Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star WEDNESDAY, Oct.. 24th. 1917. WAR TAXATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 October 1917, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star WEDNESDAY, Oct.. 24th. 1917. WAR TAXATION.

IN dealing with the above subject a leading financial journal published in the Dominion made the following 1 sweeping assertion: ‘'No one can say 1 that the Minister of Finance received , much assistance from the members of the House, as the debate on the Finan- ! cial Bill made it clear that outside 1 Sir Joseph \\ ard himself, no one seemed to have any knowledge on the sub- 1 ject.” This is not very complimentary to the seventy-live members wlio are in 1 Parliament to assist in governing the people least of all is it at all compli- , mentary to those associated with Sir Joseph on the Ministerial benches. I One wonders what would have been the fate of the country if the right honourable gentleman had not. joined the National Government, and thrown i all his energies into the task of seeing', the war through with proper financial support from the Dominion! There have been and there will bo enormous : demands on the country for money to carry the war to a victorious oonolu- j sion. The demand has been so great 1 that more than the average mind can- : not always grasp what it means to the ( coiintry to deal as rapidly as we are i n millions. The Dominion is spending now something like half a million a week on the war. This amount has to be found promptly and regularly. The soldiers must bo fed, clothed, mu- 1 nitioned, and transported with unerr- i ing speed. Provision of all kinds must* i be made for the maimed and broken j when they return, and for the de- ' r pendents of all those who, also may i not return. Here is a great and nr- ! j gent call upon the country, and under s no circumstances must the duty be y shirked or postponed. The country’s ' j cpiota is growing as the months go by, , and the people must expect to be providing a greater sum a year henco than is required just now. In others words, there must be additional taxation, and j. realising the money must be found, the aext consideration is the most equlcible way of providing it. Seeing that he House is so poorly provided with ninds sufficiently trained to deal with lie huge financial problem it would be veil if Sir Joseph Ward followed the (sample of Mr. Lloyd George at the intbreak of the wa.r when be got the lceredibed financial experts of the Un- 11 ted Kingdom about bint to order the Lnances of the country. In other di- V 1 ections the British Cabinet has used a he brains of the great manufacturers 06 nd captains of industry in organising very branch of the national work ijm- fii osed by the enormous expansion of cc te war developments. There is thus nc

precedent to pattern by, and i n the interests of the whole community it would not be unwise for the Dominion to organise on like linos. Apropos of the main issue of finding more and more money, the reckless habit adopted by some Government Departments of throwing revenue away should be chocked. The country needs every shilling which can bo raised, and it is remarkable that while sources which might bo further exploited are being curtailed actually, yet fresh means are devised which are. likely to yield doubtful results. The whole subject of war taxation needs the closest scrutiny before next session in order to deter-

mine the best methods of raising in the most equitable manner possible the huge amount it will be necessary to provide next year.