THE BURDEN OF TAXATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16486, 27 February 1914, Page 8

THE BURDEN OF TAXATION .

TO THE EDITOR. • g.-:.' •(,', Sir, —In his Winton speech Sl»j Joseph Ward is reported to have sai® that the burden of taxation should; be placed on community-created land values as far as is practicable, but a© that existing interests .should receive due consideration. It is to hear of Sir Joseph talking about: community-created laud values. I hop®, that he will never ; let this .'subject rest, until those values are appropriated foej community purposes. We shall - then.! have a strong fine of demarcation be* j tween the two political parties. - The lying Tory Press of this city' ha»; the brazen effrontery to deny the ex«. istence of community-created land va-; lues, but, happily, the people are abl® to see through the perfectly idiotio reasoning of those journals, which, are a blot upon our civilisation, ;because their special business is to trample truth and justice underfoot and endeavour to hoodwink; the publio,. and i all for the sake of {-filthy' lucre. t ’. Sir. Joseph Ward { says /> that, existing interests should receive due con- . sidcration.. What does that moan? T - If it means that the land monopolists and land speculators should be allowed to continue to rob the community of the land values created by, the community then the consideration they should, receive is nil, as they have no moral right to privately appropriate. these social values, which constitute the natural source of revenue. This landlords’ game of plundering the community must be stopped, ana they should receiveno more consideration, than would a man who stole a loaf of bread; : . 'L .When, one-has to fight monopoly one must hit hard and often. This is the only way in which we eau securb .“'the greatest good of the greatest-number.” Monopoly- interests must be abolished .if the public interests are to receive .that consideration which is their-, just due. ■ I hope that Sir Joseph Ward will fight land monopoly to the death, and that he will have a sufficient number ’Sof men behind him to enable him .to .do so. This means that the Tories in tho Liberal Party must be bundled out neck and crop.—l am, etc., , * FAIRPLAY. :