MOTION TO QUASH BYLAWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 March 1924, Page 4

MOTION TO QUASH BYLAWS.

FULL COURT’S DECISION RESERVED. WELLINGTON, March 23 A motion for an order quashing the by-law of the County of Westland redoling to lorries, motor-cars, motorcycles, and timber waggons was considered to-day by tho Full Court, consisting of bis Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) and their Honours Mr Justice Sim, Air Justice Stringer, Air Justice Salmond, and Air Justice Adams.

The grounds of the application generally were that the by-law was unreasonable, uncertain, and ultra vires, and the particular grounds were set out as’follow: (1) The definition of private car in the interpretation clause of the by-law is so wide as to cover vehicles not contemplated by the Statutes authorising the Council to make the bylaw. (2) The provision in section (S) of the by-law to the following effect: “No person shall (a) drive or cause to be driven any motor-lorry, motor-ear, private ear, car or motor-cycle, on any road unless such vehicle is licensed in this by-law” is unreasonable. (3) That the provision in Section 1 of the bylaw to the following effect: (b) “No person shall drive of cause to be driven 011 any road any motor-lorry, motor car, private car, or motor-cycle unless a number plate or number is affixed to such vehicle in the manner herein provided. No person who is usually resident in the county shall drive or eonilnct on any road a motor vehicle unless he is licensed in the manner hereinafter provided to drive or conduct,” is ultra vires and unreasonable. (4) That the annual foes prescribed by section 4 of the by-law are unreasonable and excessive, and have no validity. Decision was reserved.

II 7'7 £5 » AT. .i*:;IMF kHNlhl^f * ' ; ’ k! % ..v Mqfth 28 Wliat is understood to bo Air Mhssey's last word in the controversy between himself and “Justice,”- conceriK . ing taxation occupies a .column of -solidprint in the “Post” and is'- easily ■’ the most temperate- and' logical of the Minister’s contributions/-to this; exchange of points. ' of.'-) view, Dealing first with, his ’promise'-to' the farmers to repeal' their’ ifieome tax when the Do•,minion (was. in a position to spare tlic ,r<h*cnne “obtained from this source, -Mill a.si ey scorns tho idea of any modification -of his obligation. “I may as well say' v at-tile outset,” ho declares, “there is one point, upon which it is quite impossible.' for us to agree.. That is uith Tegard to tlie promise of the Government to repeal the farmers’ income tax when the war came to an and and when matters were getting back to normal. I knout that promises are made sometimes in connection with which there are found to Be insuperable difficulties aiuT'it becomes impossible to comply with thorn, but thepo is’ no difficulty* with- regard to tin's promise. Tho promise was made, and-it was the duty of the Government to keep it and to give. Parliament an opportunity of gettiiig.back to the, original position so far as farniel's’ income tax was concerned.” Parliament, of course, must share with the,Prime Minister responsibility for what"was done, LAND OWNERS AND; CITY . , v DWELLERS.

Mr Massey’s sympathies still are . witli the land-owners, but h 6 is not "‘entirely convincing in’ his attempt, to show "they are more hardly treated bythe tax-gatherer than are the town; dwellers. 1 “T-- suppose,” - he; says, “there will always people and always poor people, though we should do. everything possible to assist the latter class in with, their difficulties, valid, they have not boon forgotten during the lust dozen years. As a‘matter of Tact,.-this Government has done more for those who have fallen by ,tho. Tray- than any other Government that ever occupied - .the Treasury Benches in this country. As tot tirorieh laiußpwner, I am in, a-.position to know that'many of , those with large holdings ancUnumcrous Hacks of sheep and cattlediave often very serious difficulties, in making ends.meet/ During ..recent years quite a number of them 'have simply walked off their farms, leaving them to the mortgagee and to "the stock and station agents; and that has happened in the Wellington provincial district as well as in other parts of the Dominion. Things arc not always as they seem with the landowner.” Nor, for tho matter of that, are they with the town dweller. LEASEHOLDERS’ LIABILITIES.

Mr Massey corrects “Justice” on one point the latter appeared to have made. “All land-owners, and nearly all leaseholders with a financial interest in their leases,” he says, “pay land tax, and there is no question about it that the tax on land is much heavier than the ordinary tax on income. It is « graduated tax, and the gradations are very much steeper than in tho case of those affecting income tax. Anyone with anj- knowledge of accountancy knows perfectly well that the land tax is out of all proportion heavier than the income tax. According to the present law, every land-owner with L'-:0 worth of land, unimproved value, pays land tax, and when this law was agreed to, it. was never contemplated that there would bo any attempt to impose income tax as well. The plain truth is tfiat land tax and income tax taken together would place the settler in an impossible position, and in many cases would go a long way towards driving him out of -business.” Obviously this does not finally dispose of “Justice’s ’ main contentions; but it is to Air Massey’s credit that he bad not brought into the controversy an effort he made during the closing hours of last year’s hurried session to remedy some of the defects that remain in the taxation system. THE STING IN THE TAIL.

ft is not till he reaches the concluding paragraph of his statement that the Prime Minister lapses into the less courteous style of controversy. “I have no hesitation in saying,” be proclaims for all bis critics to hear, "that no more misleading statements have ever been put before the public of this country than have been put before them by ‘Justice.’ It is so easy for many people to distort figures and leave a wrong impression, but I am making the necessary arrangements to have those questions thoroughly cleared up before Parliament meets for the transaction of business.” This is not fair to “Justice,” whose identity by this time is only thinly veiled by his anonymity. No one could have discussed the various points at issue with greater tact and candour than he has done, lie lias expressed his honest convictions temperately ami frankly and exercised tho greatest care in quoting facts and figures. He has not had the facilities Air Alasscy has enjoyed, but be has made out a very good ease on the information at bis disposal and retires from the lists, if that is his intention, without having written a word that need leave any party or personal bitterness behind. He at' least may take credit for having drawn the Prime Alinister into a controversy which has aroused much public interest.