The Ministry Condemned.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1603, 8 January 1886, Page 4

The Ministry Condemned.

; Mr j. C.' Buckland (till lately; a Government supporter) when addressing his constituents was /very strongly condemnatory of Ministers. '\ He. said! tMfcone pf the promises of the Government was that taxation should be reduced. Mr Stout, iri peaking afr Duriedin^hilsaid that if he could not reduce taxation by £80,000 he would 5 consider. I he .was not fit to hold his place m Parliament, and this promise to "reduce taxation was one of the platforms upon which he had decided to support the Government ; but the Government, instead of reaching, had increased taxation: Almost every Bill they hud brought forward proposed some new scheme of borrowing or provided some new form of taxation. One. new tax which had been imposed — he considered . highly objectionable. He Was of opinion that the transference of land should be made as free as possible, for if every transaction inJand was taxed the subdivision of land was not probable. Th* property tax had been described by the Government as hateful, aobminablef and m order to get rid of it the sinking fund had been abolished ; but notwithstanding that, the property tax had this year been increased to seven eights of a petiny. Expenditure had been in-'* creased by £260,000. He desired to say that he should; go to Wellington next session as an independent member. He coujd got say ; that he was going to sup-' port Major "Atkinson but he! must say' that it was flolish to speak of Major Atkinson as though he was a political bugbear. Major Atkinson had served the . county well for many years, and it was quite possible he uiight'be called upon to take .part m the government of the coun-, try again. They ought to beprpudof a man 'who. had held a leading position m the affairs of the country so long, and he 1 might say he believed Major Atkinson was an 1 honest man. • ' ;