IMPERIAL POLITICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 19

IMPERIAL POLITICS

.THE BUDGET i LONDON, August 9. Ix>rd Lansdowne. after criticising the Budget as creating insecurity and instability of trade, declared that the outcome of the evidence obtained by the Poor Law Commissioners and all other inquiries was that what working people suffered from ■was the absence of steady employment, compelling them to resort to casual labour. Surely the remedy was the promotion of steady employment, of confidence, and the investment of capital in ■well-assured enterprises' of all kinds. That was why the working classes were in favour of tariff reform, as he believed they all were. Referring to the land question, he was convinced that the workers realised that if nationalisation occurred they would find themselves face to face not with a landlord, not with anything like real ownership, but the ownership of land by Government department commissioners, inspectors, and others. People desired that "the transfer of land should be cheap and easy, and that it should be as widely distributed as possible, and that the buyers of a bit of land should hold it not as tenants from the nation, but as their own property. That was the ideal of the Unionist party The Spectator, commenting on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Limehouse speech, describes Mr Lloyd-George as a second-class Jack Cade. The exercise of proprietary rights regarding land, according to him, is nothing short of robbery, and land-owners, whether great or small, ' are all parasites and blackmailers of the British Government. August 10. In the House of Commons the closure TPas frequently applied in connection with amendments to the Undeveloped Land Tax BUI. I In the course of a spirited discussion Mr Lloyd-George disclosed the Government's intention that the State should undertake the valuation of land. Mr Balfour contrasted the small yield for some of the land taxes with the cost of valuation, which he estimated at £10,000,000. In the House of Commons Mr Joynson Hicks moved an amendment to omit the word " undeveloped " before the word " land " with a view to inserting the words " which are unreasonably withheld from development.'"

The amendment was negatived by 175 votes to 83. Mr Hicks argued that the Ministerialists had heretofore ' defended the tax on the plea that the land-owners w»"<> deliberately holding back land. I

Mr Lloyd-George replied that if an owner did his best to sell, and obtained offers, the highest bid would be the best evidence of the market value that he could submit to the Taxation Commissioners.

The House sat for 15 hours,

Mr Lloyd-Gteorge proposed that land ftrhereon owners had spend £100 an acre for development purposes be exempted from the undeveloped land tax. The amendment was carried.

Mr Asquith expressed his pleasure at" j receiving a deputation headed by Mr J. } Rowlands, Labour M.P. for Dartfoid, who presented the resolution carried at the ■Hyde Park meeting, approving of the taxation proposals, particularly those securing a complete valuation of all land, j Mr Rowlands emphasised the TepreSen- j tative character 'of the gathering and its thorough unanimity. I

August 11. I iSir Edward Grey, speaking at Leeds, ' said the merit of taxation was to place it on the shoulders of those who could best afford it. That was the test of this Budget, which was beginning to be more popular.- The outburst- agadrofc it was ia inverse proportion to the knowledge of it. Lord Lansdowne's claims that the H-ouse of Lords must -see that the people ,Tr«re properly consulted and that it must protect the people's right to a say on the subject represented a very nice func- i (lion if it was only performed impartially, ibpt under the Constitution the House o$ XjO3?<3& was a. irea-pon a. gpr-eat gun, if they liked — which could be pointed only ' against Liberal measures and which was an the hands of the Conservative party. Continuing, Sir E. Grey said : " Will they fire the gun or not? They are debating in their own minds what will happen if _

they fire the gun. Will they destroy the Budget or will the recoil be more injurious to themselves? Whatever the House of Lords does when an appeal is made to the country it will be an appeal on this Freetrade Budget and against the alternative of tariff reform." He added that the Budget was fair and reasonable. It was a great advance in the true principles of legislation, and he had no doubt what the verdict of the great centres like Leeds would be.

Mr Asquith and Mr Balfour will deliver addresses at successive mas 6 meetings on the Budget during the latter half of September.

During the Budget debate the Opposition emphasised the Government's refusal to fulfil its promise to respect existing contracts, inasmuch as it had defeated an amendment which proposed to levy a tax on undeveloped land only after the sale of the lease or its transfer.

Mr BalfouT urged that if a land-owner refused a firm offer from a responsible 'buyer there would be a solid basis to go upon, but it should be the basis of rating him upon the annual value of the sum refused, not for singling him out as the subject of an anomalous tax on capital. Mr Balfour vehemently declared : "This is riot a tax for getting money, but votes, "because it ~wa6. believed that the tax would only affect a few, leaving the many untouched." He added: "The Government is dealing the greatest blow ever aimed at our national traditions of

finance."

Mr Aequith, in the course of his reply, emphasised fche growth of towns and the increasing demand for building sites.

The clause was adopted by 223 to 119. The Government gave notice of an amendment substituting a tax on mining royalties for the proposed tax on ungotten minerals, also another providing" for the valuation of land and buildings at the expense of the State, with an option to the owner to make the valuation.

August 12.

In the House of Commons a financial resolution authorising. *he payment out of public money of the expenses of valuing land or premises for the new land duties was carried by 217 votes to 96.

