The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Issue 201, 20 November 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1879.

The Financial Statement was delivered by Major Atki son, Colonial Treasurer, on Monday night. As was to be expected he at once starts with an attempt at easting a stigma upon his predecessors by saying in nearly as many words with abundant natuiai resources, increasing revenue, through a bad Government, we find our selves in financial distress. Now.just let ns see the cause of all this. First—ls the Land Fund falling off? "What Government could help that 1 In the year 1877-78 land sales amounted to £1,440,824 and pastoral rents to L 145,738. Tip to the end of last financial year land sales only reached L 738,694. and pastoral rents L 132,035. Hero we have at once a deficit of L 725,833, leaving only a deficit of L 225,169 of the £951,000. Against we ask What Government could prevent this ? Land mania had existed in the colony for some years when all at once it collapsed, as ev ry. sensible man believed it would do. The whole deficit, ns stated by the Treasurer, is L 251,002. The present year the land sales will be still considerably less, and we think it wise not to trust to this source for revenue. The Treasurer’s statement, however, gives no evidence of any great ability as a financier. No new Yogel-like scheme is propounded by him ; indeed he has not the brains. Taxation, and only taxation, and that in a worse form in many instances, is the only remedy that he flies to. He does not seem to have any idea of how otherwise the country could be saved from ruin, although many ordinary men could point out several other easier and less burdensome ways of raising revenue. The balance of deficit, L 225,169, is caused to a great extent by the native expenditure and other causes over which Government hadlittle or no control. They spent too much money in buying up native land in the North Island. Here the late Government were more blamable,than in any thing else. The policy is sound, if it is carried out in prosperous times, but it is not right to take the money obtained from the South Island and spend it in buying an estate in the North. No doubt the land will, by-nnd-bye, sell at a large profit, but the old saying, “ While the grass grows the horse will starve,” is in danger of being verified by the sufferers in the South Island. Of the various articles taxed, w© take exception most to timber. We do not see why city builders should have to pay so much extra value for materials to bolster up any one industry. All through the colony, farmers, indeed every branch of industry, will be made to suffer to some extent through this tax. Nor do we see it is judicious to tax grain. The North Island is the only market in New Zealand and in two or three years it will grow

sufficient to supply itself. What then ? When it becomes an exporter it will then find the effect of this legislation. Protection is not, in our opinion, a sound polb-y. and, so far as New Z-ala ml is concerned, it should be handled very carefully. A duty on malt, for instance, is a judicious arrangement. This is a manufactured article which wo will heab'e to make ourselves. If harlev were admitted free, few if any would seek to import it, and manufacture malt from it. A property tax is a necessity, but why should the land tax be taken off? This looks rather like class legislation. On the •whole, ever since the present Government have taken-office, they have shown ,no improvement upon the, past Government, to“’say the least. Had Mr B Glance been in power be would have given as clear a statement, while Sir George Grey would have made through him proposals which would have operated much lighter upon the present population. The same old story crops up again—lop off the branches. A few poorly-paid officials it is proposed to dismiss or reduce still further their miserable pittances ; hut not a word about cutting down the salaries of the too highly-paid officials. Until the Public Works Statement in laid before the public we are not able to say how equitable the proposed expenditure is to ho. The great question of selling the South Island interest to the Auckland phalanx cannot be described. In the meantime Major Atkinson will likely meet with keen opposition in his scheme for taxation. The Licensed .Victuallers Association for instance, how will they act ? They cannot raise the price of a “ nobbier.” They cannot reduce the qnant ty, or the glasses would absorb the lot ; they will not be willing to reduce their profits, but it serves them, or most of them, right for supporting a Conservative Government who will sacrifice any class before it will disturb the great estate owners. Taxation we must bear, but it should be equitable. This is not what the Hall Government propose. The exemptions are of a class which few will object to, and the Government did not dare to renew the du'y on tea and sugar. The cry that no one was benefited by the reduction m ice < n by the Grey Government would soon be proved to be a party cry. Had the Hall Government placed a penny upon sugar and three pence on tea, as was atone time hinted at, they would have soon seen whether it was benefit to the working classes or not ; but having sacrificed their principles in one thing they sacrifice it in another at any price that is their policy. Only let them enjoy the sweets of office and then they will almost sacrifice anything else. We append a few of the figures to guide our readers to a right understanding as to how matter stands :—“ Government have gone carefully through the estimates of expenditure, as left by our predecessors : these were necessarily imperfect, no provision having been made for several necessary services, and the estimates ns now presented show an in ere ase of £39,044, the total amount being £4,013.078 instead of £3,874.034. It may then, I think, be fairly staled that the slight check which the revenue derivable from these sources has met with daring the current year is temperary only, and is ful ! y accounted for by the general depression of trade throughout the world. This fact should, I submit, give us confidence in the future, as showing indisputably that our population is hard-working and prosperous. In the financial year 1876-77 w? received from land sales £879,819, from pastoral rent55£135,046 ; total £1,0Uf,855. In the last year 1877-78 land sales L 1,440,824, pastoral rents £145 738 ; total £1,586,562. Last year, land sales £737,694, pastoral rents £132,C35 ; total £869,729. The estimated revenue for this year is : land sales £248,000, pastoral rents £132,000 ; total, £380,000. It will be seen that the land sales last year only reached £737,894 having fallen short of the estimate by £384,304, and, that this year they are estimated to produce only £248,000. Here then, we find the cause of our deficit—the falling off in the Crown land sales. If last year they had reached the estimate, ard if they could he relied upon this year to the extent of L 1,150,000 (this amount being about .he average receipts for the last two proceeding years) we should have this year a small surplus instead of an estimated deficit of £751,002. In other words, under our present system we. require from land sales, exclusive of the cost of survey and administration, something like £900,000 per annum in excess of any ordinary revenue. It may be, I think, fairly anticipated that with the return of prosperity the annual sales will again be in excess of the estimates for the current year. ”

