MISCELLANEOUS:

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 303, 21 April 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS:

One of tbe most important subjects that' must' come before the country.,, sooner or later, is that of direct taxation ; it i« not a question thnt can be allowed inurh longer'to remain quiesoent. The lion tho Colonial Treasurer no doubt see« .that, with the Assembly as at present constituted, he canobtain no change of any senout importance affecting the principle of direct taxation. In fact, the G-overnment is in> this position : — They are pledged' to a public works policy, and ftfuo to an im migration- policy — the latter to have been the valuable adjunct of the first — but it has sigually failed. Innrenso of population was to have decreased taxation ; primary settlement of the lands was to have followed, and prosperity rpign. This, however, has not been secired. Public works must go on, for they are demanded throughout the longth and breadth of tho colony ; nnd the revenue to pay interest and sinking fluid for loans borrowed for their construction must also be provided. But how ? The failure of tho immigration system, and the settlement of tho land policy, haw led the Colonial' Government into a fix. First,, they have had to resort to the- tariff fdr an increase of fuuds. Tli at was their first intention, or otherwise the reduction of the taxes upon the necessaries of life might' have been first considered. The Ministry, in fact, have had to reduce tho fifteen per cent, and 1 twelve and a-half per cent, proposed duties to ten per cent. No doubt, in the lobbies of the House, tremendous pressure has been brought to bear to accomplish ev&n this. Direct taxation has a sort of bugbear influence in landed, squatting, and commercial circles. It must, however, be met — the presumed evil hour is only staved off gro tern. Mr Vogel sees this clearly enough, but he is trying to avoid the difficulty that meets him in. two directions. Out of the new loan of two millions, he proposes to borrow money to pay interest on account of past loans ; and he further takes advantage of the desire of some of tbe provinces to construct public works by embarking them in tbe same career as that which the colony has entered into, viz. , that of borrowing money. Though ho does this, the Colonial Treasurer is astute enough to guard' colonial interests. He will take specific pledget from the provinces ; it not opposed to the increase of the price of laud to £3 per acre ; and yet, strangely, and in almost tbe tame breath, looks for settlement on the soil, and encouragement to native industries The modus oj\erandi it not only complex, but dangerous — so dangerous, in a money-borrowing sense, that the rumor cf the Cblenial Treasurer's proceeding home to aegociate a loan refers probably to the provincial loans as well. We doubt if the provinces are going to place themselves under the foot of Mr Togel. We greatly err if we do not see immediate breakers ahead. A policy of this nature is something more than the advancement and progress of the Public Works one. It introduce! the somewhat doubtful prinoiple of borrowing money to- pay interest on capital already loaned to the colony ; it strikes at the land law system, and thereby, through the provinces, at the- constitution of the colony ; it savors of purchasing fresh taxation by indirect means ; and^ open policy. The sooner people open their eyes to the necessity o£ direct taxation tho better. The- absentee landed proprietors — those who draw monetary interest from the colony — escape harmless almost, or contribute a ridiculous quid pro quo for the rights and safe tenure of holding they enjoy, or the. revenue they derive from tho colony. The miner, while he is specially taxed^cannot be further mulcted. Wool may bo reasonably called upon to bear a share of the burden of the day, and so may the landed and vested interests that prosper- so much at the expense of the public good. Then we may hope to see monopoly in acquiring vast tracts of land at the expense of bond fide lettlemenfr practically cease ; tuen there may be hope for tbo real progress of colonial industries, and a prospect of reduction of taxation upon labor, in tho duties upon the necessaries of life. All this is no doubt equally patent to the Government. They can advance no practical reform with the Assembly as at present constituted. They cm hint at reform, but it is for tbe constituencies to appieciate what is suggested. A wearied, languid feeling pervade* tho present sitting of parliament, ft is something more than eunitL Members appear regardless of Government.business80 tong as they can personally obtain a prominent public position. For the very important grounds indicated in thisarticle, and the other slight matters alluded to, the country may soon be asked to elect another Assembly, upon a policy that will contain tbe words " settlement and equality of taxation." Even tho greatest lovec of sherry will feel inclined to give lip his favourite tipple if he reads the disclosures regarding its composition which have been recently made m tbe Time*. It seems, from the statement of th» largest wfne importing firm in England, that no pure sherry tver finds its way into that country, the reason alleged for this being that it would not "keep" in tbe British climate unless fortified, though this assertion is in opposition tothat of a high scientific authority. Even to enumerate the various ways- in which sherry is doctored would far exceed the limits of a pnrngraph like this. Sheiry, speaking generally, is entirely devoid of the juice of the grape, and is composed of vitriol, beetroot or potato brandy, sugar, and water, this delectable soapound being sold at a price that is as cheap as the stuff is nasty. While all the wines, imported into England seem to be subjected to poisoning processes to a greater or less extent, sherry seems to hold a bad pre-eminence — indeed, the neplus ultra of adulteration has been reached in such a case as that just mentioned. In one of Lord Brougham's last speeches, hi* upper teeth fell out, and theve was an enibarussing silence until they were restored, when he remaiked that Jmtei th had given him a good deal of trouble since he cut them. That restored tbe equilibrium. A Western paptr describing an accident, sajis . "Dr Crawford, wane tiled, and, under his prompt aud skilful treatment, the joung nun died on Wednesday night."

