BEWARE OF TAXATION.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 379, 11 June 1861, Page 3

BEWARE OF TAXATION.

To the. Editor of the Colonist. Sir—Permit me through the medium of your paper to ca 1 tho attention of my fellow townsmen to the proposed plans for making the contemplated water works a paying speculation. To obtain a dividend of 10 per cent on English capital it is proposed to levy a rato of 6' per cent upon the yearly rental of each house, this rate we are told will range at about 30s per house, (though how this calculation ig made I cannot divine at the present rents). But look here Mr. Editor T will suppose a case of which there will be manyin Nelson. I occupy business premises of considerable extent in a damp unhealthy part of the city, too much so for my family to live in, consequently I am obliged to rent a house, or perhaps I have purchased a house in the neighborhood : it is worth a yearly rental of £GO, my business premises cost uio £125, making me stand at a rental of £ISS per annum; for this lam compplled to pay a water ruto of no less than £11 12s per annum just for what? I require no water at all in my business premises, and as to my residence 1 have been at considerable expense to make provision for tho catching a sufficient quautity of rain water to serve my family, besides which we have the river running close to us.

Weil, it so happens my next door neighbor in Nelson carries on a business requiring a very considerable quantity of water, bo has but a small shop, and dwelling attached for which he pays £40 per annum bis water rate is £2 Bs. Then again another source of revenue was stated to be £100 from the Board of Works, the Board of Works derive their income in some form or other from the taxation of the public, so that over and above my yearly £1 1 125., I have also my modicum of this .£IOO to pay.

A word to the wise is sufficient,

It is true the Council have not publicly proposed at present to make it compulsory to have the water laid on, or at all events to pay the rate, but of course we all know it; will very soon be .so proposed, there is no doubt this is the acknowledged intention. We have already very heavy import duties, Education rate, towns improvement rate, Trafalgar-street sewer rate, surely this is enough for the present.

But ilr, this is w>t all; we are told that £20,000 is to cover all expenses, even allowing £4000 for accidentals. Now, I would like to ask, have our worthy councillors taken intoaccount the fact that the stream of water they propose to appropriate, runs through a veiy considerable portion of private property: amongst which is Campbell's mill, and that each proprietor lias a juht and legal claim to compensation which no act of council can possibly set aside ? I quite acknowledge the immense blessing] a plentiful ciipply of pure water ia to any town, at tfye same time I think ib well to look at a matter involving such serioas considerations at all points. I have, &c, H. D.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Hir—ln last Tuesdays Colonist I have read the folowing assertion:—

" I beg leave to state that If never have received, nor expect to receive, any compensation whatever, and Mr. Dodson knew I did not; but I believe Mr. l)odson thought I was entitled to it.'1 In the first place I did not say what is there attributed to me

What I did say was, that the Market Committee had agreed to award Mr. Webb a compensation for non-fulfilment of agreement. Mr. Webb says I knew he ' did not receive it' I jiui sorry that \1 r. Webb should have accused me bo hastily of such a wilful misrepresentation. I assure Mr. Webb that I knew nothing of the sort, and his letter was the first means by which I was informed that he did not receive the Compensation which I knew the Market Committee had agreedjto award him.

T. DODSON,

June 8, 1861.

To the Editor of the Colonist. fem—"V^hat with the sharp look out for unlicensed browsing on public roads, innkeepers' lights, and unpublicans, unstamped weights and measures, cattle ticketed dogs (which if caught arc likely to be short livers!) wo arc likely soon to have enough law in the country to satisfy the most ardent friend of' progress. 1 Yet the farce still proceeds. ' Heavy shadows of approaching game laws havejalready appeared; but may it be a long \,\n\^ ere,the .term- " poacher" becomes a word in .the vocabulary of this colony.

The latest scene took place at the Council the other evening, when it was decided that " Any person who, after the passing of this act,' shall'••plant or assist in planting any gorse or furze hedge adjoining- to any road or street, in the city of Nelson, shall for every Buch offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Five Pounds." [

The arguments used in debate were to this effect :— On one side, that gorso hedges in town were dangerous from thek liability.to caich fire; on the other side, that, if trimmed properly, gorse hedges were little more dangerous than other fencing; and that they were economical, especially for the hilly lind about the town.

But mark the event. The clause was proposed to be struck out of thq bill, and the following division took place.

For striking out the" clause—Messrs. Adams, Renwick, Kelling, M'Mahdn, Parker, and Horn.'

For retaining the clause—Messrs. Wells, Elliott, Mfßae, Kerr, Baigent, Dodson, and Barnicoat.

It will thus be seen that the only two town members that were present voted for striking out the clause, while seven • members for country districts decided against them on a question affecting the town only. Do not let me be understood as opposing tho power to enforce the trimming of thorn and all other hedges adjoining the public rqiitl,' for that isa proper and a necessary measure, but j do say (and 1 am prepared to break a lance—a ' quiil one—with any of. your readers who think to the contrary) that the passing of euoh a clause as'above quoted is an arbitrary and unjust measure. I could some time aero point to a gbrsb hedge in Collingwood-street, and I can now point to one on the. Waimea Road, that I will back forneatneas, elegance, and usefulness, against all your. quickset, sweetbriar; or other live fences )' and I Uiainiairi that" to prevent all cultivation of similar gorse hedges is an infringement of private rights. Thanks to the unfortunate acoustic 'properties of the Council Hall, the public do not much trouble it with their presence, and therefore are seldom aware of what is taking place until perhaps a fortnight afterwards : but if this style of thing continues I fear.we shall some day find ' ,

♦' The laws corrupted to their ends that made them Sarvo but as instruments of some new tyranny That every day starts up to enslave us deeper." laia&e.,

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