The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1891.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3778, 6 April 1891, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1891.

Fhe weßltby professional and business nen of tho Colony, and tLose well-to-io people who have retired frcm ictive pursuits to enjoy their independent means, together with rich companies trading amongst us, ought to be extremely grateful to Mr Ballance for his proposal to repeal the Property Tax. They own between them about fifty millions of personal property, and contribute to the needs of the State under the Property Tax about £200,000 a year. The Ministry virtually propose by this repeal to give back to our fat professional men about ten thousand a year, to our successful business men about twentyfive thousand a year, to those who have retired on their fortunes about forty thousand a year, and to big companies about which so much is said in a spivit of envy and occasion' ally of malice, about £120,000 a year To all these persons and companiei Mr Ballance will act as a benefactor and will surrender £200,000 of Stut< revenue in order to relieve _ th< necessities of the wealthiest indi viduals and companies in the land If he could afford to do without th< tax in question, we would not have i word to say against its repeal, but n< pretence is made of there being anj superfluous revenue. The Colonia Treasurer, who surrenders a con siderable revenue which he needs, anc which is easily collected, is altogethei unfit for his position, A Colonia Treasurer, too, who changes thi incidence of taxation, without steri necessity compels him to do so, throw: the finances of the Colony into a stati of chaos, and injures the public credit However, the Liberal party is onl* pursuing its old tactics. When i comes into power it reduces taxation and this is always popular. A. littli later it is found that the expenditun exceeds the revenue, there is i panic, and new taxation i.' imposed to make good the deficiency which has been created by the reck lessness of the party in power, Re ducing taxation now means going into debt, creating a deficiency whict will have to be mads good at a latei date. The liberals always did iuroj the colony out of the frying pan into the fire, and there is every indicatior that, on the present occasion, they arc copying their old precedents, Thai tbey are on a wrong track now witl their suggested graduated lapd tax n< sensible man can doubt. They poinl doubtless to some big landholder and say " that is the beggar we are goinj to catch," and put on him, Bay, i land tax of £SOO a year. Seddon'i miner* shriek with delight anc Ballance's democrats are in raptures but how does the thing work out The big landholder pays the £SO( with tolerable equanimity, and thei proceeds to cut down his Btatioi expenses to provide for the new tax By discharging a man or two her) and there, by reducing the price h<

pays for shearing, -and one or two other little adjustments, be squares the £SOO almost without aa effort. The tax does not hart him, it injures his hands and sometimes his neighbor. Perhaps on the margin of his big estate there are small struggling settlers who find that it is as much as they can do to pay local rates for making and maintaining roads, and who have no margin to spare for the new land tax. .Mr Ballance places the last straw on their backs and they have te sell their land at a sacrifice, and their big neighbour buys it at his own terms. This is the way this sort of thing has worked out in the past, and we venture to say it will pan out in a similar manner in the future. Ttere need be no sympathy for the big runholders, it is not they who will suffer. Strong men can defy changes such as the present Ministry contemplate, it is only the weak ones who will succumb. A five hundred pcund tax wont break jl big proprietor as readily as a twenty pound tax will burst up a sinnller sattler. Even now it is not the men who pay from £IOO to £SOO a year under the Property Tax who grumble, it is strange to say the men who pay nothing at all, and in some instances it is the indiuduals who only contribute from £5 to £lO per annum. The Government quite unintentionally, will, by their policy, make many a rich man richer and many a poor man poorer. Take as an example a rich town resident who now pa 7s under the Property Tax £IOO a year, and who under a .Land Tax cannot possibly be made to pay more than £lO per annum. Is it not idiotic on the part of the Government to release the £IOO the rich town settler can well afford to pay and to let him off with a ten pound note ? Who ever heard of a Colonial Treasurer making blunders like this before, taking the load off the back of the rich man and putting it on the shoulders of the poor man, for this load is very unlikely to be diminished, and where it comes off the back of tbe strong it is certain to gravitate on to the shoulders of the weak.

