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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 169, 26 October 1910, Page 3

(I'rom our Parliamentary correspondent). Wellington, October 22. The Defence Bill is now through all stages and the Income Tax lias received another turn of the screw. Nobody seems 'to have been struck with the fact that this is exactly the English practice. There a war sends up the Income Tux. Here preparations for wars gives the "Income Tax screw another turn. ill". Taylor wanted to throw the Dill out on the ground that there ought first to Ikremissions of taxation in other directions. The fierce old Democart! Hut he mUseJ the point. There are many people who are scarcely paying quite their fair share of taxation and the passing of the Defence Act with its increase of expenditure is an opportunity for making them do their whack. The House therefore sat on the fluent speaker, whose tongue outruns his thoughts at times. * * * *

The Water Hill has been much castigated, but went through the House none the worse. The Lords will debate it properly after their manner, which is to spread themselves mightily on all things worth talking about. They have a brief which impels them to overcome the ancient tradition of the chamber of antiquities. They will probably do justice to the Water Bill, for the simple reason that they have at their command much important professional testimony whicTi the other place did not have for use against the criticisms of Mr. Black, of Wellington, who at the end of last week smote the scheme hip and thigh. There were in the House many cries of "gas company" and echoes, but with the exception of the speech of the Prime Minister, who quoted expert opinion, nothing was convinoii!L'. * * * «

In this crisis of the Bill's fate no one seemed to remember that the blue books [are full of reports of the most valuable character. Four engineers reported so far lack as 1004. They took the first census that has ever been taken up to that date, of the water-power available in the Dominion, and they estimated the watersheds, their catchment areas, the area of their lakes (if any), the height of the heads, the minimum and maximum Hows, and the horse-power. They computed the cost of making race-dam works of various sorts; they got fair ideas of the length of the transmissions and they estimated the cost of the copper and the rest. All this was far from perfect, of course, but every likely site of waterpower was described, and a comprehensive paragraph was given in explanation of each. It is an admirable ground-work for all engineers to go upon for all time , to come. One wonders, on reading these I documents, at the skill and thoroughness. Of course. .Mr. Hay. the late lamented Fngineer-in-Chief of"the Dominion, did the best as well as the largest part of the work. Mr. Hancock, the

American, did very good work also, and put on record a description of the course of development of an electric power plant with transmission which he had been connected with in California for nine years. The transmission was, bv the way, profitable at 200 miles. In IOOG Mr. ( Hay made a further report with fresh data, and brought the work to practical comprehension at a glance, all along the whole line of water power. The engineers in the Government service have done the rest. The consequence is that the Government are able to put their scheme 'before the country. Of course, they do not pretend that the details are fit for the contractor. The Premier declared that he wanted £1)0,000 fop. surveys. How anyone in face of that statement could criticise the scheme as intended to be commenced right off along the whole line passes the wit of man. It is consoling to find the estimates of the Government engineers fully borne out by the experience of the two experts I have named above. The Government allow £33 per horse-power for the first cost of construction. The engineers testify that many works have been constructed and have answered to all expectations for years for costs varying according to local conditions, but in no case reaching

above £.28. Xor is this all. In the matter of transmission, so far back as 1891 a plant of 112 miles delivered power with 75 per cent, effective, and now 102 miles are negotiated without any loss at all. Xow the Premier, in reply to Mr. Black's statement that the 132 miles of the T\ai-tuna-Auckland scheme cannot deliver power in Auckland at less than six times the post of the steam-genera ted electricity there, quoted Mr. Hay (report 1000) as giving the profitable selling price for bulks at £« 10s per h.p., which compares favorably with the_local steam-generated cost of £2O. In the light of the evidence given bv the experts above quoted it is impossible to believe but that Mr. Hay is right and Mr. Black wrong. * * * ■ '' *

The scheme looks well on the whole, j Tt will be prosecuted in sections, beginning with the Kaituna and Coleridge, about which the Department has the most advanced information. When the power is in. will it sell? The crux is that 180.000-h.p. is in use throughout the Dominion, not including the railways, and .the experience of the world shows that cheap power always creates nrw demands. As a business proposition, the scheme, then, may be considered safe. * * * ♦ •For the rest, the session has taken a turn into usefulness. The Hine charges are referred at last to two Judges, but how the accuser is going to prove that there is anything like Tammanyism is the puzzle for most minds. * * * *

; The Land Settlement Finance Jlill is through the House, but seems to have got into a fix on the way to the Council. The principle lias been settled that the associations are not to be saddled with any of the responsibility for defaults, but some ve-drafting seems to have been thought necessary and is being done. We | are all wondering. i ***** The Land Hill has emerged, without , much change. Such change as has been made by the committee—at Sir Joseph's instance—is for the better. For example. the owners whose lands are taken by compulsory lease are no longer to be ' charged land tax. and cannot have their I . property ever thrown back on their I ' hands depreciated. There seems evirv ! ' prospect of the fierce opposition, o;?ch s- ' • threatening, dying a natural death in the j [ ordinary bed of division now low; de-1 . laved.

| Trusts have been attended to in a > Bill not drastic but of good intent, and » likely to do some useful work and ccr- [ tain by working to show the wav to t more. The National Annuities Mill' has | been oiivulated, and seems likely to be !%well received. If it passes, men under t, £2OO a year will have a chance with the «• help of the State to build up for them- £ -selves by light contributions (never more ■ f than three shillings a week, provided £|they begin early to contribute) an inj, I come of forty shillings a week. An f»]'-eight-bob-a-day at sixty* is not their Lonly goal. If their ladies present them j, J with olive branches they are to have £f> k'for each on the day it comes into this j j wicked world; • if thev, we mk ihm

I 111 l 1 wife has something 'unci every child up to tiie age cf fourteen is to have 7s 01 a woe!:, it iooks well, and the thought put into it deserves the recognition of the puliiic of the Dominion. This GovemmtiU, it seems. still has its initiative. * * * * The rest of the session is brisk, and the oil;! will not be long delayed. Of roiii'-e. there v.'ii! be a field day or two over the Licensing Bill. But about that —Sullieient for the da,; is the evil thereof.