WAR CENSUS.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1915, Page 5

WAR CENSUS.

OOMPKBHENWIi RETURNS SOUGHT, FEDERAL GOVER-VMEXT'S OBJECT, Sydney, July 22. With the publication of »peciments of the schedules attached to the Bill befire tlie Federal Parliament for the taJcin*; of a war census of the manhood and veiilth of Australia, people are opening their eyes in surprise 'at the extent of • J In- information' they will have to supply on the census cards, which they will have to obtain at post offices, and fill in and return within about a week. The manhood schedule requires that all males, between the ages of 18 and 80 years snail set, out the following particular:' Name in full, usual postal address, date of lirth (giving the month and year), ■ age birthday, whether married, wido'.vil or single, number and relation of dependents (if any), state of general lualch. if health not good nature of af- ' d ; i'l-.'s or ailment, whether suffering i'i-uiu'Mindness, deafness, or loss of limb, wiili particulars, present occupation, grade of occupation, if an employee the occupation 0 f the employer, what other oiTiipation. (if any) could be undertaken, iiiiliUry training (if any), country of birth of self, lather and mother, iflm . in a foreign country whether naturalised, la!o and place »f naturalisation. All*' uiales and females aged 18 years and upwards will be required to furnish, returns setting out the following particulars;— N'tune, sex, usual postal address, '.f possessed of motor-cycles or motorcurs, t:he number of horse-power of each, character of any other vehicle owned, whether possessed of horseti, mulct, working bullocks, ca.mels, cattle, and sheep and pigs, with the number of each, ■ u'jip-cjximaie value of leal and personal pveipr*rly, including-eapiM -value of land with all improvements thereon, including all buildings, machinery and plant, vehicles of all kinds, live stock, debentures and stocks and shares, batik deposits, cash in hand, money lent, stock-in-trade, furniture anil personal and household effects, anil other property. Then thero have to be set out tlie following details under the heading of income—stipend, salary, wages, profession, trade or industry carried on, fees, commission or bonus, pension, superannuation or retiring allowance, quarters, board, etc., allowed by employer, rent, interest and dividends,-annuities, royalties, tributca, licenses, etc., income as beneficiary from trust estate, income from all other sources, addition of 5 per cent, on oapit.il value of land and improvements used for own purposes of residence or enjoyment In the more serious criticism in the press the question is asked whether in view of the extent of the information required to be supplied under this new census it does not appear that all the thousands of pounds regularly rpeht in connection witti income tax returns, motor-car registrations, and the dozens of things about which municipal bodies, thcpolicc and other Governmental departments systematically collect returns, have been wasted. It will puzzle a lot of people to state accurately as required without* ' hired assistance of experts what is the actual value of their furniture sonal effects. Householders are Ipitiering whether baby peramulators as well as wheelbarrows have to be accounted for in the "other vehicW 1 section. Does N "tools'of all kinds" embrace tlie family tack hammer, the boy's sot of carpentry tools, or the garden lwef It will require pages and pages of printed instructions to settle all the questions that are asked. Also it looks as if dealers and others are going to reap a rich harvest in fees from 'folios Who' arc quite unable to state themselves the present actual values of all their belongings and want to avoid the heary penalties threatened for inaccuracy in returns. , ij

WEALTH TAX. It seems t.o bo a fair assumption tfcat Hie main-•puiipase which tile Comtaonwealth Tiovernhieiit has in view jiL con. flection with -the war census just referred to is to -find out exactly how &r it con possibly go in the nifltter of a war tax. The Government has at its disposal plenty of figures and statistics about tin* population and t'hc elements of which it is made up. We are aejured that there is no intention at all of introducing conscription. Recruiting tg now said to be proceeding satisfactorily, and recent'experience seems to indicate, that it only needs, the right kind of ap J peal to bring forward a* many volunteers us arc required. It is known what proportion of the men of fighting nee is volunteering for service abroad. The number of boys and youths covered •l>y the compulsory training provisions of the Defeniv Act is well known. It i» also known by now what is the percentage of military fitnes* for, tay, 200,POO of our men of fighting age. But lhe Commonwealth Government wants io know all about the property in the. community, and who owns it., as the ba-is for a wealth war tax, whbli is to bo propounded shortly in a Bill in the Federal Parliament. Folks who belong to the class generally designated an the "capitalistic" by the Labor Party ex. p?vi something pretty ptiff. They art not at all comforted by Ministerial statements that "nobody who is possessed of any wealth will e<e.ipe the tax,"