WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 September 1925, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

WIIIRI.IOIC OP TlMl'i. LKdISLATTVK COtWTU,. (Hpftoiid to "OuarcU-.n”.) WKLI.INOTUN. September I!. Tinu* was when t la* I .ep;isln Li ve Council was tl:t> hide noir of t hi* yrenl army of politicimis that- styled themselves '* I’rnyTessivcs and tlm very particular abomination <>l the restless section el that parat army which now lipures i;111 1 1• r li e banner o| l.alionr. 'lke hard things said of the Council hy the l.ihcrals in the early nineties were little less sea'.hine than were the hard tliiuys said of it by the. Reformers twenty years later, liy each party when out ol olliee. it was described as a mere tool in the hands of the other party, llnvartinp the will of the people and imuerilline the very existence of

constitutional eovernment. Tillies, it seems, have changed. Tile Dunedin District Drainape and Sowernice Id'll made its way through the llnnse of Representatives lasi week attains! the lone sustained opposition of the Labour Phrty. whose members objected strongly to the proposal that the Dunedin City Council should In* allowed to raise a loan of a quarter of a million for sewerage purposes without taking a poll ol (he ratepayers. Rut ultimately l.alionr was worn down by the combined Reform and Nationalist forces and lhe Rill v. as passed on to the I.eyi.'latire Council. Here it met a much more formidcblc obstacle. The

Committee to which it was referred in the iistlal way -truck out the clause dispensing wirh the ratepayers' poll and in that shape the Hill was read a second Lime. The measure is lie considered in rommiltop to-morrow, and the warmest interest is liciiip displayed in the decision of the Council. If ii should stand by its committoe Labour may he expected to withdraw all the unkind things it has said of the revising: Chamber in the past. AX ACCF.SSI BLK Pi! IMF. MINISTER At the annual reunion of the Wellineti.n Commen ie.l Travellers' and W'n reboe.scuiieti's Association liel-1 hero on Friday liipht, the Prime Minis-

u-1 maoe a uapoy uioic specs n wowo indicated the temper of the man as vrell as il.o character of liis policy ami at the same time gave a hotter view of the practical .side of politics than would a whole volume of parliamentary reports. " While I have the honour Ito lead the Government of the couiiI try.” Mr Contes said, "we desire the confidence, the co-operation and the advice of the people. Wo wish to cooperate with the business interests : we want to run the great lommercial departments of the State on up-to-date business lines. Our finances must be on a sound and economical basis. The principles which apply to the successful running of private enterprise, must he applied to our big State comerns. The slogan of our policy will U* efficient service and the ensuring of equal opportunity for all people to share in the national well-being. Wo fls|; you gentlemen, to come in with us and help us with your advice and co-opera-tion.” Other Prime Ministers have spoken in this strain: indeed it has been the. custom of all of them to do so on occasions: but Mr Coates is living up to his professions in quite

an exceptional wav, and never lie fore 1 in this country lias the head of the ' Government been so easily accessible 1 to all conditions of men. Whether or i not he can continue to respond to all < the demands made upon his time and 1 energy, as he is doing at present-, re- < mains to he seen. KI.KC .TfOXKKRIXC. Probably never before in ihe histor; of the Dominion has electioneerin • been carried on in the House of Repre- i setitiifives as flagrantly as it is being carried on just now. -Ministers bv no means are the duel, offenders in this respect, though some ol M.r Coates’s colleagues seem particularly hem upon keeping themselves in the public eye. and many of his followers arc losing no opportunity to advertise their own achievements and the achievements of their party. The " levelling Post,” having noticed the prevailing tendency. and deprecated it. reminds members of the House that their oratory would he much more clfeclive in their electorates than it is in Parliament. "If they fully realised this.” it says, "we believe that many of the long-distance talkers would be quite content to speak only when they have useful and original opinions to offer. .Moreover, the Government has proclaimed and repeated iis inability to handle some vital issues until the people have given a mandate to the now leader. All the more reason is there, then, for expedition in transacting urgent business, so that the people may have, the opportunity of electing a Parliament with both the will and the capacity for work.” All this sage advice is very much to the point, hut unfortunately the Government has a couple of dozen bills of more or less importance on the Order Paper and half a dozen more to come iji addition to the Public Works Siat'--mont and the usual " washing-up business. Mr Coates cannot he expected to acquire all at nine Mr Soddon's or Mr Massey's genius for keeping the House up ti> time. WHAT OK THK LAN’IO TAX f Mr T. K. Sidoy. the member for Dunedin South, being one of the Liberal stalwarts who stand (irmly by Sir George Cray's " bursting-lip ” policy 1 and Mr John llalance’s modest concession to llte Single Taxers it is not surS prising that be was a little perturbed when the Prinv..-. Minister announced in ’ the House <lll Thursday that the Cnv- |- eminent intended to give effect to the 1 recommendations of the Taxation Com-

mission of some two years ago. This vomiiiission recommended tb" abolition of the land-lax altogether and t ■ institution of a system by which farmers and other land-holders would be brought under the operation of the income tax. Had Mr Sidoy made himself thoroughly acquainted v.ith the position lie would have realised that lhe proposed (linage until.! do no vio- ! mo to his preconceived notion-; concerning limitation of area amt equality of sacrifice. The maintenance o| litc principle involved in the latter slogan at any rate, would be more certain!} ensured bv a graduated income tax than it is by t In' present system, which compels a farmer, be bis holding gt' ai or small, to pay land-tax whether he has made a profit or not from Ids holding. The more lot Lunate farmer, on the other hand, even if he has made a profit, derived from any other occupation or investment, would bring hint under Lae highest rate ol imome lev. escapes with a comparatively small land tax only. The Taxation Commission belt several problems to be solved, including the case ol id!: land and ti e ease of badly farmed land, but it pointed to a system "hie: l would operate much more equitably t l 1;m ,Pies the one which allows a man deriving CIO.OMO a year from the land to escape with a fraction of what he would pay if the same income were obtained from any other source.