WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 March 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

SOLDIEH SETTLEMENT. MINISTER AND MEMBER. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, March 1. The little tilt between the Hon. A. 1). McLeod, the Minister of Lands, and Mr E. A. Ransom, the member for Rahiatua, concerning the latter gentleman's offer of land to the Government for soldiers’ settlement seems to he making hut slow progress towards a conclusion, it was not a particularly happy thought on the part of the -Minister to rake up particulars of Mr Ransom’s land negotiations with the Government, hut having obtained the information he required he should have presented it to the public at its face value. The fact that the member for Rahiatua asked more for his property than the Land Purchase Board was prepared to pay was no reflection upon his integrity and the further fact that he .subsequently sold a large portion of it at a price approximating to his valuation suggests his judgment was not very far astray. Mr McLeod enjoys such a wide reputation for frank and plain speaking that the public does not expect to find him occupying half a column of newspaper print in enmoullaging so simple a story. A PESSIMIST. The Hon. O. T. Hawken, the- Mbusier of Agriculture, is unfortunate both in his remarks in regard to land settlement and in the manner in which they are reported in the newspapers. He is credited with telling in Auckland the otuer day. for instance, a most doleful story of the rural outlook. “So meagre had been the demand for land of late,” the summary of his words runs, “ that little of it had been taken up. Full advantage had not even been taken of the offer of land for nothing, conditional upon certain easy improvement.'. being effected over a period ol fell years. The fact had to be faced that most of the unbroken land left in New Zealand would, cost as much to filing into production as it was worth.” The picture Mir flawkeu draws of the frugality the “ resolute settlers ” have to practise and the hardships they have to suffer are not tabulated to attract townspeople anil immigrants to the land, and yet it is notorious that there are thousands of fertile acres in the country awaiting closer occupation. The solution of the problem should not he beyond the vision of the Government. HER DEN OF TAXATION. The lengthy report of the speech delivered by the Minister of Finance in Dunedin last night has been the subject of very general discussion in the city 10-dav. The highest praise accorded to Mr Stewart for his effort is I Inti he has presented the case for the Treasury with very great ability, while the severest criticism directed against him is that he has omitted fads which would have imparted tpiife a different colour to his story. As ‘to the skill with which he has marshalled his figures there can he. his critics say, not two opinions. But, they add. ho not simply disguises certain facts, lie actually hides them. In his attempt to make it appear that an individual in New Zealand receiving CtifK) a year pays substantially less as income tax than does an individual in Australia receiving the same amount, he ignores the fact that approximately 70 percent of the income tax collected in New Zealand is obtained from companies, width, in turn, either pass the impost on to their shareholders or eolleet it. in full measure and over-llowing. I min their customers and their clients. A VICKIES SYSTEM. Nor, continue Uie .Minister's critics, dues Ibis vicious system end here. “ Passing-mi ’’ is such a simple and easy way of extra' ling revenue from the public that ■: habit is growing-up of turning it to account whenever it will operate. The farmers—hut yesteriay the stalwarts of Free Trade—Want more than market value for their wheat. The Government is quite willing they should have it and forthwith lints a prohih iive duty on imported wheat, leaving the farmers and the millers to impose their own terms upon Lite t onsuiiiers. Tit ■ Minister of Finnice does not include in his Budgetthe f.'3oft,ooo or C 100.000 extracted from the -public, hut it has to he paid hv the taxpayers whose broad. incidentally, (lists them more than does the bread of the people of Loudon. And of course all the bounties, subsidies ami guarantees provided by the Government are taxes, which fall upon the European population even more certainly than does the poll-tax upon the Chinese.