The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesday and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1879.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 486, 20 December 1879, Page 2

The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesday and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1879.

Till! Properly Tux Act, that has now boon placed upon the Statute Book, has had a somewhat curious history. When ihc Hall Government came into power, they found in existence two very unpopular tilings—a deficit, and a band Tax. It was necessary to extinguish the former, and all the traditions and prejudices of the Cabinet were in favor of extinguishing' the latter also. The represent ait ves of the landed classes conld not he expected to agree to a Land Tax which might be so manipulated as to make them the chief, it not. the only, taxpayers in the colony. Therefore, although it seemed inconsistent to extinguish an important source oi revenue at the very lime that a huge deficit had lo he dealt with, the Government sot a term to the life ot the .Land lax. But in order to make sure of a majority on this question, they hinted that hind was not lo be exempted from taxation, but was to he taxed" in common with other property. ISTo doubt many of monopolisers of the soil who had begun to gloat over the fall of the Land 'lax, were dumbfounded when they found that it was proposed s>al! to tax land under the mime of property, and at double the rate that the Act just repealed had taxed it at. As the new Bill drew near its final stage, the heart of some who had steadily supported it failed them, and they voted for reducing the tax by onc-luilf. This was carried by a large majority, and appeared to he on the point of becoming law. lion, members who had argues that the tax was absolutely necessary in order to cover the waste and extravagance of the late Ministry, now practically joined the Opposition, and argued that the lil in the £ was not required, and that half that amount would bo ample for all the necessities of the ease. ft is pretty evident that the Government felt this rebuff keenly, and they sent the. whips round with threats of resignation ; fur within a few hours the Bill was recommitted, and the Id in the £ silently restored by the very tnemhors who had made the alteration. A significant explanation which the Government made should also be borne in mind, namely, that Parliament would meet again before t he Tax tell due, and should only half he found necessary, only half would be collected, and should none bo found necessary, none would he collected. We can well understand that any Government should object to its measures being seriously altered by the Opposition, and should claim the right of originating measures that are likely to be popular, hut there is something mysterious about the action of the Government in connection with tins Bill which cannot be explained on any reason lying so near the surface. Why, in the first place, should the Government that opposed the Land Tax when they wore in Opposition, and repealed it when they caino to power, double that very tax under another name? And why, in the next place, should they insist, not only in spite of the Opposition, hut also in spit f ’ of 1 heir own followers.

upon keeping their new tax double tho one they Inul repealed ? We do not see the answer to these questions, but wo “ see a cherub that sees him.” hind Lire Land Tax simply, ..been repealed, and high duties placed*'«n all imports, the Opposition would have laid a good cry to go before the country with. They would have, pointed out and declaimed against the selfishness of the landed c.lassos, as represented in the Government. They would have shown how the poorest did us much toward bearing the burdens of the country as the richest, how the newly-landed Immigrant was responsible for as much of the public debt as the man of broad acres who had grown fat on the expenditure of public money, and how it was the object of the Government to keep things in slain quo in this respect. Put the Government were too wise to put any .such speeches into the mouths of their enemies, and wise enough, at the same time, to reserve a speech for themselves. They will go before their constituents saying, “Wc repealed the Land Tax, because it was a class tax; we did not object to pay, but we objected to the principle. Yon see that we havp taxed our land more heavily than oar predecessors did. Wc intend to pay a. full share of the penalty for the extravagance in which they indulged (enthnsiasticcheers). If wc have asked the poor man to pay n little more on his tobacco and clothing, wc have not omitted to do the same to ourselves, and at the same time to double the tux on our properly (cheers).” All this will sound wadi, and if, after all, the (ax should be found unnecessary, criticism will be lost in rejoicing. Very few will notice that the Property Tax was used as a screen, behind which the deficit could be met by customs duties, to which rich and poor contribute alike. Very few will enquire whether, if a tax on land is just, it is fair and honest to make that tax a mere stand-by, to be levied when it cannot be done without, and repealed as soon as it can ; or, in other words, if it is fair and honest to make the poor man pay in any case, but to lot the rich man oif if possible. Yet, upon their own showing, this is what is to be done if the Government can possibly do it. Wo venture to prophesy that the Government will be able to take at least half of this Tax off, and to suggest that this was the reason they were so magnanimous as to put it on. The Property Tax, we begin to think, was a screen behind which the customs duties could easily be raised. This is an old device on the part of a certain class who often rule the House. When railways first began to he made under the Public Works Scheme, tin's class agreed that the property holders who obtained an “ unearned increment” from any line should, by a special tax, make up the amount by which the earnings of the line fell short of paying the interest on its cost. This was an excellent device to get the lines made, but as soon ns the colony was thoroughly committed, on this understanding, to make the lines, the class in question took care that this wholesome provision was repealed. Similar tactics will probably be pursued with regard to the Property Tax. Part of it may have to be paid for one year, but then the Customs duties have been raised and will be kept up, while both Property Tax and Laud Tax will be abolished.