The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. FREE GIVING AND TAXATION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 8, 13 December 1915, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. FREE GIVING AND TAXATION.

One can only ascribe the extraordinary attitude of certain speakers at Saturday's meeting of dairy farmers in Stratford to an utter failure to realise the hard fact that at this time no sacrifice that the people of this country can possible make, individually or collectively, can be too grout, for the Empire's sake and to make provision for the gallant men who are in the battle-front fighting ing to keep the flag of freedom flying. A petty spirit of quibbling over trifling matters was exhibited-, and some remarks were made which cannot surely be the honest expression of the feelings of even those who made them, and are certainly not an expression of the feeling of the district. Taranaki has been too generous in her contribution of men and money since the conflict started anci ' the call to arms came for anyone who • knows the position to believe for one moment that the foolish talk some people indulged in represents what our farmers really think., but it is regrettable that such a display of pettiness and personal feeling should have been made. Let every sharebolder in the Stratford Farmers' Cooperative Association just consider for one moment what his individual share of the £6OO voted on Saturday will mean, and be then will realise that his Docket has not been very seriously hurt. Let each shareholder also ponder on what would have happened had there been no British Navy to keep the seas clear and the great markets open for the sale of his produce, and also what would happen if men and money did not freely offer in the Empire's cause? Mr Richard Dingle struck the right note when be fold the meeting that it was not a question of how much they w; e getting for their produce, but of their duty to contribute to the Patriotic Funds no matter if only 6d per lb. were being obtained. If there is one point more than another which was emphasised by the proceedings at Saturday's meeting it is the very grave Mistake the Government made in not 'aH'onte placing an export duty on everything that leaves the Dominion. that -nethod, at least, would makoj

those who are receiving the benefit of war prices, pay some, direct proportion to the revenue, but at this time there are many loopholes lor .cs aping what ought to be a very obvious duty, and the inflation of prices will mean fortunes to the few while the many bear the burden. We should like to hear some authentic reason from Ministers why an export tax was not resorted to by the Government: so far we have not met one s:ngle individual whose opinion Mas worth having who did not admit that an export tax on every bale of wool, every carcase of meat, every box of butter, and every crate of cheese, would: have been one of the most straight-1 forward, honest, direct and entirely, equitable methods of taxation could be devised. For the commer-, cial man there was always the in-, ( come-tax, which very properly lias been increased, but to impose on the farming community income-tax instead of an export tax seems to have been a grave blunder. Were such a tax in existence there, need havabeen no such squabble as that which took place at .the Stratford meeting., on Saturday.