ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1729, 4 August 1883, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Of all the wretched fizzles we have seen the attempt at a debate on the Pioperty Tux Bill was the most miserable. Mr Montgomery's speech was the weakest attempt at an impeachment of the Government to which the House lias been tieated for some considerable time, while Mr Daryavillo seems to ha\c acted on the ad\ ice given by the pettifogging lawyer, " If you have no case abuse the plaintiff's attorney," and Mr Tuinbull htul so litllo to say that the digest of his speed) is given by the Pies'* Association in half a dozen lines. The Colonial Treasuier answered the three of them in a most telling speech, and when the division was taken the Opposition found themselves in a hopeless, niinoiity, theie being -19 votes for, and 33 against the second leading of the bill. Pom dear Sir G ooi go (Jrcy then indulged in a whine bcuin&e the Minvstiy h.ul not put up a number of their suppoi tcis to waste the turn 1 and money of the countiy by speeches on .i .subject th.it was woin thread bare. Theie was leally nothing toan&wci m the bpceches made by the Opposition, except what had been alicady answered on the subject of the propel ty tax, so what in the name of common bcnse would ha\ c been the- advantage gained by putting up members to make speeches in reply ? The propeity tax had been imposed instead of the land tay before the last general election, but, so fai as I recollect, not one single member was asked by his constituents to endeavour to get the propei ty tax abolished and the land tak restored. Had the majority of the electois wished this course adopted, they would have returned as their membeis men pledged according, and the thing would have been done.

It lias been asset tod that the present Ministry repi esent, and are kept in power by the moneyed classes of the colony. If this is so, they have behaved \eiy unkindly to their fuonds and suppoiteia. They imposed, and fiey now intend to incicase, the property tax, winch affects only those possessed of piopeity woi th more than £-100, while they have 1 emitted taxation to the lower classes. To the latter it ni.xtteis \ei y little whether theie is, a piopuity tax 01 a land ta\, as in either case the tax must be paid, by the moneyed classes, but it seems to me that the piopeity tax is the fan est impost we can possibly ba\ e, a&, in the woids of the Colonial Tieasuier, "hew ho Ims shall pay." With a land tax it would be different. The fanner, who has mortgaged his land to almost its full value, would ha\e to pay just as much as if itweicfiee of incuinbiance, and the capitalist who advanced the money would co "scot fiee," whereas now each has to pay in propoi tion to his interest m the laud, the capitalist on the amount of his mortgage and the fanner on the value of his land, after deducting the amount of Ins mortgage and any other debts he may owe. What could be fairer > Ido not see how anyone can answer that question (except hy saying '' Nothing "') seeing that that wonderful financier, ,Mr Daigaville, has essayed to do so, and has failed most miseiably.

The Seiiptiues .s.iy, "As yo would that ini'ii should do to you, do yo also to llii'in " The nrudeicr, James Caioy, li.is been tieated as lie ti cited othcis. (Jni' of the kind of 1 iifli.ins u lio mmdeied Loid Fiedciick Cavendish and Mr llurke, lie attemptid to sne Ins own life by tinning mfonnei against liis accomplices, Lilt lie meiily sueeeeded in escaping the hangman's noose lo die by the hand of one ot his binthei assassins. l')\cn those whoweie most homlled at, and most stiongly condemned the PlnenK J'.uk mui deis ieel Init little commiseiation for C.nev's late. Kvery taie bom 13uton hates an infoiinei, ot whatever soi t he may be. J behexe he diaws in that lic'itied with his motheiS milk. AVlien lie iroei to hcliool lie finds that if he wants to mem tlie oppiobiiiim ol e\ciy othei boy in the scin ol he cannot ilo so moie easily than by turning tale bcaicr. I li'ineinhci when I was at bohool one of the lio\t, hail eoinimttod a tiillmg ollonce. The head-master asked who had done it. No one answcied. Aftei \mniy tiying (o find out the culpiit, he viid th.it if no one told him who was the oduidei he would punish e\ciy boy in tlie class, (retting no iiiiswoi he cairitd out hii tlne.it, and tlnuslied o\eiy boy in the clas-T (about thiify), e\ei\one of whom, with the exception of tiie guilty one, calmly leceived undeserved punishmeut rather than "peacli." Of coulee the lemainder of the cliss punished the oflendei for his meanness by " .sending him to Co\entiy." lam glad to be able to i>ay that I was not that boy, though I was among those punished for his ottence. TCoys do not like \u\\s, but I believe that the a\eiage boy wouhl bo called a liar latliei than a "sneak,"' and as the boy is father to the man we Britons coidially hate the man who turns Queen's evidence, though we know that the peinetratois ot a eiinie would often escape punishment but for one of them tinning appiovei. Tlieic could hardly be ationgei pi oof of tills than in the case of that unfoitiniatii man who boreso great a lesemblanee to the muiderer Sullivan tliat lie was compelled to leave the colony.

