BRITISH POLITICS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9085, 9 May 1908, Page 5

BRITISH POLITICS.

MR ASQUITH'S BUDGET. RELIEF OF THE TAXPAYER. OLD AGE PENSIONS. Received May 8, 10.35 p.m. LONDON, May 8. The Hon. H. H. Asquith delivered his budget in the House of Commons yesterday. In the course of his speech, Mr Asquith said that the revenue for the past year had bjen £156,538,000. The income tax yeilded £1,180,001) above the estimate. The differentiation had proved besides practicable, smooth working, and had imparted an equality to the permanent tax. The national debt had been reduced by £18,030,000, and by the end of 1908 would be reduced to £696,000,000— the same figure as in 1888. Under his predecessor the reduction had been at the rate of nine millions per year, and under the present Government £15,500,000. The reduction in the interest on the deb*t amounted to nearly one and a-quarter million per year. All this was done out of taxation. The time was now approachinig to slacken the redudion and relieve the taxpayer. He estimated the expenditure at £152,869.000. Regarding old age pensions, the Treasury and not the local authorities must pay the cost. Some discrimination was essential. It was proposed to except aliens and lunatics. Those persons of seventy years of age and upwards, not actully in receipt of poor law relief and undisqualified. by recent conviction for serious crime, or by the possession; of an income of £26 per annum or upwards, or in case of married couples of £39, should be entitled next Jaunary to 5s per week. Married couples living together, where both are entitled to the pension, are to receive jointly 7s 6d per week. The proposed reduction on sugar of 2s 4d per hundred weight, or a farthing prepound, would cost the revenue £3,400,000. The cost of pensions from January to March would be £1,200,000. Mr Austin Chamberlain, in the course of the debate, said tnat he thought a contributory computed y scheme for pensions might have been framed with success. Received May 8, 10.55 p.m. LONDON, May 8. The Hon. H. Chaplin, Conservative member for the Wimbledon division of Surrey, in complimenting Mr Asquith, both as regards the old age pension scheme and his lucidity in unfolding the budget, remarked: "Since the late W. F. Gladstone's great uudget, I have not heard so great an effort." Mr A. Henderson, Labour M.P. for Durham, said he was dissatisfied with the old age pensions scheme, both as regards the age and the income limits. , . Mr John Burns stated that the receipt of 10» as superannuation allowance from a Traue Fund would not disqualify a person for the pension. The usual resolutions were agreed to, except an income tax resolution, which will be discussed later on.

NO NEW TAXATION PROPOSED 1 .

Received May 9, 1.2 a.m. LONDON, May 8. Tha Budget proposes no new taxaion.

PORT OF LONDON BILL

SECOND READING PASSED,

Received May 8. 8.19 a.m. LONDON, May 7

The Port of London Bill was read a second time in the House of Commons without a division.