WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1917, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

, THE LQAN.'BILLI*

EXEMPTION FROM INCOME TAX.

.....'. >-• (J&irlianunitary Reporter). Wellington, August ft. . Although, .ths Lpan. Bill nassed its a& cdn'd reading iii the 1 ■K6uB6% forty voU.> to folir-italy : M<S®rs "soie,. McCornhs, Walker and; Webb-goipg into the "noes" WW—there is a feeHhf abroad that th» Measure may undergo sorae amendment iv> committee. Sir Joseph Ward maije it clear; tjist ,wMe/&tta(fe®id Australia arc-paying 4% per eent.; interest frea of incpnie tax, for the. money "'they require, it would be' futHe' ; Zealand to offer less attractive terms, but he did; not explain just how it was impossible to pay a higher rate of interest to j'the smaller investors in order to put fern on the same footing as the large inea. This is the point speakers on both sides of the. House *urgad "wUh'Mftßost wearisome iteration'; and' ttbugh did notreply in a' tons, it is thought in many quarters that After investigation he may b>;4nclined td «« ■consider the position. ..' .",, ,

RUMORS OF A DISSOLUTION.. The fact that the Minister of Internal Affairs is pushing on*" the; work in eon[neetion with the census which nuist pro--1 cede the sitting of the' Electoral Commisi cioneja has revived the rumor that the | Government is not going to tolerate, any material modification of its financial'and I war poiici^a,-%en if persistence involve* ah appeal to'the constituencies. Mr. jyiaasey and, Sir: Ji>seph;jvyjpd scout the 'idea of an early dissolution, holding ;that neither.,a jnajprity. .eLteifeWfUKrt' » majority of the, electors would care to see the-country phmged inte-fche-tuwnoil fill general election before the war ia won, and no doubT'they have' accurately I gauged the popular sentiment on thejsubjoct. But"'it is the obvious duty of tha Minister of Internal' Affairs to see that his Department is 'prepared for 'any eventuality, and probably the Electoral Commissioners will be summoned to their preliminary sitting during the next few months. _ ~ .

" A LIQUOR'REi^EjifDT^M.;. . One of the remote contingencies that have to bo faced by Mr. Russell is the possibility of the House' accepting the recommendation of the National Efficency Board and submttng the fate of the liquor trade in war time to the eleeton. If, by any chance, this should be decided upon, it would be desirable, though pot for the electors, to' vote'-in. tKeuNnew constituencies, jmi the'readjustment of bojundaries.wjll ' ocfmjjy' two or .three mqinthfi after the Jifihiffcer. and Government; Sta.tistician have jiompleted their labors} It is not ,a,t all' likely, however, that the Government Wilt seek to.- evade its' rc'% spilhsibility iri this inattei;.;by'refeifrin? . pdpTJlar vote. The absence tifi.OOCJ of (iO.W male electors from M be urged as. an op|eetion to such a proceeding, k anaiti"tne" circumstances its validity could not be rtawnably disputed,' --

ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES , It is possible now to make a filrtjr confident forecast of 5 th,e changes that will take place, in parliamentary representation as a result of tlw. census oi last year. Every group of electorate in the. North Island shows a substantial increase' in pofiu'!atlon;"'""Tne eight Auckland electorates increased between 1911 and 1910 bv 17,705, ang the six Wellington electorates by 12,383. The rural electorates grew in the same proportion, and the .total increase for the island'wa* 78,241. Of the South Island there >is « different tale to tell. The six ChriMelmrch electorates increased by 4,97? and the five Dunedin by 1176, but the country electorates as a whole scarcely held ibeir own, with the,.result that the total to' crease in the island was only 3981. The population, real and nominal, required to constitute each of the new electorates will be about-10,400, and probably after the "country quota" has been taken Into account the South will Ipse three members to* the .North in the next Parli* meat, '.'' : '- ■' ■> ' • \