By thc-bye, another man left the colony bv the lust San Francisco mail bout, who forgot to suy goorl-bye to his fi lends before Ins deparlute, concluding that it v. as preferable to face the an#iy w aves rather than to atay and face his angiy ci editors, to say nothing of his anjjiy wife. He was, apparently, a very lespeetable man, with a wife and family, and was employed as collector in an office in the city, so that he had not much difficulty in getting into debt to a considciable extent. 110 was beginning to think that the climato did not suit him, when a lady called upon him and claimed him as her husband. After due consideration, he remembered that he had mm lied her once, but, as he had mau'ied so'tieone olsc afteiw.it ds, ho concluded that the best way to avoid complications wus to seek fiesh fields and pastures new. He, therefore, rcalibed as much of his creditors' pioperty as possible, packed the rest, and started for what ho fondly hopes will be a better laud. I think that San Fianci&co ought to indulge in a notice affhed in a very conspicuous placo, " .Rubbish shot here," for it scorns to got all the o(f-scourings of the colonies. No ! not quite all, as I believe that a certain Government official, who disappeared suddenly and mysteriously some months ago, has been seen on one of those islands of the Pacific, " where every prospect pleases, and only man is vile,"

After all the fuss that was made about the piopoity left by the late Edward Costley being sold by auction, and after it had been withdrawn from sale, it &eema that the original intention is to be carried out. If it is de&nable to have a permanent endowment for the institutions to be benefited, it is a great pity that the freehold property cannot be retained, for there is great danger that the piesent lessees will purchase the freehold for much less than its value, on account of the small rentals obtainable for a number of years. Of course, capitalists will calculate the present value of the property according to the rentals re- 1 ceivable, and will not be disposed to give anj thing for an unearned increment to be obtained in forty or sixty years. A public institution, on the other hand, oan afford to acoept a smaller present revenue for the sake of a prospective increase. However, the exeoutors have decided that the property shall be sold by auction, and the majority of the representatives of the benefited institutions have acquiesced in the decision, though not without a strong protest from Mr Firth, that protest, however, being made too late to have any effect. * * ' Speaking of Mr Firth reminds ,me of the death of Judge Mailing, intelligence of whioU was reqe jvqd. ,Biuoe last I wrote,

In a letter to the Herald, .which appeared on Tuesday, Mr Firth suggested that a public funeral should be accorded to the deceased gentleman. This ought certainly to be done, if only because ho was one of the pioneers of the colony, if only because he has written the best account possible of " Old Kew Zealand" as it was when ho reached it, if only on account of the work he did as judge of the Native Lands Comt, if only for the immense influence he brought to bear in favour of the British at the time of Hekes war, if only for his offer to get the Ngapuhis to thrash the Taranaki natives when they rebelled, which would have prevented the occurrence of the Waikato war. He deserves a public funeral for nny of those services, so how much the moie for all of them ? St. Mdngo.