tax which will press more heavily upon the poor than upon the rich, but we recognise the difficulty of tho situation, and on the whole wo think that our local representatives, Messrs Walker and Buxton, decided for the best, under the circumstances. There is also to ho borne m mind, so tar as country constituencies are concerned, tho by no means unimportant consideration that the duty and subsidies to local governing bodies were bracketed together, and that the issues presented were tho increased duty and subsidies, or no increase of duty and no subsidies, Now, whatever may bo said as to the defensibility or otherwise of tho system qf subsidies, the fact remains that to cut them off at the present moment would be to intensify the unemployed difficulty m country districts by largely curtailing the amount which the County Councils can expend m public works, and members representing country districts naturally hesitated to take a course which would bring about such a state of things. That town members, that is to say the city representatives, should, as regards tho majority, have gono against the duty is easily understood inasmuch as relatively a much smaller proportion will find its way back directly or mdi redly to their constituencies. We don't abate one jot our opinion that much fairer taxation proposals than thoßO of the present Government might and should have been devised, but wo repeat that taking things as they are, tho members for Ashburton and Rangitata have decided for tho best.