The Financial Debate

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 155, 25 June 1891, Page 3

The Financial Debate

Daring the above Mr Macarthur-naade v the following speech, as reported in the N.Z. Times :— Mr'Macarthur said the statement , had _^^, imposed upon many people, but ifc was made with the dexterity of the gentleman who relieved them of their watch in a croud. ! After a government of three years the present Government- succeeded to a surplus of £143,000, not due to the retrenchments of the present, but the finan<jial~policy of the late Government, and they ought to have the credit of it. Every effort had been made to discredit Sir Harry Atkinson's Government, and they tried to '*' get as much as possible paid out .before the end of the last financial year in order that they might reduce the surplus and; lighten their own burden as much as possible. He claimed that the conversion operations , had, not been successful, because they'would in that casehaye heard v more of it. He \vas_ not at all sorry for that, and he -did 1 not' think -the bonds would hang heavily on the London mariet for some time" to ' 'come.' The Government had taken great credit for .retrenchment, but / their Estimates failed to show it to any great extent. The rionxecurrent expenses * this n -year were £18,000, and it was' scarcely fair to co'm'*pare an estimate with an expenditure that was fixed. -If that .£IB,OOO were deducted he thought they would find that very little retrenchment had been effected: He taought the surplus of £257,000 was rather .hypothetical. He considered the — postal rates reduction to be a concession of £40,000 to the commercial .classes;' -whereas any reduction should' have been / made in the way of Custonis duties. The wording of the Statement went to credit the Government with ' the - present financial condition of the country, ignoring completely the work done in that •direction by the late Government. (Hear, '.hear.) .'The settlement, of the land was supposed to be a strong' point, but present experience did not show them to have been very successful, and he, did not -suppose they would be. Coming to the incidence of taxation, he said before the «ountry r felt the pressure of that hew proposal si long time would -elapse. The essence of the proposal was. a desire to 1 seem moderate, while-iri reality preparing . the way to still 1 further pressure. At first no doubt the large estates would suffer very heavily, until by degrees it would come lower, and those who had not felt it previously -would be seriously •affected. r That was the danger he apprehended. It would stop improvement ■altogether, and he ventured to predict that the proposed graduaced tax would •still press 4nore heavily than did the property tax, which, besides, he contended, would not work at all well, and "■would result in a great many evadine "taxation altogether, and- yet not a single penny was taken off the artizan cla-iSrS. Me could haye understood their action if " they had'done that,-'and 4 with such a surplus no more "favourable i*. opportunity could have occurred, and, if. the Liberal party were delightedtwith these proposals he must say they were very easily satisfied. A politician might be bold through inowing he was on the right path, but he was afraid that in this case it was the fcoldness of ignorance,' which " rushes in where angels fear to tread. " The exodus had steadily increased since the- 'last ' •election, because the spirit of enterprise was quenched, and, if 'the policy of the Government was' fully; understood that enterprise would be killed outright. There -was no real rt- trenchment; he conten led, in the Stock Department, and he mid estimates had been cut down to cause a little temporary popularity, with the intention or spending a large sum in unauthorised' expenditure. "The boasted' retrenchment in this department of £3500 had, he found from the Estimates, dwindled down to £35. The men who had been taken on were supporters of the present Government," and those who had been retrenched were the exact- opposite. (Hear, hear.)> . He criticised unfavourably . the land administration of "the Govern-ment,-and in-, conclusion said he would reserve further .remarks for another occasion. '