Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY. FEB. 11, 1892. Hopeful and Confldent P.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 11 February 1892, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY. FEB. 11, 1892. Hopeful and Confldent P.

Mb F. Battlky, the general manager of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) has returned to the Colony from a visit to England, and has been interviewed with a view of ascertaining the opinion entertained in financial circles in London regarding this Colony. The replies he gave the New Zealand Times interviewer appear almost as an answer to Mr Buick's, ( the secretary of the National Liberal League) speech at Palmerston. Mr Battley admitted that the scare was greater before the whole text of the Government's financial proposals were received, but he was firm as to there still being alarm and why there were good grounds for such. He said " there was and still is, though now subsiding, an undoubted scare in financial circles. I saw it manifested in various ways and in different paHs of the country. There is no doubt that a great deal of harm was dbne to New Zealand hy the extreme utterances of certain members of the party now in power." The question which exercises many is, who are the Government? Is it the Hon. Mr Ballance and his Ministers ? or/ the representatives of the Knights of Labour ? Until this is settled it will be very hard to convince capitalists that the present new taxation is final. Lately, Messrs Ballance and Seddon have plucked up courage to say that the tax levied to "burst up" big estates will not be increased. But suppose their rulers tell them that it must be ? have we any evidence of the Ministry having sufficient backbone to resist their demands ? The extraordinary claim made by the Trades and Labour Council to be permitted to nominate a share of the new members to the Legislative Council, hardly holds out a satisfactory prospect. It is as well then to review some of the public utterances in Parliament of the members who are supposed to be staunch supporters of Mr Ballance. The Mr Buick, the paid secretary of the Ministry's National Liberal Land League, speaking on the Financial Satement, said "it would be unwise and unreasonable on my part were I to expect any Government to accom plish at one swoop all that I desire. . . . therefore on the principle

that half a ( loafjs better than, no I l)read, I'accept the Government pro- - posuls 'willingly, cheerfully, in the ; absence of a better." He further - urged that the 'tax on unimproved : land should be free of exemptions or graduations, and he believed that the \ tax would bo the death blow to " the curse of land monopoly." One more very significant utterance was made by this gentleman whom the Ministry delights to honour and remunerate. {Still speaking on the land tax he'said " it it does not raise enough, then it will be a matter for consideration to what extent the tax should be increased." Mr Earnshaw, a gentleman returned to Parliament as a workingman's representative, and a workingman, said " the workers of New Zealand are determined that these large landed estates, these pests — and Sir, in \ery many cases I am. inclined to say that the owners of some of these estates are peste ; I do not want to mince matters — I say that the workers are determined that these estates shall be bmjsfc up. If Id. will not do it, then we will try 2d, and if 2d. will not do it, then we will try 3d ; but we are determined, that the large estates shall be broken up by any means by which it can be done." Mr W. P. Reeves, a member of the Ministry, in speaking on the reasons why the Government proposed a graduated tax, said, " I positively stand aghast at our moderation in dealing with this matter now !" Mr William Hutchison, one of the members for Dunedin, in the debate, said " I would not only have gone much farther in faxing an odious land-monopoly, but , I should have preferred a simpler mode of dealing with the incidence of taxation " which was to make all land over 500 ( acres chargeable with a graduated tax according to its acreage He remarked " but I must bide my time for the application of this mode of taxation. . . . . I say here that in the good time coming, we shall not want any rich, men, as we shall have no large landed properties " ! ! ! It seems, after perusing these extracts from such strong Government supporters, uttered by them to secure the t passing of the taxation bills, that it. would be almost impossible for the English papers to have published anything more alarming, and if they did do so, they must have had most fertile imaginations. It is evident that during the interview Mr Battley spoke very guardedly, as the representative of a very large business company, anxious to make the bestof a bad case.. It is clear that a very great alarm has baen created at Home, and money has been, and is to be, withdrawn, particulars of which Mr Battley would not be wholly conversant, but upon one point he was very clear, and that was, the check that had been placed on the inflow of capital. The Colony, with the progress ,jf is toying to make has absorbed all the money at present available, and if none were to be withdrawn, tho want of fresh supplies would be most seriously felt. Unfortunately it is beyond question that the Government's taxation proposals have frightened capitalists to withdraw their money and to refuse to send other sums out. Mr Battley said " If the Government would allay the scare at Home, and would generally work out their policy on fair lines, and would not hinder the free inflow of capital to the country, there was every reason to feel hopeful and confident." It is these "if and ands " of Mr Battley's which prevents one from being hopeful and confident, as how can the Ministry placed in power by the votes of the men we have quoted, allay the scare, and work out their policy on fair lines? The supporters would first have to be got rid of and then were would the Government be ? The real hope for the Colony is to make a clean sweep of the party that are now in power, and to do which requires the proper organisation of those attached to the soil, which is to be the future singly taxed property in New Zealand, if the Labour party is given time to accomplish their ends.