A TYRANT BUDGET.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 610, 13 September 1909, Page 7

A TYRANT BUDGET.

Should 80, Reserved for War Revenue,

————. ROSEBERY'S FIAT. LIBERALS PERVERTED TO SOCIALISM NO POPULAR MANDATE. W-THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE, HE WILL ACCEPT A TARIFF. IDi' Telccrapli.-I'rcs. A«>ocUli6n.—Ooprflßlil l London', September 101 The Earl of Roscbcrv, one-time Liberal Prime Minister, addressed :an enormous j meeting of business-men at Glasgow in relation to tho Government's financial pfdposals. The gathering was a non-party one, and no resolutions were passed. Not a Unionist, But' Admires Them. In the course, of a speech, which lasted a hundred minutes, Lord Rosebery remarked ■that though he did not belong to tho Unionist Party, ho could not help paying a tribute to the courage and intelligence of tho gallant' little minority id tho Hoiiso of Commons. N Proceeding, Lord .Rosebery characterised the Budget, "as harassing,'.-.inquisitorial, bureaucratic, tyrannical, and predatory. No form- of property'.was. safe, 'nor was it in-' tended to be safe, under the, new system of taxation. '

Lord Rosebery argued for the rejection of

the Budget, declaring that Mr. Gladstone would have made short*work of any- deputation of- his' colleagues presenting it. ,

Taxes With Ulterior.Obleots., (Roc. September 12, 5.5. p.m.)

Lord Rosebery, addressing the. meeting at Glasgow; against tho Budget, said he. had long been tin independent politician, and ho bolieved it to be his duty to show why it ivas' not in the best interests of the nation that the Fiuanco Bill should ; become. Mr. Lloyd-Georgo liad proclaimed it a Budget of War. against poverty; but it was a ,war

which depleted capital, increased unemployment, and produced universal insecurity.:

' He'(Lord Rosebery) was unaware, of tho' actual amount of deficit. Sir Robert Giffen

had declared that ho believed there was no real; deficit. The new taxes were-not- for national defence, > but were invented to raise vast sums for tho use of tho ccntral Government" without Parliamentary control.' The Budget had had no adequate, preparer tion, It contained material for, six Bndgetsj and the complementary Development Bill; recently introduced in tho. House' of Com-; mOns, contained the most novel and formidable proposals' presented to Parliament, for many years. This Budget, really put Britain into the. melting-pot; .it'was o revolution without any mandate from tlie, people. , At a time'when it-was difficult to make both ends meet, the Budget took as much, and harassed as much, as possible..', Inorement Theory May Be Extended. ', It placed' four new taxes on land, ( besides expanding tho income tax and death;duties. It was a distinct'step towards land nationalisation, whicli Mr. Lloyd-Giorge had said must come.' Land- wis selected becauso its taxtition'could not ho^ey'aded.,' ■ The principle of tho unearned increment could be'applied to every other kind of prono exertion was.needed by, the ~ofconsols - or ■.. of -railway stocks, and theso' wero liable ,to incremont or decrement tho samo as land. Ho warned tho country, to consider ,tho':. contagions in-, flufinco ,of ■ theVprinciples ; raised by the Budget. i •

■. Personally, ho found land :.a. harassing and linremunerativo form of property. The land laws might /be improved, and ..more;' people of. the, yeoman class- might bq settled on < the laud; but 'landlords should b<} ; justlyvtreated —they were usually humnn beings,' in difficulties. >

In 1895 a return showed that the; capita' value of, land had fallen one. thofasand mil

lions .slorlirig in 30 yiars;; jtet this.- was the industry that the Government sought, to tax out,of existence. Landowners seemed to'be damned, and doubly, damned,-, for' ■'holding property in land. Many millions of working.men's money, invested by prudential, temperance, and.friendly societies, might -soon bo.touched. . ... -,!V; .'W

