THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8303, 5 December 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1906.

The Canadian Budget, which was recently presented to tide Dominica Parliament, does not approach the Financial Statements of either New Zealand or Australia In the comparative volume of its figures for the very sufficient reason chat oat Canadian fellow-colonists have so far hardly attempted to nationalise either railways or telegraphs, pay no old age pensions, and leave education to their provincial organisations, This accounts for the nominal paucity of the Dominion revenue which—in a population of about 5,500,000, or considerably more than the whole of Australasia —is ...nly between £14,000,000 and £15,000,000, |g»t leavei a surplus of over two ana%a-half millions sterling. But although still comparatively small, when placed besido our huge Australasias returns, the Canadians oau boast that uo part of the Empire shows a steadier or more satisfactory increase. As recently aa 1901 the Dominion revenue was less than ten and ahalf millions sterling, »o that in five years it has increased by about 40 per cent. This is conclusive pr oof of the remarkable of the country, which is admittedly due to the inrush of immigrants and

settlers and to the phenomenal rapidity of agriaultural development. The prosperity of Canada has done much to oon Arm it in maintaining that Imperial Preference of whioh the Dominion was the first exponent. Behind all Canadian policy there is a fuotor whioh is wanting in every other British colony—■ considerable jealousy and a little fear of the United States. For 3,000 miles the frontier of the Eng-lish-speaking Republic marches with that of the Dominiou, and mainly with those districts of the Dominion which themselves speak English. It is always to be remembered in considering Cauadian affairs that the Freuuh Canadians are in a sense more Imperialist than the English. The Anglo-Canadian is loyal lo the Empire with a loyalty that is in his hoart and his blond. Ha is proud of his more' ordorad troa dom when he compares it with tde neighbouring system. But the French-Canadian is loyal with bis head and with his reason. With his own lOnglish-speaking fellow-oolon-ists he has not the racial intimacies and sympathies wbioh weave the web of friendship and kinship with fateful shuttle to and fro across the purely political frontier that separates Anglo-American and AngloCanadian. The Frenoh-Canadian thinks of his language, whioh Washington would root out, but which the Empire acknowledges and respects to such an extent that after nearly 150 years of British rule English is still a foreign tongue throughout the grea ( fc Province of Quebec; he thinks of his Church whioh Washington would strip of all the prerogatives and privileges that the British Crown has never interfered with, not even in matters of education; and he thinks of laws and customs and observances whioh are as they were when the L'lies of the Bourbons still waved orer New Franco, bit to which Washingfcm would not leave evßn the figment of being. So that we have in Canada the incongruity of a conquered province and n con quered people dedicated with nil its strength, though not with any of its heart, to the maintenance* of the authority of the conquerors.

Mr Massey, Leader of the Opposition, was well received In Onehunga, where he delivered a speech, on Monday night, strongly jondemniug Mr MoNub's Land Bill. Like the Minister for Lands, Mr Massey assured the electors of Manakau that he did not wish to "interfere" in the eleotion, and it is, of course, quite obvious that both gentlemen, in spanking at the present time in the Manakau electorate, were actuated solaly by a very strong desire not to interfere in the eleotion. Their obja'it was merely to educate tiie electors, and not to influence the casting of votes. As, however, it is very clear to everyone that Mr MoNah wishes to secure the return of the Government candidate, and that Mr Massey, curiously enough, would be phased to see Mr Lang's name at the head of (he poll, it seem* a little absurd that 1 both the Minister for Lands and Leader of tbe Opposition should deem it necessary to offer very thin apologies for their presence in the Manakau electorate at such an eventful time. The electors were, no doubt, glad to be educated on tbe laud question, and pleased to hear the onposing political views, but Mr Massey, it may be remarked, appears to have made tbe greatest impression. In the course of his spepoh tbe other night the Leader of the Opposition declared that the weak point of the bill was that it did not discriminate batween a man who made good use of land and a man who held it for speculative purpose?, lie would by no means oppose preveating the aggregation of large estatee, but he considered a gradu-, ated land tax and compulsory resumption sufficient control, and a better solution than the present bill. One of tbe most serious anomalies of the bill was one completely ignored by the Minister in bis spoenn, namely, the relation between European and Natho land, the latter being permitted to lie idle toithe detriment of the colony. Be considered the introduction of the bill was the most serious blow settlement had reoeived in tbe oolony. Ftom the point of view of the farmer it meant that necessary financial assistance could only be .acquired at higher rates of inteiest than before, because banks would have no security. The natnnal endowments would produce no revenue worth speaking of, and the case of the Auckland education endowments, which produced practically no revinue, would be repeated io all parts of the oolony. This endowment proposal was evidently tbe trump card of the Government.' It was to blind electors, and bribe members. It was absurd to expect that a leaseholder would do as much as a freeholder for land; instead of reducing taxation it would increase it. The leasehold proposals were nntlquated. In Russia they were , agitating for tbe freehold in place v of the Crown serfdom, whioh was throttling the "jeasants. Leasehold would not suit a free British oolony. He was not in favour of the 999 years' lease, but the new system would be ten times worse.