Punch says, "Scratch a Liberal and you will find a Tyrant." Daneyirke is being greatly benefited by the through traffic, and night after night the hotels are full. The other evening several people had to sleep in railway carriages. It is notified in our advertising columns that any person having any matter of interest or importance to lay before the Commission now sitting in Wellington to enquire into the working of the Public Trust Office, may communicate by letter or otherwise. How ow frogs are blowing themselves out ! Mr G. Hutchison is spoken of for the Agent-Generalship, but it is doubted whether he will accept the appointment! , The desirability has been suggested of holding a meeting in connection with the proposal " to- form a Journalists' institute at Napier at tin same time as the next annual meeting of the Press Association. The remains of the late Mrs T. Chamberlain, senior, were followed to the grave on Saturday laßt by a large number of old residents of the district, and friends of the family, of which deceased was the oldest member. The funeral ceremony was performed by the Rev ft. Wood.

The proposed meet of the United Hunt Olub did not take place at Miramar on Saturday, owing to the inclemency of the weather.

Efforts ar9 being made to oust a councillor from the Hutt County Council in consequence of his not having sufficient property qualification. A Chinese greengrocer at Wellington, named Ah Lum, has died under somewhat suspicious circumstances.

Constable Malcolm, of Wellington, arrived in Masterton on Saturday, to do duty in the place of Constable O'Leary, who recently met with an accident, It will be interesting to footballers to know that Constable Malcolm was one of the best forward players of Wellington. The building trade in Greytown is said to bo very brisk just now. Over thirty carpenters are engaged on various works. -

Mr C. R. Carter, who is now in England, is presenting the town of Carterton with a two dial clock at a cost of £4O. Miss Davis, of Masterton, has been appointed mistress of the Woodville school.

It is stated, says the Examiner, that the Government intend to complete the Woodville-Eketahuna line, and that £40,000 will be put on the sstimites for that purpose.

A special meeting of the Upper Taueru Road Board was held on Saturday, the 28th day of March, to consider what steps should be taken in regard to the roadman, who is not now rosidine in the district. After a lengthy discussion it was resolved that a roadman should be advertised for who would reside in the district; applications to be sent in with testimonials not later than Saturday, the 11th day of A pril, 1891, when a meeting of the Board will be held to consider the same. The ordinary meeting of the Board was postponed until the first Saturday in May.

There are indications that a greater field will be thrown open to the phonograph than ever Edison, when engaged upon its construction, could possibly haye dreamt of. The War Office has (says the London correspondent of the ' Sheffield Telegraph') taken the inter* eating little instrument into its consideration. ' Several officers ia different parts of the xountry have been engaged for some few weeks past in testing its capabilities for military work. Only a few rfcpo£tfr"hTv"e~as yet reached the War Office,, but these reports decidedly encourage the utilisation of the instrument. They urge that it would be invaluable as an adjunct of the secret departments of the military system. For instance, it would obviate the necessity of employing the army of stenographers now almost constantly engaged in the work of this branch ot the seryice.

The Tailoring department at the Bon Marche is assuming enormous dimensions The quantity of clothing turned out in this department requires to be soon to be credited. The make and fit is equal to some of tha best West End tiilors, the linings and trimmings are also of the best quality. The prices vary from 403 to 90s the Buit according to the quality of tweed selected. A visit to Messrs L. J. Hooper and Co.'s warehouse will repay the trouble. Over two thousand patterns of tweed all shown to select from.

The public are invited to inspect the New Shipments ot winter goods just opening UP at the Bon Marche. Messrs. L. J. Hooper and Co notify the arrival of a large quantity of novelties for the Coming Winter Season. This firm has always held the first place in this town for Fashionable Drapery, Millinery, etc, and no doubt their importations this season will surpass any of their previous ones. Special notice is directed to the Ladies' Shew Room, which is crowded with the Latest Fashions. Further Particulars will appear in a future issue of this paper. The Dress and Mantle departmen to the Bon Marche is a sight to lovers of fashion very seldom met with. All the newest designs and materials in Dres3 Goods are now being exhibited together with trimmings etc to match. A visit to their Spacious and well Lighted "Warehouse is solicited by L.- J. Hooper and Co,, and Clothiero, Mastepton. * "X A first class Dressmaker with a largQ staff of assistants is kept on premises to meet the requirements of the ladies Good fit and style at moderate prices uaranteed.

