The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1892.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 19, 23 January 1892, Page 4

The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1892.

?:r ti.B eauce that Jaei» assisissu, Jar tho v:323 thit uoec".3 rccistanoo, i'or t'.io future ia tlie iiitasce, Asd the co.ii that tv& caa da.

In the tirades against the Ballance Government which are poured out ceaselessly by newspaper mouthpieces of the money-lenders and squatters who have ruled the colony so long and so badly, and who by their wild borrowing and extravagance have brought New ZralanJ to the verge of ruin, we j are told, with tireless reiteration, that taxationonlandisthe weapon with which destruction will be wrought upon capital and monetary interests generally. These prophets of cwi, who have done their best to alarm capital by gioss misrepresentations, studiously ignore ! the. fact that under the Ministerial ! measures of last session very great ! relief has been given lo land in bona /lite occupation and cultivation, ai;d • tiata considerable proportion of the taxation which was levied upon unrepfoductive capital under the property ;ax, wiil in future be assessed upon mii <:,;me, and that unrcproductive capital wiil go entirely tree. I Although the /act is carefully coni cealed and faise issues are continually I placed before the public, there can be Ino doubt at all that the intensity of the attacks upon the Government arises from they avowed determination to check the further acquisition of large estates and to require from those ! already acquired a more reasonable I contribution to the revenue. Yet any man of intelligence, however Conservative in his views, who dispassionately considers the land question as it presents itself in New Zealand, must admit that it was indeed time to take some decisive action. Notwithstanding the well-ki,o\vn evils created in almost all countries, both in ancient and modern titties, by large estates, the rulers of this colony have either been so ignorant of these evils or so uteriy regardless of their duty as to permit Use formation of gnat estates m New Zealand on an enormous scale, as will be seen from the folio.viitg particulars of estates drawn from returns laid before I'arlianient :•— . ; From ihese returns we learn that 346 private ovrnrrs and 16 banks and companies own 7.348,713 acres, largely vi the best freciiold lands of the <;olou|', .oF the unimproved vaUj'e,'.ai 153630. Au.oniSC ll.ese ihcre; aie 24 loiiu-hojders t.he unimproved) value of whose estates runs trorn i /,'too 000 to ,-£1.000,000, whilst 76 j nold aiuong ,c tiu:m irechold iamis oi j the unimproved vahu* of ,-£8,498,5.1 c. As a contrast 10 these enormous freeholds, held by a. mere han iful of! people, we ft ml lhat 16.679 fami:it-s. or i say .80 000 persons, liv- i>.* -small terms j rtmouiitiug to:an area ot auoui 300,000 j ar.-res, or about iS acres per iam>i). ! li we contrast tisis average ot 18-acres, ] '•x'ni by cu:ii working family, with the! •ivvtajje pf 20,000 acres held i<y each } 'i tiie 362 owners as above ciied, we! .■.l>;i'l iiini one of the causes ot tiie * iion-inciesse of our population. , I If we compare tin; amount of Ciis- ■ toms duties paid by thess; two classes ot landowners, we find that the 80000 persons living t>n 300,000 acres oi Jauu j pay annually If we take the 362 owricis ot tlic 7.348,713 acres, and estimate their workmen and families at 38,000 persons, we shall have the sum of paid annually as Customs Utitics by the latter. Tims, ii the annual Customs duties paid by both ciass'js t.e reckoned at per acre of iheir holdings, we rind ihe smaill farms would pay 12s id per! acre, whilst the csjaies woiild pay } 3d per acre. Such revelations of unequal lion prove? that Mr Ballance has done! the colony good service in endeavourmg to reouco taxation on farms' ;u.id increase ihe contributions from large estates. In view ot the enormous wealth of the owners of these great estates, and of tr.e small taxation required trqin them, Mr Ballatice may \vr:!l say w.iih l.oid. Give, who, being reproached in the House of Cotniiioris with the large contributions t;e had exacted from the Indian Princes, exciaimef!, '• My God, Mr Chairman, when I remember the enormous wealth oi these peop'e, I stand astonished at my own moderation." Hitherto landowners, as such, have practically escaped taxation. With the sia\iNh obedience to old-time practice and prudence natural to Knglishmen, ! we i>ave brought to this colony the later English .sj stern of exempting the land from taxation, and levying r>ur chief rsvenues irom F, r a very long period the land tax in F.nalandbore ihe chief burden of taxation. A him.-1 cired years ago it yielded an annual revfiiur? oi alroi.it a uuiiion In 1890 ii yielded only whilst the revenue t.oni CiiSloms "and Kxcise in \Bgo had increased Iroai a small aniouiH to 137 — that is, land in KngJand wiucij ioinicriy bore the chief part of the cost of government, now btars only about one f lorty-tif'ih part of ttse cost, though the I land Ins increased enormouriy in valur. This manifest int-quality "1 sacrifice' has doubtless arisen Irom the circum-' stance that tne rulin. , classes are the owner., of the soil of Knjjlami in i estates /torn a million acrrs down-' wards. '■ With thty enormous incre;ise | of iate years of eltiCtots'iu tiie Uaitedj

Kingdom, together with the knowledge of their powei, taxation will one of these <lays tali much more heavily on ihe owners of large estates than it has hitherto done. Mr Bailance has boldly disregarded the unjust English practice of taxing the people and letting the land escape its just and legitimate contribution towards the cost of government. In their attempts to establish an equality of sacrifice by compelling the holders of large estates to bear a portion of their fair share of taxation, we are con* vinced that the Bailance Government will have the support of the people. Their recent Wellington victory •is an encouragement to them to continue a firm policy. The contest was a pitched battle of a severe type. In hardly any other constituency could such a masterful combination against the Government have been formed. Under such circumstances we think Mr McLean's return will be regarded throughout the colony as an unmistakable vindication of Mr Ballancc's policy. It is also a warning that their measures must be moderate and just, as well as firm. The eyes of the country have at last been opened to the necessity for exercisioe the power it possesses to enforce justice and economy. Hope, f so'long absent is again animating the 'roliids of' thousands who were beginning to think that ihe colony was rapidly going to the dogs.