MR RHODES AT PLEASANT POINT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2287, 1 December 1891, Page 3

MR RHODES AT PLEASANT POINT.

Mr A. E. G. Ehodea addressed a meeting of his constituents at the Pleasant Point Assembly Rooms on Friday evening. There was a very good attendance. Mr John Greig occupied the chair, and briefly introduced Mr Ehodes, who spoke for about an hour, practically to the same effect as at Temuka. At the close of the address Mr Ehodes was loudly applauded. Questions having been invited in the usual way, Mr Acton said that Mr Rhodes had drawn a comparison between the tax the owner of property valued at £20.000 would have to pay under the property tax and under the new land tax, by which it appeared that under the new tax a rich man would escape with less taxation. His argument was based on the assumption that the tax would be only Id in the £. If it were doubled the results would be very different. —Mr Ehodea said that what he desired to. bring out was that so many of the large people were escaping taxation altogether that the Government would eventually have to come down on the small landholder. Under the new Act the towns were escaping much easier than the farmer, incomes' up to £3OO a year escaping taxation altogether. Mr Mason (Balclutha) said that Mr Rhodes had referred to privileges granted to the banka. Would not the customers of the banks reap the benefit of such privileges?—Mr Rhodes could not see why banks and certain institutions were the .only people to be let off in the matter of taxation. In the past people had not found banks the most liberal institutions to deal with, and it opened the way to the formation of a ring. At present the rates of interest were fixed by mutual agreement, and it did not follow that the customers were going to benefit thereby. If the banks could afford to give a decent interest private people would take their money there and allow them to let it out, and then the banks would escape com- ■ petition. Replying to Mr Crawford, Mr Rhodes said that of course a man with £200,000 worth of property in land would pay a very heavy tax, 1 6-Bths of a penny over the ordinary amount. He did not complain of efforts "being made to break up large estates, because many of them were detrimental to the progress of the country." He objected to penal taxation. Under the present Act many large employers of labor and men who were doing a great deal of good would be punished equally with the owner who locked his land up partly as a run. If the. land were required it would be better to acquire vt iHn some different way. He did not think there was the least chance of the Government altering the clause relating to progressive taxation. He disagreed with it, and he voted against it,, and he should always vote against anything he disagreed with. , Replying to the same, Mr Rhodes said if any praise were due to the Government . for instituting reforms in the Upper House he himself was entitled to a share of it, as he voted with them on the matter. Replying to Mr Ley as to who should constitute the Upper House, Mr Rhodes sai4 he thought there should be something more than a mere residential qualification. To be eligible a man should have some slight property qualification. He thought also the districts should be enlarged. He did not see the necessity of limiting the veto of the Upper House. • li the country really desired a measure they could get it. The country could practically insist on getting what they wished. Replying to Mr Crawford, Mr Rhodes repeated his statement with regard to the expenditure of the surplus, and said he did not think it necessary to have carried the railway from TeAro from the Thames, considering the excellent water-carriage alongside. Mr Mee then moved—“ That this meeting record a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Rhodes for his address, and express their continued confidence in him as their representative.” Mr Alex. Sutherland seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr Acton moved a vote of thanks to the chair, which was seconded by Mr Rhodes and carried, and the meeting terminated.

MR RHODES AT GERALDINE.

Mr A. E. G. Rhodes, M.H.R., addressed a good number of electors in the Geraldine Volunteer Hall on Saturday evening, Mt A. White, Chairman of the Town Board, occupied the chair, and introduced Mr Rhodes by saying that although some present did not agree with their member on political questions, he was quite sure the zeal and energy he displayed in anything they; required. of him; in the constituency they must acknowledge. Mr Rhodes prefaced his address by thanking the electors for the support they had given. him at the last election. He felt very proud to, think that he got a majority in every polling booth, and he had done his .best to represent them since. He wished also to congratulate them upon the splendid hall they now had for speaking in. Last election, fortunately for him, Mr Buxton spoke first in the hall as it then was, and, it being a somewhat boisterous night he could not make himself heard, and consequently he (Mr Rhodes:, decided not to speak in it. Nothing, lie was sure, could be better than the hall as it now is for speaking in. Mr Rhodes then launched out into his political address, and went over very much the same ground as at Temuka and Pleasant Point. Someone on Friday had been drawing his attention to the large number of Bills passed last session, but he assured that person that the good work of a session was not to be judged by the bulk of its statute book. He was well aware, however, that they had a big statute book, the biggest since ’B2. Speaking of the raising of the honorarium and the opposition made to it he raised a laugh by saying that a friend of his aptly put it in the following words “ They gpt all the odium and none of the spondoulex.”. Speaking on the Land Tax question, he said so far as the present House is concerned he thought they were going to have a severe graduated land tax on land. He would, of course, vote against it. He had a communication from the local bodies asking to get the new boundaries of electorate altered. He had done his best in the matter, and was sorry to see that the names of Geraldine and

