PARLIAMENTARY

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2027, 27 June 1885, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. In the Council yesterday the Land Transfer.Bill was read a second time without discussion, and referred to the Joint Statutes Revision Committee. On the motion of Mr McLean it was decided to send to the Governors of Australian colonies copies of tho address recently adopted for presentation to Her Majesty, HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. Tho House met at 2,30 p.m. Mr Fulton moved the second reading of the Congregational Union Incorporation Bill. Agreed to.

Mr J. W. Thompson gave notice that on going into Committee of Supply he would move" That as regards tho increase in tho Customs Revenue for the current year, estimated to amount to £89,000, this' House is of opinion that instead of increasing the duties of Customs, with the vidw te realising this sum, such sum should be raised by increasing the tax on properties of the taxable yajuoo/ £IO,OOO, and under £2Q,OOQ, of 0110 penny in' the po,u ( nt|, and in the. case pf properties of tho taxable yalu,e qf £20,000 and upwards to three half-pence in tlm poflnd." Replying to questions it was stated that Government would consider whether they QQukl take any steps for maintaining train, ing ships for. neglootetl childron j that a clause would be inserted in the Land Bill for dealing with the unsrantod sections of land originally selected under the New Zealand Settlements Act. That the questions of relaxing the regulations undor the Arms Act, respecting tho purchase of ammunition by Europeans in the North Island, would be considered by the Government; that where Inspectors f)f Police were doing tjjeir di|ty it woulfl r]° unw t°, remo've them, unless for special reasons; that the Wellington Resident Magistrate had • beon instructed to go as far as Otaki in his Magisterial capacity; that if a general election took place before another session, Government would introduce a Bill for extending the hours pf polling at Par)lamer,tary elections; the Government cquJd npt guarantee payment qf Life Insurance Poll, cies qf freight, insurance, etc, (sic); that it was possible some proposals would be made this sesjajpn fop emending the tjmo during which duty on oolonially manufactured tobacco shall be Is in the pound; that the Post Office at Woodstock, Westland, would be reopened if. some private person were found to take charge of it, Tho following Bills were introduced' and read a first time :-Tho Gaming and Lotteries Act 1881 Amendment Bill No.. 2, and Patea Harbour Bill. : Minora moved the second reading of tho Counties Act Amendment • Bill: Mr Seddon moved that the ; debate be

adjourned till Tuesday next. The amendment was agreed : 'to. Sir Juims Voobij moved the second; reading of the New Zealand State Forests Bill. The debate was interrupted by"the 5.30 adjournment. The Houso resumed at 7.30, when the dobato on the Financial; Statement commenced. '.

Major Atkinson said he would explain the promises made by the Government last year, to ascertain how far they had been fulfilled, and also how far they could be trusted again.- -The deficit, he said, this year was much worse than last year, and'it was no excuse to say that the amount had been increased by the repeal of the Property Tax, : ■: because the. colony was told that the Government could do without it, There; was on the ; consoli' dated revenue alone a deficit of'£so,ooo. There was also aheayior liability on the Land Fund.; He denied; that the depression had passed away. All men,'by reading the .Statement, saw that there were signs of it .deepening, and if the Statement were adopted it would make matters worse. Comparing the expenditure for three years, he feund that in 1885 it-was' L9o,ooo'more than in 1884, while for 1886 they were asked to spend 150,000 more. He could see no saving as promised by the Treasurer. Taking the'' Armed Constabulary and Survey. Departments into consideration, there appeared an apparent saving; but on looking into the figures there was actually an increase of L9OO on the expenditure, as several large charges had been made to other departments. He asked the Treasurer to explain to tho House why there had been no departmental reductions. He severely criticised the Act in reference to the 'Sinking Fund, and said he would admit that the inscription of- stock may, have been a success, but nothing further. He could ace no reason for inscribing the 1867 loan, as it would have boon better to wait until the credit of the colony had increased, Referring to theproposals, hesaid thecolonywascalledupontoßustainfurther : taxation to the extent of a quarter of a million; and what was it 1 half of it was required for outside purposes, £75,000 for local bodies, and £50,000 for deficit, He severely criticised the scheme for governing local bodies, and argued that no better m6asure could be had than the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. flow did the Government intend to raise the money required? By raising the customs duties and stamp fees; by throwing charitable aid on the shoulders of. local boards, and doubling the property Tax. He did not believe the House would agree to the resolutions for altering the tariff; but. supposing it'did, the amount would M- abort of the Treasurer's estimate, Ho did not favor either freetrade or protection, but would judge for himself eaoh particular case, and where it would be beneficial to New Zeaand., He could not favor the imposition of a duty on coal, and said that doing so was a breach of a treaty with a sister colony. The proposah in the Statement would fall heavily on the working classes, and it seemed to him that if additional taxation was required, the property tax should have been increased. He asked the House not to grant the £l,ooo,ooorequired for public works. The Government had had tivo millions last year, and that should be sufficient to carry on until the end of tin's year. The Government ha'd entirely failed in all their promises. He condemned the appointments to the Council, and characterised the J.P. appointments as made for party purposes. Before adopting increased taxation, he hoped the House would insist on a largely reduced expenditure in Departments. If the House refused the Local Bodies Finance and Powers Bill, and insisted on reductions, then they would put the Government in a fair way of fulfilling tho promises made last session.

