THE FARMERS' UNION.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11279, 21 May 1902, Page 6

THE FARMERS' UNION .

The delegates to the Provincial Omf&wsnce in counectioa. with the North Canterbury District of the New Zealand Farmers' Union may be congratulated on having got to work yesterday in a very ptaotioal and businesaHk. fashion. We agree with the President that it will be the-farmers* own fault if they.do. not make their influence felt in, the next Pa_Ha____t. Hitherto they have been far too apathetic. As Mr Leadley shows, there are several matters in whicih they axe specially interested, which ought to. be attended to. As to the mortgage tax, the Premier, it will be remembered, actually p___aised its abolition, but found an excuse _or not fulfilling his promise when the time came. We also thoroughly agree with the contention that the Valuation Department requires reform. -The. "present arr__g_____t presses most unfairly on the local bodies, who have to do- roost of the work required to keep the valuation Tolls up. to date, and yet have to pay an exorbitant sum to the Department for the services of the latter. How inefficiently tbe work of the Department is carried out by its own officers was showed in ,a recent case in Gh.i_t_hur.l_. As soon ajj a property came. before the Arbitration' Court the 'District Valuer had to admit that tbe valuation on the roll was altogether out of date, and, therefore, misleading, and h© added i_soo to the amount, at which the land stood on bis books. There is every reason to believe that this is by no means a solitary instance.

"^■^.^js^uXru'w_m<._}V,.,_s_-_, J .__;„__<_,/.A>_* A»_jIn casss where a property changes haijds. ■ the Bepartment is quick *p£ take advantage _f a__- increase „in value t_us shown, but so far as. revising 'the va___tio__ as a whole is concerned, its work seems to be hopelessly in aires.. We are glad to see that' the Co_-erenoe took up the crying injustice of the. C__*istoh_rch-Lyttelton railway rates. Both town and country ought to continue agitating until this injustice is removed. We are .___> pleased to see t_at the President warned the members against allowing anything like a spirit of narrowmindedness or class interest to enter into their -work. They should protest against any special injustice or disability- imposed on the farming community as a whole, but we do not think that they should attempt •to dictate to the Government as to how any particular form of taxation, if removed, should be made up. For instance, we -were sorry to see Mr H. F. Recce suggesting that a graduated income tax should be substituted for the mortgage tax. For our __jrt.w_' should like to see the amount saved by _ economies in the cost of administration. If there is a surplus of anythins like a quarter of a million, it ought to be quite easy to remit the mortgage tax and some other taxation as well. If any fresh taxation became necessary it should be imposed on an equitable basis all round, and not levied by a special class tax, sucih as a graduated income tax would be. Such a tax would be particularly unfair, because in the majority of cases the incomes ot professional men die with them. Tliat the mortgage tax should be abolished we are all agreed, and if due economy is observed no other tax should be needed to take its place. Speaking generally, the meeting ol so many.excel_e_t representatives of ___ fa__ni__g interest, to discuss matters of importance, cannot foil to do good, and we heartily welcome them to the City of the Plains.