The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1714, 30 June 1883, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here sh.ill the Press the People's rifrht maintain, Unawcd by influence anil nnbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 1883.

Tiieke is not much in tho Financial Statement that calls for comment. It is, indeed, little more than a plain statement of,, the -accounts of the, colony put , in,- a, readable shft|»o» • ' Ap

.such it is a valuable document of course, but having Raid this much there is little, very little, else to add in the way of criticism. Nevertheless, it cannot hopß to escape attack. But the hostile criticism which greets it is not directed so much against anything contained in the statement itself, as against tlio man who composed it, and those with whom he is associated in the government of the colony. As a matter of fact, the sins which are charged upon the present Government are those of omission rather than those of commission, and if their annual budget, as it invariably does, of course, fails to point a royal road to prospority — to the consummation of an Arcadian ideal, a state of bliss when there shall be no more taxation, but a never failing supply of money for public works — it is un-statesman-like, unsatisfactory, and illusive. Sir George Grey is diss.itsh't'd because the Government do not propose a land tax, which, rightly or wrongly, the h«n. gentleman holds to be the only true and effective panacea for nil the ills under which the people of New Zealand suffer. Other critics find fault with this and that portion of the Statement, but one of the most remarkable objections offered was that by Mr Turnbull, that the Statement did not reveal the exact state of the country; which, he contended, is on the brink of ruin. He proceeds to remark that our indebtedness to the Savings Bank and Insurance funds is a mot alarming fact. Any accident in connection therewith might place the country in a most em harassing .state. Mr Turnbull finds it convenient to omit defining the exact, or even probable nature of the accident which, when it happens, will most likely burst up our constitution ; but a politician with any pretensions at all cannot be expected to descend to details, and Mr Turnbull is a very considerable personage, lleverting to his declaration that the colony is on the brink of ruin, (whatever that may mean) it may be interesting to note that the honourable member comes from a part of the colony which just at the present time is not in a very flourishing condition. He represents the borough of Timaru, a town which, along with some others along the eastern coast of the South Island, enjoyed for some years a sort of spurious prosperity. We say spurious, because it was i built up by public works and harI bour expenditure. Half -a - dozen years ago money flowed like water, speculation was rife, the value of land rose enormously, tho building trade enjoyed a lively time, and everybody made niwry. " But something ails it now, the place is" — well, not exactly cursed, but, let u.s hay, changed. Hence these tear.s.