The JBawke's Bay Police District: is to be included with Waikato and Poverty Bay.

Forty old pensioners, with their blushing honours thick upon them, " bobbed up serenely " at Waiiganui on Wednesday for their asual quarterly allowance. The Auckland bootmakers on strike number 184, of whom 89 are married and 95 single. The committee state that at present it will not be necessary to make a levy. ■ A precocious little girl of Carterton the other day presented a counteifeit shilling at the shop of a confectioner and obtained in return a fine bundle of •' Bweets." She had hardly time, however, to test the latter, when she was overtaken by the victimised shopkeeper, who, discovering that the shilling was made of cardboard, demanded a return of the pops." The girl was bitterly disappointed, but did not get off without a severe reprimand.

Special harvest thanksgiving services were held in St. Mattliew'B Church, Masterton, yesterday, when, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, the congregations were very large. The chancel was nicely decorated with emblems of the soaaon, and hymns appropriate' to the were rendered by the choir. Bo*h services were conducted by the Rev. E. H. Wyatt, of Greyto»n, whose impressive discouisos on the harvest yield were listened to with rapt attention. The annual general meeting of shareholders in the Masterton Blacksmith and Wheelwright Manufacturing Co. (Limited) was held in tho Temperance Hall on Saturday. About thirty shareholders were present, the cbair being occupied by Mr. James Stuckey, Chairman of Directors. The Chairman stated that the business of the meeting was the election of three Directors to fill the office of the retiring Directors, Messrs. T. Chamberlain, J. Hessey, and T. Brown. After some discussion as to the best mode of election, a ballot was taken with the result that Messrs. C. E. Daniell, William Perry and D. McKenzie (Woodlands) were declared duly elected. The Chairman briefly referred to the financial position of the Company, staling that the business transacted was re-aseuring to shareholders. It was resolved that with a yiew to liquidating the overdraft at the bank the balance owing on shares be called up as the Directors may decide. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.

With regard to the disturbance recently caused at Pahiatua with the Salvation Army, for which two men named Donovan and Peterson are now doing a month's hard labour, it appears that a plot had been formed to waylay a now recruit known as " the infant,' and described by the constable as being " the biggest man in the Forty Mile Bush." The Army officers t,ot wind of the plot and agreed to escort the "infant" to his lodgings, some two miles from the barracks. On the road the efforts of Donovan and Peterson to reach the "infant," who was in front cf the crowd, resulted in a regular riot. The Army sang its loudest, but failed to drown the storm of filthy abuse which was levelled at tli6m by the two accused. The latter managed to reach the "infant" and gaye him one blow only which was returned with interest, for no more attempts were made to moleßt him. Tho Castlepoint Road Board held a meeting on Saturday last. Fresent:— Messrs Maunscll (chairman), Langdon, Micholls, and Andrew. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The Treasurer reported a balance in the Bank of £lls lis sd. Letters were read from—Mr W. Leech re road Tiraumea; from Mr Elder re read through Mr McKenzie'B land ; from Mr Kevins as to expending grant of £2O to repair crossings near Annedalel Resolved—That the timber requiredfor Lower Tinui Bridge be ordered at once. That the men be kept on the Uriti road for a few days longer. Accounts for £27 10s 9d were passed for payment and the meeting adjourned.

Dbesses—ln the limited space at our command, there is not room to give anything like an adequate description of our new autumn drees goods, but it is sufficient to say that they are of excellent vaiue, of superior finish, well assorted in styles and colourings, well adapted to meet the tastes of our numerous lady patrons We solicit an early inspection of these, at Te Aro House.

Dhessmakiso—Our two large and commodious dressmaking rooms are still under the same efiioient management, and can guarantee in this season, as in all past seasons, instant attention, prompt execution, faultless finish, and perfect fitt Ladies who want their dresses early should at once place thoir orders at Te Aro House.

Jackets, Mantles and Ulsters— Wa have opened out a very fine assortment of these, in all fashionable makes, styles, colours, shapes and sizes. Ourmantleroom is now filled with all the latest novelties uch as should induce an early visit to Te AroHouse,—Advt.