NEW ZEALAND FINANCE.

Patea Mail, 7 August 1882, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND FINANCE.

OPPOSITION VIEW

On going into a Committee of Supply in the Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Montgomery said he would offer a few observations on the general finance of the colony. He would not speak on the Loan Bills, as that discussion would come on at another time. He would also avoid questions of a party nature. The Customs revenue had increased very considerably last year, but that was due to the increased taxation imposed, and not to the purchasing powers of the people being greater. For this year it was proposed to increase this to upwards of one million, to be contributed by the European population alone. That per head of the population was equal to £3 9s 6d for every man, woman, and child. With regard to the the class contributing, they had been told by the Treasurer that fbo industrial classes contributed 17s Gd and the property classes £6. That was an unfair calculation when they took into consideration the amount contributed in the name of beer tax alone. Observation showed that the working classes consumed a great deal more dutiable articles than the other class, so that they were paying per head more in taxation than the other. Stamp duties were next referred to, and he argued that these charges eventually fell upon the consumers. Bills of exchange were given for their goods, and the grantor of the bills took good care to have the amount of the stamp duty charged to the goods. He concluded that all classes paid at rate of £3 per head, and the property tax made £3 more. That was far in excess of the other colonies. This was the result of the many millions that had been spent, some profitably and some unprofitably. With respect to the former he concluded that it had bencfitted real property to the extent of £80,000,000. In that case the taxation ought to be made to bear more directly upon these properties. That was a fair and legitimate question for -consideration. At the present moment, as respected the alleged sound state of their finance, they had. been borrowing to pay interest on loans. That was a course followed by old worn out countries. To meet circumstances of this kind Great Britain put on an income tax. America followed a similar course, and Victoria, when she borrowed on Treasury bills some years ago, put on taxation, and by that means reduced these Treasury bills. In this -colony that course had never been followed. In private life what would have been thought of the man that in bad times borrowed, and when good times came borrowed again, but. did not pay off the former indebtedness. These facts were important at a time when they were asked to incur another four million loan. He would ask them to consider how it was proposed to expend these loans, and say whether or not they were likely to be reproductive. He would also ask them to say if it was fair that property , should be Leuelittecl by the expenditure i

of that money while the industrial classes were made to bear the burden. He would ask property-holders to consider whether or not they were laying up for themselves crushing burdens. He was sure that the working class would not consent to an additional 20 per cent of taxation while property alone was being benefited by the expenditure. CARGO BY THE WAKATU. The following cargo was brought from Wellington by tbo Wakatu on the 3rd : 3 pkgs, Barker ; 30 bags of oats, Order ; 37 pkgs and c’s, Cullinan ; 90 sheets iron, 2 pkgs, 14 doors, 1 cs, Dale ; 7 pkgs, Donoghuo ; 59 pkgs, Dixon ; 1 box, 2 £- chests, Duff ; 10 c’s, 12 pkgs, Davidson ; 1 c’s, Keel (-shield ; 113 pkgs, 2 coils, 1 cs, 1 halo Gibson; 6 pkgs,Owen; 4 pkgs, Pul ford ; 1 cs, Potto ; 44 pkgs, 19 c’s, Slater ; 56 pkgs, 50 c’s, Taplin ; 1 coil wire, Wbittem ; 3 boxes, Brady ; 1 pkg, Houghton ; 2 pels, Thomson ; 2 pkgs, £?«•;*; 3 pkg, 1 c’s, King; 1 pkg, 1 pci, McKenna ; 35 pkgs, McCarty & Hunger; 17 do, Maliony ; 10 c’s, Deane ; 12 pkgs, D. Hurley ; 3 do, Jones ; 1 do, O’Sullivan ; 12 do, Read ; 2 do, Menli ; 23 do, Odgers ; 0 do G. & F. Horner ; 3 do, Kemvofthy ; 1 case, Keith ; 11 pkgs, Dnffill ; 1 pci, Wray ; 2 c’s, O’Neil ; 37 do, Lett; 18 pkgs, Roskruge ; 80 pkgs, 2 rails, Bennett; 12 pkgs, Cook ; 2 do, Hendersonj 1 c’s, 1 pkg, Clements ; 1 box, Kendall ; 1 pkg, Band ; 1 truss, Menli ; 1 pci, Mason ; 4 pkgs, Willis; 1 pkg, Henderson ; 55 pkgs, G. Syme ; 79 pkgs, 400 ft. timber, Thomson and Co. ; 25 pkgs, Leslie ; 2 pkgs, Keating ; 1 pci, Donelly ; 1 pkg, Graham,

A one-armed Hungarian pianist is said to perform marvellously. He recently gave away £IO,OOO, the result of his labor for two years.

There are 53 counties and 321 road boards in New Zealand.