THE BUDGET.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 197, 6 July 1870, Page 2

THE BUDGET.

. 0' ■ ■ ■ ■.-'"• , OPINIONS OF THE PEESS. (Advertiser,,) The Treasurer, &guasi member of the Goldfield, brings down this precious Tariff! It is before the public—we; srill nofcquote it—but what does it-^generklly propose? Pi'otecfive duties upon the food of the people. The corn, and meal, and flour; —the bread we eat andlabqr (hard to earn, is to be taxed ! Every article consumed ordinarily by the mining, population is to be taxed —cot only taxed, but inordinately taxed —every tin of fish, every bottle of pickle, «very- ham bit of bacon is to be made costly by a hateful imp.ost.. The poor, mirier ihi his /Jiut amongst the mountuin; ranges, of Otago will bless the name of Vogel when he finds he has to pay two pounds for what he can now obtain for one. The already overtaxed, goldfields' population will rejoice to find that the liberal proposals of the goldfields member inflict an additional , tax of of least two pounds a-head per annum upon every man, woman, and child residentfon the gold-fields of the colony.

(Evening Post), A scheme, such as that proposed on Tuesday night by Mr. Vogel, will' meet with some supporters from that class which always rides at-single anchor in Colonies such as these, and -which cao, and means, to float away as soon as fictitious prosperity is succeeded by the inevitable reaction of commercial depression. The true settler, who has fixed interests and a family growing up-around him, will on the other hand, regard with (lismay proposals which contemplate "the immersion of this community in an ocean of debt so vast, and apparently so.uncalled for. The principle of forcing colonization by means of railway construction has been tried already, but never 'on so costly' a scale, in many parts of the-New World; but in very few has succeeded, notwithstanding- the overwhelming-pressure of Old World emigration always'forcing its way beyond the limits- of .established settlement. When such lines have at last begun to pay, a long interval of loss has elapsed, which would suffice to ruin any country whosa finance dependedv'on'jthe early success of the_s.c.heme. The confusion of administrative^.- control, the absence of all data'in support of t the^oper ful promises of the gifted[;and.:sapguiue author of the project, *he very- /great doubt which suggests'itself.to most people whether such vast sums could^be^ais^eci'iD any money market of the .wp/.rlcj, are elements which: justify the hesitition oft even the warmest partizane in,promising -their support to the G.o,yernitp^n^. u;:. J^or- as, an expedient to ieatch votes ]&l; an;.election will'this monster scheme prove rnrof© successful^ -we o 'im%ine,"'th'aW.•'if feppears- to have 1 doiie wi th:th\e f Hipu^e^ ,'!,'^h.^te -is. of course a floating popujatioaiiath.e^ouutry | which will always-vote for anything i whicli i produces a,financialjScaWeiytHU we •feel very confident that the.vasi; majority of thre. voters;in leviery district [will be appal led by the array of taxes' to which ; as 1 Mr. Vogel j u's^ly; sugg^ts, :they' 'are ,pretty sure to be subjected loog befo'r,e the 'whole scheme has expanded, into bloom.