Sir Jmjus Vogel said there had been a large saving in the Land Department, hut the Miniver of Dofonco had boon compelled to increase his estimates by £50,000, on account of external The Government had paid off £70,0$ worth of debenture? ]gs yea,(\ (utf wkM K°Wy pay. of £lOQ,(p : this year, Ho denied, that the doprcasion was deepening, and quoted Saving Bankatatiatioa toahow that tho deposits exceeded tho wifcli\lrawnla, whioh ha ■ considered was a silent proof. Ho explained that the reasons for additional taxation were £G4,000 which came into charge this year, and did not come in last year; £50,000 to pay off a deficit of 1883; £75,000 for subsidies to local bodies, and £50,000 for defences. He defended the Local Government proposals, and said the method of finance under tfto and Brides qoijstructiqn Act was tho most original one ho ever mot. If tho House thought fit they could amend the tariff; but he argued that it fell lightly on the laboring classos. The million which Major Atkinson|opposed, would, if granted, carry the Government well intolß77. Regarding the addition fa the Cqnngjl, | !0 gajd. jfc had. heen found necessary tq give increased, and fairer representation in the Chamber, With referenqetQtheappointmentsasJ,P,'s,the t'ecommendation of gentlemen opposed to the Government received m lOTflh oonaideration aa those on their side. The Government had endoavored to' do its best for tho colony, and he asked the House to view their proposals on a broad basis. Mi' Wakefiem said the depression had not passed away. He' attributed the present circumstances of the colony 1 largely to the reduced price of grain., The Saving Banks statistics were, to. a large extent,, guided by the rate of Bank interest, .as, when the percentage was reduced, the:dep'osltaweiitup, and'therefore they were no proof of thedepjeajion

diminishing.. He could not ace why coal . had been taxed, as he considered the amount passed last session for developing the coal industry on the Wost Coast was' sufficient for fostoring that With regard to tho local govornfiit scheme, what was wanted was something that gave, these bodies to understand that what they spend they must raise. The reason of the Customs duties on spirits and manufactures falling off was because the people hadiio money, and had therefore to economise. Settlement in the, South Island was at a standstill, and ■atjfl some places had receded, He denounced r Sir Julius Vogel's cheap money scheme as impracticable. 'The tariff, he argued,, came with a crushing blow on the best industries of the country. Every single thing used in the manufacturing- of agricultural implements was taxed, and a bonus really given to the consumer of imported articles. He was a freetrader to the extreme, and would like to see the Custom house abolished allogether. <r In conclusion, heasked the House, withoulpfevence to parties, to oppose the tefrible taxation proposed by the Treasurer. At 12,45 a,m, Mr Dargavtme moved the adjournment of the debate till Tuesday evening.—Carried.