The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1905. TO-DAY'S VOTE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7764, 16 March 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1905. TO-DAY'S VOTE.

! J'lic tactics oi tlie party which has determined if possible to introduce the system oi voting 011 unimproved values into the borough of - Xl "' Plymouth are, [is tactics, worthy of a species of adufiration. It was a .smart move to procure the personnu aiivocucy of the chief apostle of the single tax to carry l.lie voli's of the rash and unthinking at the eleventh hour. Mr O'llegan is a clever ami forceful, and, wo believe, an honest and sincere believer in the principles he preaches, and, like every special pleader, does his best to show his own side of the question in the brightest and most admirable lightThere is 110 doubt that he had with him last evening a considerable number of persons who went to his meeting already prepared to agree v.ith his arguments, and it is prolUSaibLe that his address may also have won over two or three wavercrs who •kad, and have, 110 special ideas <lll amy public question, except such as they bring away Horn their last public mooting. But among the many leviV-headed citizens who went there to seek information there weie manifestly a large proportion who were still far from convinced. The Jlayor, who occupied the cliair, was ideally among' those who still lui.l I their doubts and though .Mr ()'- Itegan boldly claimed Mr Cock as a sympathiser with the single tax, it was noticeable that ihe chairman did not give any open assent to (he assumption. Ihi the contrary, he put to the speaker a question which' we can confidently state Mr O'Regan wholly failed to answer, ilr Cock wished to know whit would he the probaible elTects on the suburban residents, who :l has been hoped will one day vote l'or a (Srcater Xew Plymouth. To this serious question Mr O'Kegan's reply was that the principle of the luxation on uiir improved values should be made to extend to county rating. This left the question and the ditliculty, which is a very real one, wholly unanswered. In the mind of any reasoning person there can be no doubt that, should the borough adopt th ' newproposals, the effect wiH be to drive many present borough residents outside the limits, and range against the Creator New Plymouth proposal the votes of these, as well as those of the present suburban residents, ltoldly announcing himself as unreservedly accepting Henry Ucorge'* principle, of taxation—which is that the land tax should be raised to such a pitch that the private holding of land would be unprofitable. Mr Kegan asked, "Who will dare lo say it is wrong ?" Mr O'lli -mi must know that many able men have dared, and continue to dare to denv the equity of the principle, l.and value taxation, the speaker asserted again and again, tends to' make land cheaper. H 0 did not, however, show how the consumer—liming' the word in its technical sense—was' lo escape having the payment of taxes passed 011 to him. Mr O'llegan simply asserted that by some sort of magical process, which his audience had to lake on his more say-so, tenants of houses would not find their rents proportionately increased. The experience ol ihe towns' which have adopted the principle was not adduced in support of this, and the vast increase in rents in many, if not all of them, was 1 perhaps wisely not alluded to. Is any person so foolish, however, as to '•think that if the rates 011 the section in his occupation are increased, his landlord will not raise his rent proportionately ■> The gentleman who came forward to speak of tin- benefits which Jlawera had derived from the system advocated was as la rue and general in his assertions as Mr <>'- Ifogan himself. It is a pity that Uie meeting did not have some information as to tin- condition of affairs in Stratford since it adopted rating on unimproved values. However, it is still open for those interested to inquire, and ii it can be shown that that town has advanced by leaps and bound*, then there w ill be one more argument for Mr O . Ilegan and the single taxers. Finally. ; .. concrete illustration, which is u ■ 1 1. „ whole night's illustrative talk, let us instance one example of land value taxation In a Taranaki town. A piece of land which, lying on the margin of the town, and used merely as a graving- section for a horse, paid under the old svstem a tax of two or three shillings. Vnder the new if pays tL 1 Is. and been lis- it is far out, and there are plenty. other sections nearer the centre oi the town, it has become practically an unsaleable property, which is a yearly loss to its owner. Our own view of the tax on land values as applied to Xew Plymouth is that it is a principle to lie viewed askance. and not to lie accepted on th r inure Ipse dixit oi Mr uTlegan, or any of his jes* able admirers. There is no reason why it should have have been sprung upon ihe town at a few weeks' notice, ami there is even less reason thai, ha, ing been so introduced, it should be accepted by our raupa.MMs on n iarpe and lo\lne faitji, and will',o.it anything approaching Mtquiry or invisiigatuon. Our counsel to the citi/ens to-day is to cast their votes againpl I a proposal which has V'.-en rushed upon them. There is 111: call for rash and cosily experiments of which this town has had enough, liut if. in spite of its advocates, taxation 011 land values .thould prow wholly henelicial to other towns, New Plymouth will have lost nothing by giving it ample consideration. It is easy to fall over a precipice, and hard to climb back again. Sound policy says "I.ook before you leap." and ihi.s iown has not yet had t i 11,.' to look Into lliis far-rv ,riling proposal. Therefore our I;,M ! word- are "Co Meadily." j MX PI IK ForHTJI PACK j tiiwrtture.