HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4240, 3 August 1882, Page 2

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Wellington, Yesterday. The House met at 2.30. Replying to questions put.it was stated The officers commanding Auckland and Taranaki were the only ones paid salaries. They were very old officers, and had the command of the districts for a long time. THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE COLONY. On the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Mr Montgomery said he would offer a few observations on the general finance of the colony. He would not speak on the Loan Bill as that discussion would come on at another time. He would; also avoid questions .of a party nature.: 'The Customs revenue had increased very? considerably last year, but that was due to ; the increase of taxation imposed, and not: to the purchasing powers of the people being greater; for this year it was proposed to increase this taxation to upwards, of one million, to be contributed by theEuropean population alone ; that for every'; head of the population was equal to £3 9s 6d man, woman, and child. With regard to the class contributing, they had been told by the Treasurer that the industrial class contributed 17s6d, and the property classes £6. That was an unfair calculation. Wheni they took into consideration the amount contributed in the name of the Beer Tax alone, observations showed that the work-; ing classes consumed a great deal more dutiable articles than the other classes, so; that they were paying per head more to taxation than the other. Stamp duties were next referred"^to, and he argued that these charges eventually fell upon "the consumers. Bills of exchange were given ; i f6r these goods, and the grantees of the:, bill took good care to have the amount of I the stamp duty charged to the goods. He ! concluded that all classes paid at the ' rate of £3 per head, and the Property Tax ! men £3 more than was fair in j excess of the other colonists. This was the result of the many millions that had been spent, some profitably and some unprofitably. With respect to the former he concluded it had benefited real property to the extent of about £30,000,000; in that case the taxation ought to be made to bear more directly on these properties. That was a fair and legitimate question for consideration at the present .moment. As respected the alleged sound state of their finance, they had beers borrowing to pay interest on loans; that! was a course followed by old worn ont j countries. To meet circumstances of the kind Great Britain put on an Income Tax; America followed a similar course; and then -Victoria, when she borrowed on Treasury bills some years ago, put on taxation, and by that means redeemed her Treasury bills. In this colony, that course had never been followed. In private life, what would be. thought of the men that in bad times borrowed, and when good times came borrowed again, but did not pay off the former indebtedness ? These facts were of importance at a time when they -were asked to incur another four jnillion loan. - He would ask them to consider how it was proposed to expend these loans, and say whether or not they: were- likely to be reproductive ? He would also ask them to say if it is fair :that property should be benefitedi by i the expenditure of that money, while the industrial classes were made to bear- .the i burden ? He woufd ask property-holders to consider whether or not they were laying up for themselves crushing burdens? He was sure that the working classes would not consent to.an additional 20s of taxation while property alone was being benefited by the expenditure. 'i Mr Walter Johnston replied briefly to Mr Montgomery. He denied that the present rate and system of taxation pressed mainly on the industrial classes, and pointed out that the railways were were paying well, that wages were higher than before the Public Works policy was inaugurated, and that the colony now was in a far more healthy and prosperous condition generally. It was now far more able to bear further borrowing than it was when the present loans were raised. - . Mr Levistam complained of the beer duty as an oppressive and unjust tax. He denied the alleged rise in wages since the initiation of the borrowing policy, and he strongly urged the substitution of a land tax for the property tax. \ Mr Hursthouse expressed himself as I strongly opposed to any further borrowing.

Mr Hurst considered Grovernment deserved the thanks of the colony for restoring it finances to a sound position. Mr Fish condemned the general financial policy of the Government, and ex^ pressed doubfc as to whether the railways were really paying what was represented. This day. MrJ. W. Thompson criticised financial proposals of the Government at consider able length, and urged the necessity for a land tax. After some remarks from Capt. McKenzie, Major Atkinson replied at considerable length to the •various speeches, and the House went into Supply, when the votes; £3893 for prisons, and £701 for miscellaneous, services were agreed to, and progress was reported. . The House rose at 1.40.