MR BRYCE AND THE WAIPA SEAT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2702, 5 November 1889, Page 2

MR BRYCE AND THE WAIPA SEAT.

Our Tβ Awaiuutu correspondent writes

Mr Bryce's address was generally well received, the only objection to it being his non-objection tr> tho Property-tax on tho ground of not being able to carry on without it. He admits that a good deal more retrenchment can be iraito in the government of the colony, now, if that be the case then tho need for'the Property-tax, or any other substituted form of tax.-tl.ion, is done away with. The amount realised by this obnoxious tax is somewhat less than £300,000, and Captain Russell affirmed that reductions to the extent of £'500,000 could be made. If such be the case, where then is the necessity for laising £300,000 by property or any other tax, more especially as the Premier says there will be a surplus of £200,000. If a tax be required let it be in the form of a Land and Income-tax. It is folly to say that the latter is any more inquisitional than the Property-tux. In the latter one's bank balance is asked for, and no matter how much it may shrink, it has to be paid for till next year, or perhaps next valuation. Men engaged in professional occupations have as a rule fairly average incomes, aud in the sases of employees they are pretty well the same each year, for the times are as bad as they can well be and salaries of men, other than Government officials, have been cut down as much as they will be. No doubt with Mr Bryce's well known desire for economy and he may be looked upon us the apostle of economy, when he gets to the House he will soon point out where reductions can be made, and with his equally well known fearlessness and determination to do his best for the colony, when he sees where these can be effected he will not rest till he succeeds. At any rate it is not so much a question of tax or no tax for this, the last session of this Parliament, as a question of reduction of members and a beginning of a course of economy. Were it a general election the man who would pledge himself to do away with tho Property-tax would find the most favour with the general public of the colony. If members would be content to follow Mr Bryce's lead in matters of retrenchment and economy, I (irmly believe there w<.aid be no necessity for such an impost in the course of a year or two. While Major Atkinson is in the House he will do his utmost to retain the fetish he worships with such unswerving devotion. It is to be the remedy for our poverty and depression. That it is so in the case of his friends and other unnecessary members of the Civil Service we all know, but he either does not, or will not know, that it is keeping capital out of the colony. I could tell him where no less a sum than a quarter of a million was quite recently kept out of the country , by his pet tax. As regards the bogey of native matters, wo may thank Mr Bryce for exorcising it, and if he would only exorcise some of the "Tite Barnacle " humbugs who cling tenaciously to the, crumbling ruins of the Native Department, he would confer n blessing on both natives and Europeans. He foreshadows the time wlihu all native lands will bo subject to tho same titles and duties as European lands, doubtless meaning that they will be compelled to bear tln'ir share of rates for local purposes. It does not realise his own new?, which are, I believe, the leasing rathor than the sale of such laud?. But if, as he has said before now, ho would insist upon larger reserves being kept, there is little fear of thoir being pauperised to such an extent as to render them a burden upon us, even if they sold all the remainder of their patrimony. If the natives exercise common sense and the most ordinary prudence, there is little fear of the laud being monopolised by companies or individuals, for if it is put" up for sale in blocks, according to quality, speculators cannot compete, and the natives would be the gainers. If, however, the Government succeed in purchasing (by tho way, where is the money to come from?) there will be still less danger of its being monopolised. With Mr Bryce's clear head and firm hand in the House, or, better still, in tho Ministry, we may expect a genuine effort at honest Government at last, more especially as Captain Russell, whoso economic views are so well known, is iu the Cabinet. In the matter of railways, as Parliament has placed the management beyond its control, Mr Bryce cannot make any alteration any more than anyone else till the five years have elapsed, unless a special Act be passed repealing the present one ; but when he comes up to address us he can go more into details than is possible in the limited space of a newspaper address. .^_^___