ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1906, 23 September 1884, Page 3

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Sir Julius Vogel has made his Financial Statement, and the country now knows what he thinks of its position, and what his propasals are, though whether he will be allowed to carry out those proposals remains to the been. One thing is decidedly satisfactory, and that is that Sir Julius Yogel confhms the statement made by Major Atkinson, to the effect that the colony is in a sound state financially. With u-gaul to his pioposal to take the Sinking Fund and use it in Older to lelieve the revenue, we need not object to it if the public ci editor does not, as it will simply be compelling posterity to pay foi the lailwajsi and other public woil-s, and as theio i\ ill be moie of posteiity than thuie aio of us, they will not feel the bidden so much. I certainly do not see any i eason why we should do everything for piosperity, and lea\e them nothing to do for themselves. If wo construct roads and railways, though we will certainly receive a piesent benefit, that is nothing to the future benefit that they will receive, so we may fairly allow them to repay the loans, seeing that they will have the w oiks on which the money has been spent: besides which, if they do not wish to repay the money they will not be compelled to do so, beeau.se they will Le able to boi row the money ayain at much lower rates that we aic now paying. It is quite intcicsting to notice hew the credit of New Zealand has impioved in the London money market. When our first lo,uisH(i-e floited we li.id to pay a high rate of inteiest, and dispose of our debentures at ,i discount. Now we can bonow money at a low rate of iuteiest, and yet get it at pir, or even above par. As yea is 101 l on, and it is found that wo always pay our interest w lien it is due, our secuiities will meiease in value, and the rate of interest will be proportionately loweicd. * * # I expect that there will bo an indignant protest on the pait of the so-called Liberal Paity, because the only i emission of taxation pioposed is a reduction of the property ta\. Of course, Sir Geoige Grey has repeatedly told them that tins tax is really paid by the woikmg classss, but that the statement is false cvciyone who considers the m ltter knows. Theie is a good deal of poetic justice in the fact that whereas the Atkinson Ministiy, which wcie accused of administeiing the affairs of the countiy in the ititeiests of the piopeiLy owners, reduced the ta\a t.on on tea, sugar, ke , the C ibinet of which Mr Stout (a prominent leader of the Radicals) is Premier proposed to reduce the pi opei ty tax without, as the Radicals Mould wish, imposing a land tax. One thing is quite certain, and that is, it is the class who pay the property tax who need a remission of taxation, as they arc now baaiing an unfaiily laige share of the burdens of the countiy. Take the one item of education, for instance, and what do we find— that they pay to the general levenuc their share of the cost of educating the children throughout the colony and get no return, as they send their children to the High Schools and Giammar Schools, and pay special Kites for so doing. If effect is eiven to the pioposal to reduce the capitation allowance to the boards ot education it will senously cmbairass the Auckland Boa id. That body lias "ovenun the constable"' and lias had to arrange with its bankers for an o\eidiaft. lam veiy much afiaid that the consequence will be that a numuei of the countiy schools will be closed. I think that in some instances a saving miirht bo effected without children being debaned ftom leceiving education. Wheie theie ;ue two schools close to the railway line one of them might be closed, and the children attending it conveyed to the other by rail fieo of cost, 01 at a muely nominal chaise. The tiains must inn whcthei the cauiages aie full oi not, and it would involve no e\tia cost to com ey two 01 tlnee bundled child) en Cv li fheoi six miles nioining and evening If asm ill chaige weie made foi eli i llI i * n's season tickets the revenue of fche Boatd of Education would be icliev ed, while that of the lailway would be benefited. How ever unpopular it may be, I feel quite convinced that Sir Julius Vogel has eveicised a vv'ise disci etion in proposing to 1 educe the enormous cost of oni national education system. Education is both desirable and necessary, but the country is paving too much for it. When I was a boy I attended a school in which a really good education was imparted, the cliaigc being one shilling per week. The fathers of many of the childicu were labouring men, and, though wages wero not nearly high then as now, whi'e the cost ot living was higher, none of them stemed to h ive any difficulty in p lying the tees, while the income of the master was much larger than that paid to the teachers ot many of the conntiy schools under the Board of Education. While on the subject of education, I may mention that there ib a very general feeling of regret and indignation caused by the lesi^uation by Mr Neil Heath of the position of Head in ister of the Girls' High School -l egret because Auckland will lo;e the soi vices of one or the very best teacheis we have ever had, and indignation because it is generally believed that the lcsi^nation is caused by the petty annoyances .vhich Mr Heatli has received at the hands of some ot the officials employed by the Boaid of Education. It is simply disgraceful that men paid by a public body to look after the inteiests ot the public should be allowed to abuse the trust reposed in them and so annoy a better man than themselves that they have, at last, duven him to resign his position. The worst of it is that, wheieas there aie scoies of men mho could take the places of these " jacks-in-office," and do the woik as well as they or even better, it will Ye a most difficult matter to get anyone to fill Mi Heath's place ami do his work as well as he has done it. Of course there are as good fisli in the sea as ever weie taken out of it, but you cannot catch a salmon eveiy time you tlnovv a fly. For the sake of the guls of Auckland it is to be hoped that a successor to Mr Heath will be found who is as good a teacher as he, but it will be no easy matter to get one, and it is quite certain that the public will not ieel satisfied unless the Board of Education holds a most searching inquiry into the real reason of his resignation, and if the general belief is ascertained to be well founded, metes out a well-deserved punishment to the offending officials. *„* The first copies of the Anglo New Zealander, the new paper published in London mainly for the pnipose of chawing attention to this colony as a desirable field for emigration and investment, have just been received, and judging by the appearance ot the first number, the paper certainly ought to be a success. The proprietors, Messrs W. S. Wilson and A. G-. Horton, of the Herald, and Mr G. M. Reed, one of the original propi ietors of the Evening Star, have evidently spared neither trouble nor expense to bring out a paper which is a credit to them and to the colony whose interests it is mainly intended to foster. English people will have an even higher opinion tiian they had before, and that was no mean one, of the capabilities of the -Great Loan Land when they read j the Anglo New Zealander, and I have no doubt that the colonial advertisers in the new paper will be amply repaid the cost of their advertisements by the additional business they will attract, and by tho increased facilities 'which will'be offered to them by British manufacturers and merchants, who will see those advertisements, and place themselves in direct communication with the advertiser..., « With .the frequent despatch of direct steamers to the colony, trade will soon be revolutionised. Business men here do' not require' to hold the same large stocks ,, as , formerly,; because, the'jr can now order got»da'hy mail, anfd| reoeive^them 4a ' lltyle mor^ wail, three

month's, or by cable and receiv^"liTrern""in* less than two mouths. The consequence is that they can carry on business with much less capital than formeily. This means less cost to them,, and, consequently, less cost to the consumer. - The committee appointed to select the route of the Noith Island Trunk Railway, seem to be devoting themselves to tluir task with the assiduity which its importance warrants, and to lie adopting every possible means to obtain all information that can be got on the subject. A very good suggestion was made in the " Heiald'' the other day. It was that as, whether the Western or Central route was adopted, the line must be carried about 40 miles south fiom Te Awamutu, that section should be commenced at once. If this wcie done .a large tiact of valuable countiy would be opened up for settlement, to the manifest advantage of this poitionof the North Island, and there would be a consequent increase in the tiafh'c of the piesent railway connecting Auckland and Waikato, to say nothing of the profit that the Waikato settleis would obtain fiom supplying provisions to the men engaged in the construction of the line. St. Mungo.