A TILT AT QUIBBLES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 485, 19 April 1909, Page 5

A TILT AT QUIBBLES.

, '- , BY'MR. MASSE*. \ MONEY, 'LAND'S, AND CIVIL SERVICE. i' ' ———• IAT TKLMBiSn.—SPitCIAI.'COnnFSrONnKKTI -," 1 ' Auckland, April 17. Tho'subject of tho mortgage tax is one in which the Leader of tho Opposition takes vory keen imtere&t, and ho was asked to-diy for liia 'views "on tho matter. He replied that, When the 'Land and Income Tax Bill ,wJis betore -thb House in ]907 4 -he had said': "1 do .ifofc suggest that the money invested oil mortgage should escape taxation, but, according to the 'present lafv, we are penalising, the man who lends iiponey by way of mortgage, and it is not a fair or right thing- to do. I am icertain that it would pay, the Government 'over and over again to givo up tho small revenue gained from tho morgige tax, and let interest 'on inor&gage c<ijunt as 'income for tho purpose of thd income tax." ' < ' Air. /JVlassey went on to say that the mort[sago tax tended to make money dearer to ibol borrower, and it also prevented irioney eeing sent to 'the cbnntrv for investment.' ; The 'Borrowing Insldo the Dominion. i Thd recent statement l by 'the'Primo Minister that, in, the last twelvo months, the (jrovernment had 'only borrowed between £90,000 and £100,000 m the Dominion, was nlso referred, to r Mr. Ilas6ey, who replied that the accounts for tho twelve months were not pnblished, but, if the Government had only borrowed that sum, it -was because it,Jiad .previously drained tho Dominion dry. Ho 'had not the nctual hgures, but tho borrowing through the I'ost Office Savings Bank dlonotimtst hayo averaged a million in each or, the 'last threo years. It was mere quibbling for the Trovmrer to talk as he did, because the Government hrid been borrowing urge sums m 'the Dominion for years, and, to, that extent, was responsible for the scarcity of money.

r'/ Land Tenures: Tho Kawhla Case. • , Recently the Hon. G. Fowlds, in a reply "- to a speech delivciwl by him (Mr. Masspy) denipds.tliat'ho'hail 'joined a deputation to tlie late Air. Seddpn to protest against tho opening of some ? lands at Kawhia under \l, °? tlonal syetem. Referring' this, Mr.. Massey said that, in his Buckland sjieectt ho was sp'alcing from meirx.v, and he had not'tho whole 'of the papers at hand, but what, happened i was that, in 1001, .when parliament >was "Sitting nrrangements 'ivere boing mado for thn settlement of the Crown lands at Kawhia. During 'that session, a deputation, consisting of .Mr. ■ Jiogg, Mr. lowlds, Mr. Napior, .Mr. LaurensOn, Mr. Ell Mr. Arnold, Mr. and Mr. Steward, waited on the "Primp Minister and Min*'Scer for Tjands. According lo the Wolling.(iort'papprs, they "representeftl both'town and country, and the liberal backbone of the House," and they asked that '.'there should . be but one tenure governing all hind disposed of by the country, namely, perpetual Jeas>s with periodical revaluation." Mr. Hose,, was leader'and principal Bpokfesriian,, but'he was backed, up by-Mr. Fotflds'and Mr, Napier, who urged* "one exclusive tenure for tho future and that was, perpetual lease." Mr. Seddon, in .his reply, stated'that "his views were well known bu_t r tho people required'educating up to thoso viijws, It was , a ' question .whether they should oomo, to >a sudden Etop or taper oft. Public opinion acquired to bo v educated on this patter," "That was in September," continued Mr. Massey, "and in the following January, or, at all events, early in the following year, the .Kawhia lnnds wero advertised, 'Intending settlers came from all over Nov.- Zealand to see thorn, and many cf them jwent affay in disgust, when th'o conditions were filtered from the optional system to loosG-in-perpotuity. Mr. FonldsM quibble was that the deputation, when they met tho Pnmo Minister, did not specifically refer to the Kawhia lands,, but northern momhera know better. , They knew that tl-o request of tho-deputation applied to all Crotui lands, which,,, of ooursa, included tho lands about to be opened at JEawhin. Mr. Fowlds says that ho assisted tho Chamber of Commerce to draft resolutions protesting against the action of tho Govci nment. Well, members of the chambeis and the public can now draw ■ their own conclusions as to his actions." ,?r«Dnt ant).lmpending Rotron'chmont. Referring to the financial positon and the propc-sals tor the reorganisation cf tho pubhe, service, Mr. Mnssey stated that, only a few months ago, nlien tho tlrctions wero gouig on, the l'nme 'Minister had stated that tho financial stiingoncy which was aQ&ting other countries ivould not affect New Zealalid, and those who held and expressed different opimohs , tht Prime Minister entered at as P6s.silr.ists. But even this country could not go piling up its expenditure ns it had been do h<; for years pasl, He (Mr. Massey) was' only afraid that now that the clay of leckoning appeared to be at hand, many of the iiinocoiit won Id suffer, aiid-tl,ose who were really responsible for tho trouble nould oscapo. lie Jcnew that the position must be faced, and he could say, speaking for the Opposition members, that they would assist in giving eiiitft ( to.a well-thought-out scheme of r<v organisation and retrenchment, by which the clhclency of tho service would not bo impaired., M injustice was contemplated, but he hoped that what was happening would in-dui-e the people of the country to ass.st in some better system being brought into operation,' by which unscrupulous politicians would not bc.ablo to use the public service for their own selfish ends. "At present," added the lrtiKl°r of the Opposition, "the most prosperous Department of tho State appears to be the.Liind and Income Tax Department, owing to tho manner m which tho values have been forced up, but that tho increase in tho land tax for tho present year will satisfy even tho Biiiglo tax colleague:) of tho Prime* Minister, and ought to show (if anything will) to tho country peoplo particularly the trend of tho present policy. o