Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, JULY 2, 1940. THE NAZIS’ NEXT MOVE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 July 1940, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, JULY 2, 1940. THE NAZIS’ NEXT MOVE.

PREDICTIONS that Germany may at any time attempt an 1 invasion of Britain derive probability chiefly from a fact emphasised by Mr Chamberlain in the broadcast in whicll disposed of rumours invented and spread by enemy propaga - ists in the United States and in other countries of disunity the British War Cabinet. That fact of course is that the Nazis, as Mr Chamberlain observed, are staking everything on the hope of winning a short war.

For the moment, Hiller and his gangsters, aided greatly by what can only be regarded as a treasonable betrayal ol France, are able, to set before the world a remarkable picture of swift and far-reaching success. It must be obvious, however, even to the Fuehrer and his associates that with Britain undefeated, roused to a full pitch of fighting energy, and backed loyally by her Empire, the apparent success of the Nazi arms is exceedingly precarious and insecure. Failing to conquer Britain, the Nazi dictatorship will face disaster and collapse, toi the Mother Country is not only a formidable island fortress, but the rallying centre for forces against which the Nazis cannot hope to make head. Whether or not they are alive to the magnitude of the task of invading Britain and' to the dangers it entails, the Nazis are impelled to that adventure by desperate need. They have gained immediate control over ruined and disorganised nations extending from the Arctic to the frontiers of &pajn, but it is not in doubt that Britain, as Mr Harold Nieolson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information, said m a broadcast at the end of last week, in resisting the impending invasion will give to the Hitler legend its first tremendous refutation. Hitler (as Mr Nieolson observed) knows that he. and still more Italy, cannot survive a protracted war. He knows that as the months pass we, with our greater resources, shall acquire, first equality and then supremacy in the air. He knows, for instance, that in the British Dominions no less than 20,000 pilots are being produced every year. He knows that if he cannot succeed immediately, eventual failure is bound to come. That the Nazis are impelled by necessity to attempt an invasion of Britain cannot but mean that the Mother Country is faced by the prospect in the immediate future of a grim ordeal. In the power of her Navy, air and land forces, all of which have demonstrated their superiority to the German hordes, in the mighty organisation of her industry and in the spirit of a free people aroused to defend themselves and world civilisation against a foul attack, Britain, however, lias the means, not only of repelling any invasion the Nazis may attempt, but of ensuring the mobilisation of the still greater fighting power which will make an end decisively of Nazi aggression. AN INEQUITABLE TAX. THE doubling of the sales tax approved by Parliament last week is expected to bring in an additional £2,000,000 of revenue for the balance of the current financial year, so that the estimated yield of the doubled tax in a full year is something like £5,400,000. That this amount of revenue, along'with others, must be raised by some method is not in dispute. There is a very general readiness to accept and take up the burdens that are entailed in financing the national war effort. So far as the method of raising revenue is concerned, however, exception may and should be taken to the sales tax. Under the system in force in New Zealand, this tax is levied on wholesalers and on manufacturing retailers, lhe amount of the tax thus becomes an item of cost, to which furthei items of cost and profit are added as goods progress towards the ultimate consumer. A retailer, for example, obviously must calculate his costs and profits on the whole amount he pays for goods, sales tax included, and must determine his prices accordingly. The inevitable effect is that the ultimate purchaser pays the tax, together with an additional amount which need not have been paid had the sales tax not been added to the early cost of goods. This has to be considered with the fact in mind that the sales tax, though it is not levied on foodstuffs produced in New Zealand, and on some other classes ol: goods, is levied on many articles of common necessity. In raising the cost of goods by more than its own amount, the sales tax penalises the consumer and tends, like all other factors of price increase, to check and limit trade. In the course of a brief discussion in the House of Representatives, Mr Coates asked the Minister of Finance to consider the possibility of collecting lhe sales tax, not at the source, but when goods were being retailed. It was an important point (Mr Coates added) because, with the tax applied at the source, and cost charges and profit being added afterwards, the cost of the article was correspondingly increased. He admitted that the present system.of applying the tax had been a weakness all along. Mr Nash’s reply that he would look into Mr Coates’s suggestion, but that personally he thought it was best, to collect the tax at its source, left untouched the. essential question raised—that of penalising as little as possible those by whom the tax is ultimately paid. It is not in doubt that it is easier and more convenient for the Government to collect the tax from wholesalers than in other ways, but the justice and equity of this procedure is another question. There are several possible alternatives to the imposition of the sales tax in its present form. One of these, as Mr Coates suggested, would be to collect the tax at the point of ultimate sale (and therefore without additions) instead ol: from wholesalers. Another alternative would be Io jettison the sales tax, in whole or part, in favour of direct taxation. Under an extended scale of exemptions, the tax might be restricted entirely, or almost entirely, to articles of a luxury character. M ithin these limits it might yield enough to reduce appreciably the residue to be. found by direct taxation. Even it direct taxation were relied upon wholly as an alternative to the sales lax, the body of consumers would be better off and a definite handicap on trade would be removed.

