The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1876.

Dunstan Times, Issue 743, 14 July 1876, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1876.

Beneath the rule of men entirely just the pen is mightier than the sword.

The Financial Statement of the Colonial Treasurer, Sir Julius Vogel, cannot to other than unprejudiced eyes be regarded as entirely satisfactory, while at the same time it shows that he is thoroughly master of his subject. For elaborateness, it has not been equalled by any of his former productions, while it has also the recommendation of being less wordy, and more to the point at issue. Provincialists may perhaps be disinclined to agree with us, but then they view the subject in a narrow minded selfish light, believe - ing as they are blindly led to do, that theirs is the voice of New Zealand, and not a mere insignificant section of it. Sir Julius Vogel treats every item referred to in his Statement in a most liberal manner, and accepts the situation of representing New Zealand, and not any individual portion of it, and which example we should like to see followed by every Member representing an Otago constituency. As we carefully summarised the whole of the statement in our last issue, we need now only refer to the most important and absorbing subjects therein referred to. In the matter of finance the Treasurer said wisely, when he hinted that our future financial arrangements must be conducted with gt-O'v-fc oootxomj tliio io voifj UlUlill needed, and when Provincialism is abolished, we hope to see the public expenditure cut down with an unsparing hand. We can afford to dispense with the Provincial officers with but few exceptions altogether, and there can also be made |a considerable reduction in the number of those employed under the General Government. Economy must be the order of the day, the people themselves will have the expending of their own monies, and we feel assured that they will do their best to lay it out to the best advantage. If ever a country was cursed with officialism it is New Zealand—you cannot move hand or foot without a Government officer being at your heels, and notwithstanding what we have read, travellers say in this respect things are worse here than in Russia. The taking over the management of the railways by the General Government will not be acceptable in Provincial circles, still, for economical management it must be done. It is all very well for the Otago Government to say that their railways are the only ones which are paying, but this can only refer to the Port Chalmers and Clutha Lines, which, tapping the main arteries of population and commerce, can scarce ly fail to do otherwise. Will the little Provincial jobs, in the shape of pet branch railways pay, is the question we have to ask 1 They cannot possibly do so, and it was never intended that they should otherwise than improve the property of Taieri and Oamani land holders. The construction of the Outran and Mosgiel, and the Oamaru and Awomoki lines was a scandalous misappropriation of public money, for only private persons ai’C benefitted, and this to a very large extent, as witness the late land sales at Awomoki, where in consequence of this line, land bought but a few years since for one pound per acre in blocks, was the other day retailed at ten pounds per acre, the Provincial party, and promoters of the railway pocket ing the proceeds. Well may Sir Julius Vogel say, “ the lino has come when it is nccessaiy to raise the upset price of land.” The railways of the Colony must be under one head, and that head must be the General Government. In the matter of the County system, Sir Julius is not explicit, more than in the manner of appropriating the revenue, and in this he shows considerable clear headedness. The great dfficulty to be avoided will be the making of too many Counties, It may be all very well for Mr Manders to say that the Wakatip is sufficiently large to constitute a County of itself; in this respect we quite agree with that gentleman, but it is not near sufficiently populous,

not even with the Batistan thrown in, as some of our Cromwell friends would desire. It will take at least the whole of the Northern gold-fields to form a respectable County. Another reason why there should not bo too many Counties is that they will be continually fighting one against the other on the beggar my neighbor principle, while there is also another difficulty in the shape of getting men capable of filling the various offices^—no doubt Mr Henry Manders deems himself eminently qualified to undertake the duties of a Chairman, but we entirely disagree with that gentleman in this respect, or any other man that has been at the head of public affairs in Queenstown. The imposition of a property and income tax Sir Julius wisely deprecates as tending to prevent the introduction of foreign capital, by lowering the value of all properties. We question however whether one of these taxes will not have to be imposed to meet the exigencies of the public expenditure. With the County system in full bloom there certainly will bo no need of a property tax, and the rates imposed by the Boards will sufficiently touch up the absentee proprietors. An income tax will be almos f a necessity, it is a direct tom of taxation, affecting only those who are able to pay taxes. Sir Julius’s ideas on the distribution of the Goldfields’ revenue we prefer to those of Major Atkinson as enunciated last Session—in respect of great rushes there must occur a difficulty in the shape of ascertaining the exact amount of revenue, and Sir Julius’s manner of appropriating the revenue is greatly to be preferred. A system of extended deferred payments for land is most desirable, and we should like to see every man, however humble in circumstances, be in a position to acquire a 200 acre block of land by easy payments extending over a long period, We think there should be some relaxation in the residence clauses, so that personsfollowing other employments might have a homestead in the future, it would cause people to save, and the bona Jides of the case might be easily ascertained so as to prevent anything in the shape of a contravention of the law. The Land Compact of 1856 is a sore question to handle, and there are many ways of looking at it. It is not at all likely that one portion of the Colony can remain in affluence, while others are in a state of impecuniosity, and come what may we must assist them; of course, they having wasted their land fund, and sold their birthright for a mess of pottage, it is no reason that Otago and Canterbury should not retain their land revenues, still it would not be ungenerous to lend the spendrifts some assistance, to he afterwards repaid to the lenders Upon the whole we think tliaO the Xreiiaui abatement voij fairly meets the difficulties of the Colony, and wdth a powerful Opposition we may reasonably expect that the interests of the country will be fairly represented. Sir Julius is doubtless a very clever man, but it will not do to let him have everything his own way. Opposition, in most cases, is beneficial, politics in particular, as we get the chaff sifted from the grain.