A Financial Letter.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1682, 12 April 1886, Page 4

A Financial Letter.

(Snecial Correspondent N.Z. Times.) . London, Feb. 25 : Then why should repudiation be spoken of, for it is the List resort of bankrupt State«, and New Zealand has not yet come to that— menacing through ■■■" her financial position is ? The wild opinions of one indiridual do not constitute the opinion of the Colony. This opur >n, so far as I know, has not had the effect of immediately damaging- your ~~ .credit m London, though a few nervous people may quietly throw their stock on the market and dispose of it. Still it dies appear to sensible men that a new departure requires to be taken if New Zealand finance is to be placed m a sound state. I have had several conver sati ns with s >me of your leading colonists, wh-) are, just now, on a viait to the Old Country. They , say :— First, that retrenchment m the •xtravagant expenditure of your Government' is at once required ; sec wily, they think — a very .bold thought — that the interest o-iupons of your debt might be taxed. \ This is no navr idea. If I remember rightly, Sir George Grev — a statesman wfth a European reputation — proposed the «a tne thing. The limit of successful tivxation has been nearly reached m your O>lony, and it appears to the mind* of tome men, who hay« thought the question out, that the only farther, fair, and legitimate revenue should be derived from applying the property tax to the qft'ipono of the colonial aW, just as you ;,/'apply it to other foreign moneys lent on * mortgage. Tiii* is a very important suggestion. Moreover, it may purhaps come to the front at an early date, and become a burning question at the next general election of members to the House of Representatives—if it is not superseded by a loan ot eight or ten millions and sub•squent insolvency. Anyhow, I will hazard a few explanatory remarks on this vital question, viewing it m all its Wrings, giving the pros and cong, and "*"Te«iving the thoughtful readers of your widely circulated journal to draw their © /n conclusions. The effect of applying: the property tax to your colonial acid provincial public debts would at Id m the £, be that on a 4 pef cent. bond. of £100, the holder •would nave to submit to a reduction of B.i 4d' On every £4 of interest he would receive £3 11b 8d instead of £4. If he held a 5 Der cent, bond the deduction would only be 8s 4d m £5, and he would be paid £4 Us 8d instead of £5. If the property tax were only |d m the % he Mould receive £3 13s 9d instead of £4, and if he held a 5 per cent debenture lie would be paid £4 13s 9d m the plaoe of £5, [To &c Continued,]