A fr-.jsv. in MastertU Gift for War Purposes. The Dunedin Savings Bank i.. made a gift of £lO,OOO to the Government for war purposes. Children’s Party. St Matthew's Collegiate School Parents’ Association, at a meeting decided to hold the annual children’s fancy dress party on Saturday, July 13, in the School Assembly Hall. Sly Grog Selling. As the result of a police raid on the New Century Club in Newton. Auckland, Martin Harvey Nicholson, Trevor Hartley and Dick Llewellyn Claridge were each fined £3O in the Auckland Magistrates’ Court yesterday for slygrog selling. Public Prayer Meeting. Tomorrow in the Opera House, from 12.30 p.m. till 1.30 p.m., a public prayer meeting will be held under the auspices of the local Ministers' Association. Some expenses have been incurred, and a plate will be left at the door for offerings. Increased Production. A meeting of Maoris and pakehas will be held in the Te Ore Ore School at 7.30 o’clock tomorrow night when the chairman of the Masterton County Council, Mr R. E. Gordon Lee, will give an address on the need of increased primary production. Homes for Children. About 2000 offers to provide homes for children evacuated from Great Britain have been received by the mayor of Christchurch, Mr Macfarlane. M.P. The Christchurch City Council is the organising body in the Christchurch zone under the Government’s scheme to provide homes for these children. Italian Miners. Italian miners, whose employment at the State mines was terminated when Italy came into the war, will probably be placed on a Public Works job, as a result of a discussion at Runanga on Sunday between the Italians and Mr O’Brien, M.P. The proposal will be decided by Mr O’Brien on his return to Wellington. Drunken Motorist Sent to Gaol. Edward Longley Matthew, aged 24, butcher, whose car collided with a safety zone in Queen Street, Auckland, shortly before midnight on Saturday, pleaded guilty in the Auckland S.M. Court yesterday to a charge of intoxication in charge of a car. He was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment and disqualified from holding a licence for 12 months. A Record Season. The South Otago Freezing Company’s works at Finegand closed last Thursday with a record for the season of 360,543 sheep and lambs killed, compared with 335,601 for the previous season. The company’s previous best year was in 1932, when 351,890 sheep and lambs were killed. The average weight of lambs killed this season was heavier than in the two other seasons mentioned. Overseas Mail Distributed. Overseas mail, including Australian dispatches, which should have reached New Zealand by the Matson liner Mariposa on June 24, has now arrived in the Dominion and has been distributed in the ordinary manner. Following the loss of the liner Niagara, which was sunk by a mine off the New Zealand coast on June 19, and the subsequent discovery of other mines in the same locality, the Mariposa’s mail did not reach Auckland as scheduled. Work for Soldiers’ Wives. Arrangements have been made by the Post and Telegraph Department for the wives of married men of the service at present with the armed forces to be interviewed and offered temporary employment in the department till their husbands return to duty, subject to their being suitable and the department, having a vacancy in the area in which they reside. These families will thus be given an opportunity of supplementing their incomes, and at the same time assisting further in the war effort by releasing men for active service. Soldiers’ Addresses. Because of the non-inclusion of the words First or Second Echelon in the address, the Post Office is experiencing difficulty in correctly sorting correspondence for members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force overseas. The omission of the echelon number may result in correspondence being dispatched to the wrong country, involving long delay in delivery. The number of the echelon is particularly necessary on correspondence for members of divisional units—Divisional Signals, Divisional Ammunition Company, Divisional Petrol Company —because in such cases there is no other indication of the echelon to which the soldier is attached. Magna Carta. “One hears a great deal of talk about Magna Carta in references to our constitution —the Americans have been referring to it quite a bit —but actually Magna Carta was not a charter of freedom but purely a baronial or class document,” said Mr A. J. Campbell, lecturer in history at the Christchurch Training College, in answering a question after an address to the Canterbury branch of the Royal Empire Society. The document, he added, was the result of the barons’ revolt against King John’s interference with their privileges. The people, or serfs, were regarded for the purposes of the charter I more as cattle. Magna Carta’s chief historical interest was in later misuse of it. Part cf Marine Drive Closed. The road between Scatoun and Lyall Bay, via Breaker Bay. has been closed by the military authorities, it was stated at a meeting of the executive of the Automobile Association (Wellington) last night. It was decided that if the Defence Department or the Wellington City Council confirm the statement that the road has been closed for the duration of the war notices should be erected at places that will allow car-drivers to avoid unnecessary running. The road that has been closed is part of the marine drive, which is a popular short run for Wellington motorists that has become even more popular since petrol rationing has discouraged longer runs. It is the only part of the marine drive that has been closed since the outbreak of war.

the < in directir; is indicated-. opinion betwl ■ Mr Fraser. anC. Bf / position, Mr . ’ Though'Zdeadlock was reuci ’. /fortnight ago on the proposals for a War Council and a War Cabinet put forward by the Government, talks were resumed between the two leaders last week, though on what basis it is not certain, and it is possible that some agreement may emerge during the next few days.