THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 711, 23 August 1869, Page 3

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

(Nelson Examiner.) We give a full report of the Colonial Treasurer's Budget speech, delivered on Thursday evening last. Mr Vogel is justly esteemed one of the best speakers in the Assembly, and is par ticularly happy, when dealing with figures, in making himself clearly understood. It was expected therefore that in his Financial Statement Mr Vogel would be clear and concise, and he fully justified these expectations. There are many things in the Statement which command our approval, particularly the promised sim plifisation of the public accounts, and bringing all the expenditure incurred in the financial year into that year's account. But there are many things proposed by the Treasurer that we disapprove of greatly, and to which we shall hereafter refer, our space to-day being too limited for the purpose. There are one or two points, however, which we feel bound to enter our pro test against at once. At a time when the colony is suffering from excessive taxation, which bears heavy on the industrial classes, the Government propose to impose a duty which at the present price of flour, will be an impost of ten per cent, on the first necessary of life. An import duty of £1 per ton on flour and ninepence per cwt. on wheat, will enhance the price of bread by nearly twopence the 4£b loaf, so that, in order to add £14,000 a year to the revenue, the people ol the colony will have to pay a bread-tax of nearly £32,000 a year, of which three fifths will be but a tax to benefit the growers of corn m the colony. This tax will not be one which the poor can evade by stinting themselves of luxuries; it will be one which will reach every man's door, and be pecu liarly felt by those who are the least able to bear it. We do trust that the House will reject at once this bare faced attempt to fleece one part of the community to benefit another; that members will set their faces altogether against an insidious attempt to introduce the thin edge of protection, on the plausible pretext of increasing the revenue.

When Ministers were in Opposition they refused to listen to the proposal for a further loan, but once in office their opinions have uudergone a rapid change. Mr Stafford proposed to raise a loan with an Imperial guarantee, to pa/ off outstanding claims i»ud put down the native rebellion. Mr Fox will not borrow at a low rate of inter est to pay of! something approaching £200,000 of floating debt under the uame ot Treasury Bilis, hut will renew them as they fall due, paying colonial interest thereon. He will borrow —Mr Vogei does not say how much, for road making in the North island—J£so,ouo is named for the present year ; and the Colonial Trea surer looks forward shortly to the Go-

vernment being to sanction the provinces borrowing money " for the construction of large and reproductive vorks." So, iustead of a loan of definitive amount, obtained by means of an Imperial guarantee on terms most favorable to the colony, the ever increasing floating debt in the shape of Treasury Bills is to be maintained, a* aeries of loans fur road-making'in j theNorth Island are to be sanctioned, and the provinces are promised that, if they will support the present Govern* ment, they shall presently be indulged in incurring further debts if they can nnd people who will trust them. The Financial Statement is un> doubtedly a clever State paper. It is r however, nothing less than a barefaced bid for support to different classes of the community. To the agricultural communities of Canterbury and Or.ajro it offers a corn bonus of some ,£17,000 a-year; to the North Island it premises roads, made with borrowed money; and to Nelson it offers the sop of restoring to her arms her prodigal daughter, Marlborough.