COLONIAL TAXATION.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IX, Issue 474, 29 April 1867, Page 2

COLONIAL TAXATION.

[Nelson Examiner.] KO. IX.

It seems to be an understood thing that every Government, in a country governed, as this is, by party, must have an organ more or less partaking of an official character devoted to its interests. The newspaper which professes to hold this position with respect to the present Government, is tho Wellington Advertiser; and we presume we can hardly go wrong in to some extent taking it at its word. Since we began our criticisms upon the expenditure of the Colonial Government, we have been surprised to observe more than once,

articles iu the Advertiser grumbling,

not very dignified way, at the remarks wt had made, as if they proceeded from a hostility to Mr Stuiford’s Government. The idea was so strangely ill-founded, that we have hitherto taken no notice of these remarks upon the position taken up by this journal. At last, however, we have been fairly taken iu hand by our semi official contemporary, and find ourselves accused of being in opposition to the Government, and of many other undesirable things too numerous to mention. 1 11 the article to which we refer, there is a special assumption of a peculiar position and particular knowledge which are calculated to lead most readers to fancy it inspired by some member of the Government. If this is so we are sorry for it, and we believe the Government has much more reason to wish to be saved from its friends than it could po-sibly have to escape from such criticisms as our own.

At this time the whole attitude of the : Government upon this all-important question of taxation and expenditure is of such moment that we think this article calls for special notice at our bands. It.leading idea is ihe m.-rit of the present Government consists in its facing our financial uitlicudies by increased taxation, and that therefore anyone who objects to this increased taxation is the opponent of the titailbrd Ministry. With the first statement we cordially agree, we need hardly say. The hope of a great saving consequent upon Mr thatibrU’s accession to office, was a beautiful or- ani which has long since been disdpated ; but the increased taxation is a reality in no immediate danger of being lost sight of. The colony p.aced the pu-sent Premier at its nead under the impres ion that he could govern U;c country uith greater economy titan any one else; and, after eightec t months’ experience, we fully agree with the Government nager o' Wellington lint h's claim to c uiiii--i.ee does not rest on his having dom- tins. Yet he has done something which was well worth doing, ami inw Zealand may he thankful to Mr ■'tafibrd (or—using a vulgar expression io ling the colony feel us onn Weight. | • his filing the case, it is simly very tin-1 r.asouafiie on the part ol the Govern.;n nt j paper to treat as enemies of the Govern-| ment thos ■ journals (hat are mcr- lj trying, to draw tlie moral Pom the lesson taught | by the present Pnemier. As we view ttie. 1 matter:! may fie represented in this Way.' The colony lias been for some years past carry iug oil its Got eminent for the mostpari with lorrowc d capital and as natural consequence, has been growing most reckless and extravagant in its expenditure, fno present Government has put an end to tins system of borrowing to pay our way, and, instead, taxes the settlers for the same purpose. Tor the first time the colony begins to feel its true p : sttion. People open their eyes to the fact, that commerce is crippled, trade embarrassed, capital driven or kept out of the country, and every individual settler heavily taxed to maintain an expenditure, most of which ought never to have l:*en initiated, li Mr ibtaliord has in any sense redeemed his promise ot economy it is surely in this, that i e h»s paved the way for retrenchment by making each colonist feel the evils of extravagance.

In all that we have urged as to 'he evils jof our existing system, we have never |untit now imagined ourselves ir. opposition j to the Government. If the Advertiser u ijuslilied in the tone of authority which it now assumes, we find, to our surprise, ihtit we are so : and if this is the case, we cun only say—so much the worse for tluGoi eminent! Jt may bo that our voice can do httio iu opposition, but iu tins mat ter it will be found to speak the sentimeut,ot the settlers as a Do iy ; and if the Government mean* to consider this opposition, it must supersede all other policies in 1 .New Zealand very shorth.. And economy, I such as will soon be called for bv the people j oi this colony, is a thing which the oilieial I mind finds it is no easy task to under- j stand. The Advertiser speaks in a depre eating tone of “sweeping a hundred or two tiovernment office:s from their desks to lodgments in the poor-house,” and asks if we really propose a policy which would, or might produce sucli a result. Gan anything show Hie fatal blindness of officialism more than this? Government officers who, in a country like this, have no resource between a desk provided by the i'mil service and ni. i™ .i,„ -t** w ' 4W4V vtiw poor-nouse, or some kindred institution, surely deserve all that lias been said oi them t y their most indignant critics. For ou; owu part we have said nothing so severe as this. We have objected to a system which required an army of clerks for carrying out its red-tape airaugements, but we left it for the orguu of the Government to inform the colony that the red-tape arrangements were required to keep the army of clerks employed. He it so then. Our contemporary is at head-quarters and doubtless kuoivs ail about it, a u d we accept his Appeal ad mistreurdiam as a pregnant indication of the state of matters. .Removed as we ore from tbs immediate in-

fluenca of officialism, we confess to a greater sympathy for the hard-working settler who does not go to a work-house, and yet is not provided with a Goveramerit desk than for the 200 martyrs of our contemporary. It would be questionable policy at any time to encourage such an army of placemen who are unfit for anything else, but it is simply suicidal ja the present state of this colony, “But,” it is said, “ the Government is reorganizing the Civil Service, and, although it may be some before the benefit is felt, no doubt things will improve by-and-bye.” This is precisely what we coiaplaiu of. Why is the hard-

member of bis ibiuil v, while ho waits for the gradual dyinji oil’ of the most incompetent of our civil servants? Why j» commence to be embarrassed, and trade crushed in tlie colony, because 200, or, if need be, 500, incapables are in danger of the poor-house? We confess we do not see it. If it were a matter of doubtful expediency—this retrenchment of which wo speak then wo could understand such arguments. If it were a question admitting of cautious delays and long debate, wo should pause before we urged it strongly. But whatever may be the state of things in Wellington, we know that the positiau of the colony at large is critical. Instead of its being the country to attract the hard-working settler, it bids fair soon to be the refuge oniy of the incapable civil s ervant, and that is a state of things the reverse of desirable.

We say then once more, let the Government lo >k to it. Tlie times are critical, and r.ot less so for Ministers than for individuals. The colony is not in a position to wait, nor, we hope, in a temper to to be put off with line words that mean nothing. The settlers have begun to see that there is no salvation for them in Civil Service Commissions, and to look about them for somethin" that promises better. They have, as we freely admit, to thank the present Government for bringing homo to them their real position ; but it would he ridiculous on that account to exp»ct them to remain in it one day longer than is necessary. No cheeseparing reforms will answer the purpose of the coloni-ts now, we may as well admit at once, be» cause cheeseparing will not reduce our £6 a-head of taxation to £3, which is, we maintain, enough and more than enough burden to lay upon the settler while it ought to be more than enough for all the legitimate pupo>es of Government Unliiie the Advertiser, we do not e-teein beeping a few hundreds of clerks and officials out of the poor-house one of these purposes.