We have published to-day what is said to be 1 Sir John Goode’s report on the Milford Harbor Scheme. It is simply a copy from our contemporary, the Timaru Herald. We understand no copy of the report or any notice that it had arrived, has been received by the Milford Harbour Board, consequently we give it as it appears, “ a report received from the Government” by the Herald. This is only another instance to show that the Hall Government are ready to support their friends. The next thing that will happen will be that the Timaru Herald is to get all the Government advertisements. This will show the soundness of the argument used against Sir George Grey about favouritism. If is Sir John Goode’s report, we must say it is a poor bantling to take eighteen months’ study. Many statements made in it can be condemned in toto. It would be no use our trying to do so; bub the Engineer who planned the works will, doubtless, reply to these statements, and wo can well afford to leave the matter in his hands. One remark in passing How happens it that the report which Sir John Goode told the Government was to leave on the 11th August has only come to hand now ? How is it that Captain Johnson, of the Marine Department. Wellington, wired that they were to make enquiry as to the cause of the delay ? How is it that Sir John Goode goes out of his way to destroy the hopes of the promoters by making statements that are not called for, and not very well founded, and how is it that; Sir John Goode puts an estimate on 1800 feet of concrete wall and 1550 feet of concrete wall which Mr Hardy Johnston never proposed ? All that the latter gentleman proposed was 600 and 300 feet. Is there not a purpose in doing this to swell the probable estimate, which any sensible man will call most extravagant? If, however, when the report comes it is found by the Board to bo a work impossible to carry out, we must just lay it aside, audgo infer a harbour wherever it can be found for South Canterbury, If the travelling shingle is a fact as represented by Sir John Goode, th:n Timaru isfin a worse fix than we are. If the shing'e travels northwards in such quantities as Sir John Goode states, then very soon Timaru would have' as much.

reclaimed land on the north side as it hopes to have on the south. If his conclusions are sound, the travelling shingle would very soon (ill up the harbour. It is lo bo hoped it will be found to be otherwise, and that the shingle will not farther encroach upon the v, orks on hand. Our gr atest fear for Milford has been fae want of shingle, by the Tiinavu works keeping it back altogether. We must say once and for all that Sir John Goods has laboured long over this scheme, and has,at last, brought forth a mouse.