PUBLIC MEETING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 500, 26 June 1880, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

The public meeting held at the Town Hall last evening, to consider the Property Tax and the general financial position of the Colony, was well attended, the hall being crowded, Mr Parsons proposed—That Mr Woodroofe take the Chair, Mr Woodroofe said the Mayor would be there in a few minutes, and declined. The Mayor, who arrived about a quar-ter-past eight, took the Chair, on the motion of Mr Cowan. The Chairman read the advertisement convening the meeting. They were aware that meetings of a similar character had been held in different parts of the Colony in favor of its reduction or its repeal. If the tax were repealed, the question aroso how the deficiency was to be made good. They had been living twenty-five per cent, above their income. What were they to do I—(A voice, "file your schedule,") The Chairman concluded by reading a letter from Mr C, Pharazyn, expressing the writer's regret that he could not attend the meeting, and advocating retrenchment, and intimating that in his opinion the deficiency in the current year's revenue would probably amount to half-a-millioiii He hoped the Wairarapa would set a good example in facing the existing difficulties. Mr Dreyer desired to know in what capacity Mr Pharazyn was invited to attend the meeting, Mr Renall: To address it. The Chairman : Mr Pharazyn was invited as an elector. A voice: Invite Mr Bunny. Mr R. Or, Williams repeated Mr Dreyer's question. Mr E. G. Williams commented on the singularity of inviting Mr Pharazyn as an elector when there were thousands of other electors not specially invited,' Mr Renall said Mr Williams was out of order, and a scene of some confusion ensued, ; ' The Chairman, did not know that Mr Pharazyn.had been invited. '.He'presumed that as he had been invited, it was because he had been asked to the Carterton, meeting, aud was a member of the Civil Service Commission. Mr,Renall: No one invited Mr Pharazyn; The Mayor knows nothing about it, and no more don't you 1 (a row). Mr Renall said he held in hii hand a resolution of more importance than 'the nonsense they had been talking. He had l .c mov;— * • . "That after carefully considering' the 'financial state of the Colony this meeting is of opinion, that the.Property Tai Act should be repealed, and that the Civil .Serviceexpenditure shouldbereducsdbv

oorao six weeks but heand his,friends hud ™ted;for theFinancialStatement, and now -they: ithe report'" of t the; Civil 'ServiL'ff.Tjoinmisaioii. it was a moat aeriuus cbnaideration thflt/ within nine months, tl\uir;. revenue had dimmished by a\million, ''ocoaße going to ; ,stop.? Gould they 'maintain 11,000 civil servants in a eulotty with only the population of a third rate town in England. The reduction which the tii? l } of r s ; This,was pipre^hpax. than,a (saying, j Let, th'ejGov.eriiment : cut' dop_ jhe eipenditure growing around. th®nv~ -The~"£Bod "exemptiotTintli(fPro r perty Tax did not ma;i from loss. The ppor : man,'got his wages out of the capital of the country, anti\when,that' was'taxed the poor man went sKort'Jwitli his wages. (At this point the speaker was interrupted by.Mr R, G. Williams, and another scene of confusion ensued, the Chairman deciding that Mr Kenall was in order.) The speaker then referred to the examples of disorganisation in the Oivil Service, referred to by the Commissioners, The Property Tax was worse than the Land Tax ; because it would fake more of the money available for laborers' wages. If the people were resolute in demanding the repeal of the tax they would get it. Apparently everyone was afraid of speaking of thoir representatives. He was not. Mr Beotham, as a representative, was not worth twopence. He next referred to the fact that the Commissioners had terminated their work, Tho people ought to insist on the work being proceeded with. He then quoted a letter from a correspondent of the Standard, ridiculing the comforts and luxuries of the House of Representatives and of the Legislative Council—(Mr Dreyer," Give us a song!") The speaker concluded by saying that they were pot going to be gropd down to their laift penny to support a useless lot of officials, and ,aat down amid loud applause. '

