REFORM IN VICTORIA.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 372, 21 April 1876, Page 3

REFORM IN VICTORIA.

I Mr. "Woods, inember-for Crowlands in -tHer^iGtbriM*-legislature,, introg: dliced-proposals for tKe.iiistitutioii.of. a, progressive, land tax. The, taxation proposed is 3d. per. acre for 'tlie first. 1000 acres.- less .640,.which are in, all cases exempt;;.6d. per acre for eond thousand ;-;9d.y,for t,he,third, &c. The.follo.wing extract from his .speech .is of ihteres,t:—rr' c It 'has" Been/state'd by 'the honorable member I 'for and. . the .statement stands" uncontradicted , up"to present mdmeht,'that '2;OO0;OOO r acres of land have been obtained __bj fraud. With these facts before us,, I tKiiik there is very good reason for the. adoption of such resolutipns : .as,X hfive"* brought forward. It is my Tntehtibn , to go-tqi ; a division on eaah; i ,resolutionr | seperately, so.that all-honorable-mem-bers may supp'orl;' the proposals Kb they are inclined to go. 1 presume) that there ■ will ■ -.bes;. a (good ■ (leal of about Ihe.Jirst resolution. .1 don't suppose; that any; honorable member will den-y-the truth of the .proposition' that-." alljland, should .feat' !a; fair•..proportion^of-public taxation.;!' jbut when we come to deal with what!'. (Call the )3.u'rs'tingiU'p• resoliitions, will jbe'the" r time'' t6 a te'st'th6'real feeling of ihonorable'"members,;as~to ~land taxa-jtion-.i- -My experience shows lhe' that lit is a difficiilt thing;to;break isfcrongholdsj of individual or i clas.s;-Aeiiishne3s..i ..-The .efforts...at. T re r , 'form which have'-been made both in this' colony.^and'other iiCduntoeSv h.aye convinced me •that i< the leaders of tlie forlorn hope invariably cotrie'to grief, but the citadel'is'woh.'- The loud reformers in this colony of 1559 and IB6o' iatee; a*, notable. example of this. Politically speaking, their bodies, simply served to- fill the trendies ; others have walked to honor and to victory uver them.- r 'BV4)'ry(idvfcrnmont which mx as-ieten for more than six months

since 1859 ail : ISBO. when froui the '■ cohimv—o f-'-t-h" e- H o user m :vvjilehrl no v.- . jit libera) laud legislation was. preacher under the leadership -of Wilson Gray, has been b'tiilt on the foundation-, of "' thd'Se ; who left their '" bodies:>iri .the : trenches, and who constituted; the forlorn hope at that time:-- -The bread -Cast upon, the -waters in,,,185.9 and 1860 is .seen and :; will , unqu'es--trdnab'ly. l .,be seen, : ihany 'days': "to come.. My- Beco'M ,, ' r 'r^sqluti6h ! Vde-' ; - claresj:— .... . <-j,-,, ~r.., ~. • 'l'.. , . j ■' That a. direct: tax 'should', De!'imposed on'all : alieiialed "tax' to be, pi'ogressivei^'iHcreasmg'by :; o'ne unit! of taxation per acre' Tor every ; 1000 individual;"/ -.oir.Of .course the quantify, may be more orUess than/iOod:,aKrei.:but ifch.at-i*.§x ?/ . ''debfy [the.quantity.toi which I would'' bFta;xatidnJ' ; 'The'sfehiud' ~res;oii|tto^3%s: 1 .-^: ,^vnr=.t!-•. ■:■■ • •■ 'The 1 and to the extent'of 6*o ''s£veH,' ' in'thq possession ;of Qneiipjjiyaduaj/'le'i' eiempte'd from-general^ffcaJfation,-. and- - subject'^^%j6cal s C 'tion 'estates, of'liferent ar.eas,'. ;wouid ..' have | to—contribute annually -to'v.the : State; under' thalsystem Ii: prppo'se'r-ji 10001 acres, at 3d. per acre, is £l2 -10s. ;j 2000 acres, -at 61. t per,acre,- £25; 30£0 acres, ..at gd, lsV per ; 5000 ; aeresj, at Is. 3d. 6OOO| acres, at.ls.' ,6d. per' acre, £75 ; 7000[ acres, af Is.'^^plr^acref 10s. ;j 8.000 acres, at 2s..per acre, £$00; : S6OQ] acres, at 2si 3d:' : per i , 10s. • 10,000.acres,, per acre, .-These ...figures .amount to of 1 .15.;4Jd/ p ; er ■'• acre [ average, alwayrbitimitihg £8 as the amount exempted "0ir640 acres in - the jfirs't : "i;Hous'and acres.' > • .however, that-640 a'e'reavof.th'e'-lAnd in -posspssionoaf; ain4ividual,; : shall ..bej . subject only to local taxation ; so that ;the amount ,of general .taxation,, which ,;the pwh'er'of 10,00'0~'acr'es I woul'd-have * to contribute would be'onan average Is. 4id. per ; ac're for-that quantity v I , think that i»: dealing: very mildly....with the proprietor of. such.a, large estate!'