THE PENNY POST.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2251, 8 September 1891, Page 2

THE PENNY POST.

There is a great deal of noise made now in Conservative quarters because the Government propose to establish a penny post. Hitherto the postage on letters of a certain weight has been two pence, but the present Government propose to reduce this to one penny. This is objected to on the ground that it will cause a deficit in the revenue. If it does, let it do so, and let the taxpayers pay it out of direct taxrtion. We ought not to pay more for the carriage of our letters than what it actually costs to carry them. It is unfair to impose taxation by a side wind in this way. Now one penny will amply pay for the carriage of our letters, and we ought, to pay no more. The other penny which we have hitherto been paying has gone in aid of taxation, and that has fallen on the commercial classes unfairly, For instance, in this office the reduction in postage from two pence to one penny would make a difference of between £5 and £lO a year. In that case, what difference would it make to the Lyttelton Times, for instance. No doubt it would make a difference of some hundreds of pounds. Why should we be paying £5 or £lO a year, and the Lyttelton Times probably paying £SOO a year, in indirect taxation like this ? We pay property tax like other people, and why should we have to pay a tax on the carriage of our letters? One penny will pay for carrying our letters, and the other penny is a tax exacted from us in an underhand way. The wealthy classes are screaming because of a slight increase in taxation on themselves, and yet they protest against the removal of this villainous impost from the shoulders of the struggling commercial classes. The fact is, the wealthy landowners seem to think that the people ought to be wealth-producing machines for themselves. They would like to make slaves of us all. They cannot do it, however. Their power is gone, and they will have henceforward to be contented with the laws which are made for them. They will not have much influence on the making of our laws in the near future. The penny post is fair, reasonable, and honest, and we sincerely hope it will be carried, as it is a great injustice to impose taxation in this manner, by a side wind, on the customers of the post office. Besides, it is absurd to say that a letter will be carried to any part of Great Britain for two and ahalf pence while it will cost two pence from Temuka to Winchester. Such an anomaly ought to be set right at at once, and we trust it will