Mr Gapper said that since he had iutered tho room he had been asked to econd the resolution. Hia sympathies cere with it. He had declared that he lever would fill a Property Tax form up, .nd he never would. Twenty years ago here was more peace, prosperity, and lommercial morality in New Zealand than ihere was now, when the industrious and he provident had to pay the debts ©f the mprudent and the improvident, He vould not advocate mob-law, but he lever would submit to the Property Tax, 3.6 pointed out that no official notification lad been received of the Property Tax jeing modified as promised. He showed ihftt the tax was one on improvements and produce, and thus became a dual tax. He idvocated an Income and Property TaXj .'etrenchment, and selling the railways. He also reflected 011 the unwillingness of 'heir, representatives in coming to neet them, The speaker was applauded it tho conclusion of his remarks, Mr Cowan proposed an amendment tc the resolution, to the effect-That in the opinion of this meeting the Property Tas was just and equitable, as it imposed tlu burthen on the class best able to bear it, Referring to Mr Kenall'g comment oh Mi Beetham, he stated that their represents tives had worked honestly and conscien tioualy for the district—(Hear, hear) He quite agreed with Mrßenall's remark; ftbout the Civil Service; but he claimet that the property holders had benefittet by the public loans, and they wero thi persons who were mulcted by the Pro perty Tax, and ought to pay it. Mr iVoodroofe seconded Mr Cowan' amendment amid some confusion. Th Property Tax would teach them not t Bend extravagant representatives to Par liament. The extravagance of New Zea land was outrageous, The desperat evil required a desperate remedy—(Ap plause). Mr D. McGregor, who was well received slated that he was of the same opinion a Mr Woodroofe-he disagreed with th former part of the resolution, and sup ported the latter part ofiit. The Govern ment had, as it were, received a hin from its banker that it had overdrawn it account, and as a private individual wouli do it mast increase its revenue and dimi nish its expenditure. By increasing th revenue the Government would mor rapidly bring the Colony out of its diffi culties. The Property Tax was the faires tax, because it caught the capitalists, whi had hitherto escaped. The direct pay ments of the bulk of the money cam from those best able to pay it. He advo cated the Property Tax and retrenchmen when they would speedily get out of thei The Government, like ani sensible private person would do, ough to make one man do the work hitherti done by two, and this they could do i they set about the task earnestly. Hi thought that the present Governmen were in earpait in .bringing the finances o the colony into a satisfactory position, an< should b» supported. Referring to thi Property Tax, a man possessing £300( worth of property could not declare iti cash auction value at more than £1,500 from this £SOO was exempted, and tin actual rate he would have to pay wouli be £4. He concluded by asking the meet ing to support * measure which was cal culated to bring them out of their difficul ties—(Applause). Mr Renall was disappointed with M McGregor's speech. The more they weri taxed the less would the revenue of thi colony be. Taxing did not always raisi revenue. He also claimed that Mr Wood roofe'g argument was in favor of his owi resolution. Depriving the community o its floating capital would make it rui down like their "Grandfather's Clock,' —(Laughter,) Mr J, Y. Smith preferred the amend ■ment to the resolution.-(Hear, hear.)He disliked the tax as much as anybod l else, but even if it were possible to reduc" the Civil Service by L 200,000 he wa afraid that it would not be practicable ti do without the tax, He stated that fron inquiries at head quarters he found tha the Act was not of that inquisitoria character which Mr Gapper assumed it ti be, One important fact was that monei lent on mortgage escaped the Land Tax but did not escape the Property Tax, Thi mortgagee was a sort' of partner in thi land on whioh he had lent money am ought to bear his share of the burthen. - (Applause.)—Aa for retrenchment, it wa not the pruning knife but the axe which wa wanted, and even some departments ii his opinion required to be blown up bi dynamite,—Hear, hear.) Mr McCardle pointed out that the.Go vernment were fettered by the Civil Ser vice and their connections, and that b throwing over the Property Tax the; would force the Government to retrench in spite of the influences which now hel< it in check.—(Applause.) The Rev Mr Gossett admired. M McCardle's way of strengthening th hands of the Government, The way ti strengthen' the hands of the Governmen was to support them. The. present Go vernment was. the" only one that he hai seen " do what they talked." Mr J. M. Girdlestone asked, aftei affirming the Property Tax by electing M Beetham, who made it part of his plat form, how they were to ask him torepea it. ' ■■•■■'

Mr McOardle said it wag not Mr Beetham's views, but his personal weight aiid high pergonal character :that carried him into the Hinue. ' i > Mr R. 6. .Williams alio defended- Mr Beetham, and then proceeded to argu♦/ thatjthe property-tax did not touch' m\ W ra«n t - H« ww»* pleaud"-to iM,Mr< WMi-X ' i

J. : .a lltVg# .^ime J fohvatd^andsu|jpqrtCthe / tax, \> ihiaetinfe\waa called 'for the-'purpose of*puttingjMr the ,| v < , The'Chairirian/considered jihat the meeb&Vw.ould- / d0.„.-good /whichever way 'the voje r show that they were" alive to political questions. Mr Gapper joie_ to explain how a Imaff'bfMimairaeans ' was taxed by the Property, ,Act,yr '» The Chairman then put the amendment to the meeting, which was carried by > large majority on a show of hands. The, Chairman: Some gentleman says he does not know what question we are voting oii.

A voice 1 : Nobody does. The vote was taken a sec'ond v time with the same result.

_ Mr McGregor moved the next resolution, which was to the effect that the honorarium to the Legislative Council should be abolished, and to the House of Representatives reduced by one-half; that Bellamy's and Hansard should be abolished and expressed an opinion that the education vote could be reduced without impairing its efficiency., The mover spoke strongly in favor of abolishing the honorarium to the Legislative Council, and advocated reducing the honorarium, in the Lower House by one-half. He did not desire to interfere with the present educational system, but he thought that the strain of the education vote was too heavy for the Colony, and that a less expensive course of instruction would The high-class education now given in the Colony was not profitable, Mr Woodroofe seconded the resolution.

Mr Dreyer moved as an amendment that the Governor assent to no law which was not approved of by Mr McGregor and the Chairman.

Mrßenall said the resolution was a nice jumble. He defended the Education vote, and hoped they would keep the Educational Establishment ai pure as it was now.

Mr Woodroofe then rose on the Education question, but the audience, the hour being late, was thinning rapidly, and his remarks were almost inaudible.

The resolution re honorariums,. Belt lamy's and Hansard was put and carried. Mr J. V. Smith proposed a resolution expressing the meeting's high opinion of the value of the report of the Civil Service Commissioners, and pointed out how completely the country had been bamboozled in the >past, Mr McGregor, in seconding the resoluBtated that the railways of the colony were the cause of its difficulties, -and in an able speech showed the injury they were doing to New Zealand. The resolution was carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned after passing a vote of thanks to the Chairman. . •