Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1865.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 256, 11 October 1865, Page 2

Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1865.

We have endeavored to show in a previous article that the Separation movement has entailed upon the miners and inhabitants of the Province bnrdens they never anticipated having to meet. We now allude to the fact that O by Mr Haugiitojj's vote, in contradistinction to the other members of Otago, this extra taxation has been imposed upon us. The result is simply this*—that in one instance, through the subserviency of that member's vote, the Middle Island and the goldfields of Otago are taxed to the monstrous, enormous, frightful, extent of one and a-half million pounds sterling, and of which they-may justly be said not to owe a penny. Such a vote as this may be fairly included as part of the results arising from the return of a Separatiouist as a representative of the goldfields. Both the members for the goldfields declared themselves in favor of Separation when they put in an appearance at the hustings. One member has acted consistently throughout, and the other has become from a very strong advocate of Separation a ramping lion in favor of the non-separation of the two Islands of New Zealand. Tho judicious change and conviction of eminent politicians are always duly heralded. Sudden changes are droaded as acts of tergiversation even in England. There is a breed of smaller politicians, known at home as " ratters," who vote upon the dictates of personal selfishness, and sometimes succeed in their ignoble objects. In the Colonies the genus is not unknown. The regret is, that a popular cry should be the means of aiding or assisting the views of designing men. The Separation question seems to have been of this class. When the Separation question got a foothold in Otago it was upon the strength of its liberal tendencies, and its advantages as a system of cheap Government. Many votes were recorded under this impression. Our sympathy is not with political time-servers: we believe heartily and truly in the principles of local self-government, and should fail in our duty if we did not protest against the votes recorded by Mr Hauohton as a Goldfields representative. The Separationists

offered brilliant features —less taxation, increased prosperity, &c. This might have been a dream of wild enthusiastic notions; but it should have been steadily pursued or boldly repudiated It is truly said that figures oftentimes pnove unpalatable facts. We would call attention to a few salient ones, jus far as our space permits Ui. For instance, j England's expenses in supporting an army of 650,000 men (namely, 20",000 regular soldiers, 80,000 militia, and 340,000 local militia) with a fleet of 58 sail of the line, during the Napoleonic war, and also for subsidising the whole cf Europe—notwithstanding the augmentation of taxes rose her National debt —an.ounted to £860,000,000, in 1815. The last year's expenditure of the war exceeded that of the previous one by 110 million pounds. The bare interest of this debt amounted to £40,000,000, which had to be paid out of the annual revenue; so that the taxes amounted to several raillions of pounds, equal to £25 for a man, his wife and three children. This profuse expenditure of public money, employed in order to secure a permanent peace, averaged £5 per head for every man, woman and child. The present rate per head in England at the present time, is about £2 ss. The residents on the Goldfields are taxed at the rate of £9 per head lor every man, woman and child; and under the present financial scheme it will reach £ll per head, or at the rate of £55 for a family, during the Native New Zealand rebellion, in comparison to £25 in England during the most critical and expensive European war that was ever waged, and of which history has any record. We may also state that the Assembly rejected a Wool duty, but passed a Stamp Act. These plain facts ought to speak for themselves. Such is a portion of the harvest we have reaped from the advocacy of the Separation Question.