WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1917, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

HOW THE WIND BLOWS. A STRAW IN THE HOUSE. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, August, 23. The rank and lile of both the old parties in the House are in a wilful mood just now and it would be easy to attach too much significance to the reception given to Mr Isitt's proposed amendment to the motion for going into Committee of Supply on Wednesday, night. The member for Christchureh North in seeking to emphasise "the advisability of substantially increasing the duty on beer and spirits" was careful to explain that he had no wish to embarrass the National Government, of which he has ■been a consistent, though, perhaps a somewhat disappointed supporter since the beginning of the party truce, but his proposal at once arrested the debate on the Budget and put members in the position of having to say off hand whether or not they were in favour of increasing the duties. On the speaker putting the question the voices were distinctly in the affirmative and though when Sir Walter Lang put the question again there was a larger volume of t sound on the other side, the advantage seemed still to remain with Mr Isitt and liia supporters. ON SECOND THOUGHTS. For a moment or two it looked as if the House had landed itself into an extremely awkward position, but with these moments for reflection members recovered their sense of proportion and when the Speaker, exercising the discretion allowed to his high office, declared the voices to be against the amendment no one called for a division and the occupants of the Treasury benches and their criticism were able to breathe again. Of course the adoption of the amendment by the House would have imposed no obligation upon the Government to revise its taxation proposals, but it would have been strongly resented by the Minister of Finance and his colleagues and. would have been hailed with delight by the little group of members who habitually flout ministerial authority. No doubt Mr Isitt himself sought chiefly to administer another blow to the liquor traffic, but among his supporters were several members who would have gladly assisted in discrediting the Budget. These restless spirits are at no other time so happy as they are when baiting Ministers and towards this end they are ready to associate themselves 'with any disgruntled minority. WASTE. During the debate on the Budget there have been many protests against the waste in the public service, particularly in the Defence Department, and many ' of them appear to be too well-founded. A statement prepared bv General Robin and laid on the table of the House by Sir James Allen shows there has been a great improvement in this respect in the military camps during the last few months, but it leaves behind an uncomfortable feeling as to the state of affairs that must have existed before the reforming hand of the Minister got to work. At Featherston, for instance, refuse which at the beginning of the i year was being carted away at the expense of the Department, is now being boiled down and is yielding a profit of £2OO a month. This and many other savings are largely due to the personal efforts of the Hon. A. M. Myers, the Minister of Munitions and Supplies, who, without stinting in any wav, has cut down the monthly bills enormously. His methodical, business-like ways might be applied very beneficially to the administration of some other departments. • THE FARMERS'BURDEN, The Minister of Agriculture got his opportunity in the House last night to refute some of the criticism that has .been levelled against him in connection, with the butter-levy and the prices of wheat and meat, and by a simple, straightforward statement of the facts cleared away a good deal of popular misapprehension. Mr Mac Donald deprecated the assumption that the farmers were growing rich at the cost of the rest of the community and seeking to evade their 'full share of taxation and service. This was flagrantly untrue. But the primary producers must,realise, as most of their did. that in the present crisis they must take a national and not a mere sectional view of. their obligations. The butter-levy -,viw going to touch them vcry lightly, when the higher prices were considered, and the Government had met them fairly in the matters of wheat and wool and meat. It was essential that the cost of living should be kept as low as possible during war time, and the local bodies could assist in this direction if they only would bestir themselves, but (he sacrifice must not be demanded wholly from the farmers or from any other section of the community. TEA, Mr. H. J. H. Okey's contribution to •the financial debate last night was a closer analysis of the Budget proposals than had been attempted by most of the previous speakers. He accepted the National Government as one of the necessities arising out of the war ami ore not altogether to be deplored. He did not denounce the tea duly, believing the women as the chief users of tea would be glad of the opportunity to contribute directly to the revenue, but urged the Government to move warily jin the taxation of unimproved land values. This was not the strain in which most of his predecessors had been speaking, but enquiries show that the work of the Valuation Department will have to be brought up to date before any scheme of land taxation can be made entirely equitable. .Mr Okey quoted a case in which Innd capable of carrying three and a half sheep to the acre was valued at only £1 an acre, while land of a similar character in another district was valued at £3O an acre.