The Albion saye :— " A scene of extraordinary nature took place at Oldham on the occasion of tho funeral of tho late Robert Nay lor Eaat, who shot himself last week, owing as 13 alleged, to the megularities of his wife, against whom a I Ktrong feeling of indignation has been excited in consequence. A couple of days before tho funeral took place it was ireely stated that, should the widow appear in the procession, she would be subjected to ill-treatment. At two o'clock on Tuesday afternoou a largo crowd, composed mostly of women and children, assembled in front of the deceased's lato residence, and became so demonstrative that the widow durst not come outside Neither she nor her children followed t lio corpse to the grave. When the fuier«l procession mined away, and It was found tkut the widow was not there, a rush •was made to the door of the house, and an attempt made to burst it open with a view of dragging the woman out. It was, however, well barricaded within. A rush was next made to the back, and a blind, indicative ot death, which shaded the window , was torn away. A view of the interior of the house and of the obnoxious woman was by this means obtained. The shrieLings of her terrified children were of no avail to soften the feelings of the crowd, which became the more exasperated on seeing the stained clothes of the deceased, which he wore when he committed the suicide, lying upon a slopstone. At the outside waa a hearthrug Saturated with blood. This was laid hold of and held up to excite the ieehngs of the mob. At this moment • number of young men, who had taken up a position behind a wall at the foot of an embankment, hurled upon the mob •bowers of sods, wet earth, and buckets of water. Screaming mingled with violent language, followed, and m the excitement the rug waa pitched about, and driven into collision with tho faces of many people. The mob next swayed to the front door, which was eventually burst open. The house speedily filled, but the implorings of the deceased's immediate relatives had the effect of confining the action of the people to heated language. These bcenes continued for a couple of hours, when the crowd began to disperse." Strange things were done ' iv the days when George the Third was King,' and many are the eccentric acts which can be traced to the Fitzroy family, a member of which, at one tune of day, ruled over the destinies of New South Wales. The Echo wVites :— " It is not often that any educated person so fur forgets himself and Lindley Murray as to indite such a letter as the one sent on the 7th of this month by the Eon F. W. Fitzroy, of Brazier's Park, Rickmensworth, to Mr HC. Finch, of Redheatu. We are almost drawn to imagine that tho Btndy of those profoundly interesting works, Debrett aud Burke, had been too much for Mr Fitzrov's brain before be foamed at tho mouth after this fashion : — ' The Hon Frederick W. Fitzroy, son of Lord Frederick Fitzroy, cousin to Lord Southampton and the Duko of Grafton, and brother to Viscount Dungannon, presents his comploments to that blackguard called Finch, and challenges him on any occasion Finch's cowardly heart desires. Distance, 20 yards ; weapons, six-shooting revolvers. If jou are too great a coward to accept this, I swear to shoot you whenever I get a chance. You dog ! Your master, Hon 3?ked. Fit'zkot ' All thu rage seems to have been elicited by some remarks on the bench by Mr Finch on an occasion latt month, when Mr Fitzroj was charged with assault. Of course, the son, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, of half the peerage, who may trace h:» noble lineage up to Charles 11. and Barbara Vilhers, has been compelled to eat humble pic. Mr Fitzroy has tendered an apology to Mr Finch, and now •waits in a place of safety' for a week till •ecunties for his good behaviour be forthcoming." Potatoes, when grown from the seed, improve in size and quality four or five s«asous, they will begin to degeneiate unless care is taken to sele«t the tubers for the seed. There »re 120 men residing in six counties in California, ■who owu 3,140,000 acres of land ; thus giving an average of 26,166§ acres.