Mr Asquith estimated that a valuation by 500 officials would cost £2,000,000, and would be completed in fouT years. The cost the first year would be £300,000, and the yield in the shape of increased taxes from the reversion duty under the undeveloped land tax was estimated in the first year at £325,000. A new tax providing for an annual duty of 5 per cent, on mineral rents, including royalties and head rente, was estimated to yield £350.000.

Mr Austen Chamberlain, in a vigorous speech, emphasised the Government's remarkable change of front, and its tardy recognition that the case against the former workable proposals could not be met. He said that the Government had been compelled to recast the Budget and to make a new Budget Speech in August. The Opposition's complaint from the outpet of the injustice of requiring landowners to pay for valuation had been justified, but the new plan, which was an admission of defeat, would not allay the opposition to the Budget.

During an all-night sitting the House exempted London squares from the undeveloped land tax, and increased the size of the gardens exempted to five acres.

Despite Radical opposition, by 156 votes to 29 Mr Lloyd-George closured 60 amendments in a single batch, including three of his own concessions.

Mr Austen Chambei*lain, in the course of his criticism, said that the tax on ungotten minerals, wliich had now been abandoned, was the gem of Mr LloydGeorge's collection, asd he had defended it on the ground that it was necessary to enforce their development. According to the present plan, the owner not working hiis minerals wa& safe, but when he began to work them, then the tax collector paid a visit. The Government was going to tax al! coal and iron ore — the raw materials of our great industries — in the country, and also to tax granite quarried in Britain, while it probably would send to Norway for granite whereon no iax had b«en pa.!d

Other speakers emphasised the disproportionate cc^fc of the collection of the taxes to iheir probable yield.

Mr H. Cox favoured the Budget as a whole, but hoped that when Ministerialists spoke in the provinces in support

of these land taxes they would explain what other objects they had than raising money to meet a deficit of £16,000,000.

Mr Balfour declared that it was quite plain that they were not dealing with finance in this part of the bill, but with the provision of machinery for the social schemes of the more extreme sections of the Government's supporters.

Mr Asquith replied that these taxes would prove more productive hereafter, and assist future Governments in meeting the increased expenditure which the country must be prepared for.

August 13.

In the House of Commons Mr Balfour vainly inquired the reasons for the Government's change of front in regard to iand taxes, particularly the substitution of the duty on mineral rents for a tax on upgotten minerals.

Some of the Liberals objected to the question of the abandonment of the latter tax being discussed when the reasons for the change could be better discussed when a resolution was proposed to enable the new clause to be moved.

Mr Wedgwood insisted that the new proposal would penalise the working of minerals.

The closure was applied, and clause 12, relating to ungotten minerals, was omitted by 172 votes to 15.

Clause 13, enacting the recovery of the undeveloped land tax despite a contract to the contrary, led to a strenuous protest from Sir R. W. Parks on the ground that it was overriding existing contracts, and tenants would be unable to obtain long leases. This would be against the interests of thousands of small people wishing to hold land.

The Solicitor-general declared that the Government's view was that every property tax ought to be borne by the landlord.

Mr W. W. Rutherford (C.) moved an amendment in the unidevelop'ed land tax proposals of the bill that a tenant, on undertaking to develop the land, should pay the diuity until the owner recovered possession.

The Attorney-general said that the owner had already grounds of claim against the tenant for failing to develop, and the amount of duty he had paid would be included in the damages awarded.

The Hon. A. Lyulph Stanley (L.) declared that the Government's attitude had put a very severe etrain on his party loyalty.

Mr Balfour, who was much cheered, remarked that, according to the Attorneygeneral, the owner would He compelled to pay duty because the tenant had not fulfilled his obligations. He said : "We must launch a lawsuit to evict him. Thus the landlord was expected to enforce his rights to the uttermost farihing. This, forsooth, was the advice of a Government whose members described landlords as blackmailers."

Mr Lloyd-George said !hat cases such as had been mentioned worfld be rare.

The amendment was negatived by 192 to 87, and clause 13 was carried by 179 to 61.

August 14. The Appropriation Bill wa.^ read a third time in the House of Commons.

In the Finance Bill, clause 14, relating to the total value and site value of land, wa6 adopted by 112 to 38. Mr LloydGeorge emphasised the fact that similar objections to those pressed against this clause were urged when like proposals were introduced in New Zealand. Nevertheless these were working smoothly, and New Zealand offered a Dreadnought out of her own taxes. He predicted that the Opposition would some day congratulate themselves upon the resources placed at their disposal by the present proposal.

August 15.

Mr Asquith. speaking at Bletchley, said : "We had no conception of the splendid character of the reception that awaited the Budget. Xo protects had been received from the woiking men and middle classes."

Lord Mon>en declined to attend a Liberal demonstration at Barton-on-Humber, on the ground that the Budget wa.= Socialistic in tvi inci pie a^d ant^iironht'ir to LibernJiMTi. If pn=f-pd. he contended, it would piove highly detrimental to the great financial and commercial interests of the country

A v crust 16

Fifteen thousand people attended the

Budget Protest League's demonstration at Manchester. ,

Mr Joynson-Hicks was constantly interrupted, and cheer after cheer was given for Mr Lloyd-George and Mr Churchill. A protest resolution was defeated by a large majority.