Parliament

Horowhenua Chronicle, 29 September 1915, Page 2

Parliament

THE BUDGET. [rJEIt I'll ESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, This Day. After the telegraph ollice closed Mr Mine's amendment to increase the tax on beer and relieve the primage dd : ,y by the amount provided by such Increase was put but as 110 seconder and teller could be found supporting the amendment 110 division was taken, and thy second reading 01 the Budget then Avas carried 011 the voices. • The House wont into committee 011 tile Bill. -it clause 33 Mr Pearce moved to strike tin clause out, as an indication that the beer duty should be increased to (kl per gallon. The amendment was lost uy IB to 9, and the remaining clauses passed without opposition. Comparatively little discussion took place and at 3.3U the bill was reported with verbal umendmeuu* moved by tho Minister. On ujc House msumuig the amendments liiaue were agreed to. On 'be motion lor ilie tnuu reading Mr W'-'Jb uelonded the Labour rally against the enarge that tliey lavoureU tne ''Angle tax. Mr McLumbs declarcdyhat as Hit- result ol the .budget the/ cost of living would be liaised, oy 011& million po.inas, or at the rate 01 £0 per niu.uy. .uessrs l'earce, xield ixaiiis and Dr .Newman alno .spoKe. ,ji r Joseph Ward said tnat 110 sane man

ennui fcay that tile .uiiugei put buutens on ihe working classes eompareu wun Lnose placed on British workmen. L'lie imposts put 011 tlieiu were extremely ngnt, and therefore Uie criticism by exucmistsj inside and outside the liouso, were undeserved, as a matter 01 fact Inc .Budget was taking JI'33:2 ; OUU from Hie landowners of the Dominion, and mat, he thought, sulficient for one .session. Anyone who wantcu to take moe

came precious near to ueing u "single taxer." Willi regard to the increase i i the beer duty, he resisted it because information in liis possession convinced iiini that if the duty were increased, many of the smaller breweries must close, and leave tlie larger breweries in a more secure monopoly than over. I'lie change in the method assessing the beer duty was entirely at 'he request of the Customs oliicials. and ii was not true that brewers met members of the National Cabinet for Mid purpose of arranging tnc rate of duty. The third reading was then carried and the bill passed. !'< House roso at 4.55 until 7.30 p.m.