Gladstone had been wiped out. At the conlusion he thanked the audience for the good hearing they had given him and said he would be pleased to answer questions. The only question put was one by Mr J. Mundell on behalf of several ladies present asking Mr Rhodes reasons for not voting for the Female Franchise Bill. In reply Mr Ehodes said he could not answer that question. At last election he was tackled about the same question at many places were ladies were present and he always refused to answer it. -• He thought if he told them which side he was going to vote on, on such a question, it was sufficient without going oyer the the whole process by which he arrived at his conclusions on the matter. He could say that he was prepared up to the hilt to vote against it aiid of course did so (laughter and applause). Mr J. Williams, proposed and Mr Edgar, of Rangitata, seconded a vote of thanks and confidence in the member which was carried nem dis. The meeting then broke up after a vote of thanks to thejehair. ■

SOUTH CANTERBURY REFRIGERATING CO.

The ninth annual meeting of the South Canterbury Refrigerating Company was held at their offices, Timaru, on Saturday afternoon. There was a large attendance, and Mr E. Acton, chairman of directors, presided. The directors’ report stated that after allowing for last year’s dividend and £2417 16s 9d for depreciation there remained at credit of profit and loss account £976212s 4d, of which £6754 13s 3d was a balance of undivided profit from previous years. It was proposed to pay a dividend of 8 per cent., absorbing £IOB6 6s 7d, and carry £8676 6s 9d forward. The amount due to depositors had been reduced by £3500, and the directors trusted the balance (£4510) will be liquidated during the coming year. During the year 152,560 sheep and 36,064 lambs were frozen, the average weights (allowing l£lb per head for shrinkage) being 58.06 and 35.01 lb respectively, against 57.85 and 35.77 last year. The new machinery and water supply have given satisfactory results, justifying the heavy expenditure upon them. The directors during the coming six months Would consider the advisability of further reductions in freezing charges, with the object of securing all the available business in the district. Arrangements had been completed for reductions in freight from December Ist as follows: December to May inclusive, mutton IJd per lb, lamb l£d per lb, June to November inclusive, and Id per lb, but to those who book an equal number of sheep for summer and winter months Id per lb will be charged all round. To throughbookers the total colonial charges will amount to about 1 3.5 d per lb, made up as follows :—Freight and primage 1 0.5 d, insurance (all risks) at 4d per lb 0.10, freezing fths 0.37, bags 4d, and exchange o.oßd, total 1.60 or 1 3-sths d per lb, to which must be added London charges, which should not exceed .40d per lb making a total cost of 2d per lb to shipper. The balance-sheet showed working expenses £1553 4s 6d; interest on borrowed capital, £87112s lOd; directors’ fees, £B4. Miscellaneous receipts, £57 3s 8d; transfer fees, £1 2s; freezing fees £7877 7s 6d. Net profit for year, £3007 19s Id.

The total value of plant and buildings was estimated (after allowing £2417 for depreciation) at £28,944; besides which there was £246 12s 9d worth of implements, and stocks of bags, coal, etc., on hand.

The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, spoke of the flourishing condition of the industry. They had more money than they required, and were able to repay £3500 of deposits. Their reason for carrying forward such a large sum as £8676 was because their might be a change in machinery or something that would require more capital. They had written off for depreciation £7261 since they started. It was satisfactory the shipping frieghts had come down Jd per lb, as it would make a great difference to growers, and now, so far as they could judge, all charges, including those in London, would not exceed 2d. In the face of this he hoped growers would give the company all they could give. Mr LeCren seconded the adoption of the report. Mr Gracie moved, and Mr Morris seconded, a motion to reduce the amount carried forward, and increase the dividend to 10 per cent. After some discussion, Mr Grade’s motion was lost, and the report and balance-sheet adopted as presented. On the motion of Mr H. J. LeCren, seconded by Mr A. Perry, Messrs Teschemaker, Elv/orthy, Grant, and Clark were reelected directors.

In the voting for auditors, Mr C. S. Fraser got 13 votes, Mr M. Gray, and Mr F. Cargill 12 each, and Mr W, M. Sims 9.

Mr Jonas moved, and Mr LeCren seconded, that Messrs Fraser and Cargill be the auditors at a remuneration of £lO 10s each, which was agreed to. Mr Jonas moved, and Mr Teschomaker seconded, that the company hold their next annual meeting on the last Saturday in November, 1892.—Carried. On the motion of MrLovegrove, a vote of thanks was passed to the officials of the company, and on the motion of Mr Jonas the usual compliment was passed to Mr Acton for presiding; and the meeting closed at 2.50 p.m.