MONDAY, JULY 9, 1887.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 55, 4 July 1887, Page 4

MONDAY, JULY 9, 1887.

The platform drawn up by the Committee of the Financial Eeform Association is rather cleverly constructed. In dealing with the subject of taxation it neatly evades the debated question of Free Trade v. Protection, by insisting that, however the Customs Tariff may be altered, the aggregate of taxation shall not be increased. In this the Association have pub lie sentiment entirely on their side. The clause, however, does not make it clear whether the Committee propose to regulate taxation as per head of population or adopt the present duties as a standard for all time. The revenue has undoubtedly fallen very considerably per head in consequence of decreased purchasing power and the lower value of imports. Would the Committee consider the Government justified in bringing up the total to any particular amount per caput ; if so, what amount 1 To the declaration in favour of an early cessation of borrowing all prudent men must say amen. Also, to the limitation of the cost of the Governor's establishment (salary and allowances) to This would give His Excellency salary, and for house and other allowances, which is surely liberal enough, considering the position of the colony. As we have shown, on many occasions, very high officers in the Imperial service—men of the very highest distinction—get very much less. As for His Excellency's entertainments, the public at large have little or no share in them, and the favoured inner circle would probably be' better off if they were discontinued. We cannot go with the Committee in their resolution regarding the Legislature. No doubt a hundred a year is enough to pay members of the Legislative Council. As monied men protecting their own interests, they might very well give their services gratuitously. But we do not believe in setting up a nominee Chamber limited by law to thirty members. Such a body controlling the whole legislation of the country, and having an absolute veto upon any measure assailing their own existence, would, within a measurable time, bring about a revolution. While the Council is nominated it must, in some shape or other, be under the control of the elective Chamber, even if the only constitutional means of neutralising its Conservatism is the costly one of swamping it by the nomination of red-hot Radicals. If limited in numbers, the Council must be elective ; the Committee do not seem'from the wording of the clause to contemplate this. The proposal to reduce the honorarium of members of the House of Representatives to a year, we have no sympathy with. With triennial parliaments—the cost of an election every three years—;£2oo a year is cone too much for the work , .bur, members .have to perform. •• The miserable cavilling at the remuneration of .the people's representatives is contemptible. If they did their work well, we should not grudge, a reasonable amount of pay. We want fewer of them and better men. With most of the other headings of the Association's programme we have dealtfully from time to time. As ageneral affirmation of the popular demand for retrenchment and reform the document is well conceived, but, as we pointed out before, the Ass-ociation will totally fail if they attempt to draw up a cast-iron creed dealing with a large number of important subjects which they mean to thrust down the throats of their own members or of candidates for election to Parliament.