' Ho considered tho enormous increase;'in tho death duties a danger to capital. Theso sources of revenue ought to be preserved for war purposes. Tho Government's enormous taxation,of capital was strangling in peace' tho goose which laid , tho golden eggs in wartime. , , . > i ■' ; , ■ - J- The Government boasted that they had J)aid off-40 millions of itho National Debt. They did not borrow, but thoy proceeded to raise; and- spend an extra sixteen' millions annually. , The transference—by • means of enlianced death dutieSr-of. masses of capital from tho individual to the State injuriously reactedon." commerce and employment, and destroyed the; .nation's reserve power. Scores of millions were lying idle in the banks, ori going abroad to develop'other countries, owing to apprehension as to the Government-b financial'policy. . ' ji ; . M :- - '■ Tyranny—Bureaucracy—Socialism. ■ . What .'feelings would Mr-, Gladstone have had for such a Budget?' -Liberalism and Liberty used'to'gb'together; but this Budget established a tyranny ' and inquisition never previously known; . "7 . \ -' ' He denounced tho ' Government's bureaucratic Socialism. Bureaucracy was almost strangling France, yelthe Government created staffs of.well-paid officers under the Small "Holdings, Factory , Inspection, Pensions, and Housing, and ; Town Planning Acts.' '•'• ■ , , The supertax on incomes would be administered by. commissioners from whom there .was no. appeal. This' sort of. tyranny was hot Liberalism, but Socialism. For five years before, jtheir death men would be ghosts; . during that time they could give nothing to their children without it being reckoned part of their estate. ~t Shades of tho Old' Freß-trad9 : Liberalism. He declared that Cobden, Bright, and Villiers nover dreariied of. levying the'.vast sum now asked for in direct taxation. If a tariff was to bo tho only alternative, •• ho would crease to defend the. principles, of'Free-trado. He, urged /retrenchment,, but not of tho national defenco. Why should Ireland cost £1,200,000 moro yearly than she produced in' taxation ?. He would ' conduot tho, State as he would a privato .business. He was sorry that the Government had taken'sides with the Socialists. Somo Ministers were .conscious Socialists'. Tho least worthy working-men were being taught not to exert themselves, and his Liberal friends wero cleajly moving on; the path leading to Socialism, a path along which he could not follow them oao inoh. He might .think tarifi.

reform or protection an evil, but Socialism was a negation of' faith in tho family, in property, in tho Monarchy, and in tho Empire. ■ ' .■ ■ ■ : ' , ■ In a subsequent speech, .Lord Rosebery declared that Bright would havo denounced tho encroaching proposals of this-Budget. PRESS VIEWS: ELEGY OVER THE OLD LIBERALISM. "VOICE Oi; A RENEGADE LANDLORD.!' "Tho Times" says tliat the essence of Lord Rosebery's speech is. that the Bill'involves a social revolution, without precedent. Ho showed that behind the devices whoso professed end is revenue, thero lurk far-reach-ing schemes for the subversion and redistribution of private 'property. ' , i "The Daily Mail",belioves that the speech will settle .the futo of the Budget, because it will convinco a multitude of. independent voters belonging to neither party. The "Daily Telegraph": declares that Lord Rosebery has' pronounced an elegy over the Liberal party as it existed until Mr. LloydGeorge assumed the Chancellorship of. tho Exchequer, and until .Mr. Winston Churchill was admitted :to .the Cabinet, .

' The "Daily News" (Liberal): "There is no. opponent so venomous as the renegade, no critio bo stern as the mail'who has.failed."

Tho "Daily Chroniclo" (Liberal): "The speech is that of-a great landlord, not of a great Liberal. It is entirely ' coloured by the prejudices and prepossessions of landlordism." | ... _ GENERAL ELECTION LIKELY. PROBABLY NOVEMBER. .Various sections of lobby opinion Coincide in tho belief that Lord Rosebery has created a now situation, and has rendered even more

likely the rejection of'ihe Budget by tho House of Lords. 1 ' Unionists attach great BignificjiO'ce to Lord. Rosebery's declaration of his' belief that the Government is taunting, and daring tha Lords to throw out the Budget.

It is especteil that tlio Bill will be sent to the Lords/ about Octobor 15. Both, parties expect; that a general, election will follow in a few weeks.

STATE OWNERSHIP OF LAND. •REAL PROPERTY IN PAYMENT OF • . DOTY. London, September 10. ' A number of Government ■ amendments in tho Finance Bill havo been-introduced in .committee; Olio of theso permits tho State, to accept real property in, paynient.of estate duty! '.' ■: ■. : ;•;! ! r - The Opposition;-criticise this as tho first stop towards the principle of'Stato ownership of land, which they declare ought'to have been scoured by legislation instead of by a Money Bill in tho Commons. DUTY ON SHARE TRANSACTIONS. . NEW/ ASSESSMENT. . 1 . London, September 10. I "Tho Times" states that ) a deputation t from tho committco of the Stock Exchange I conferred with the Chancellor iof . the Exchcquer, ' Mr. Lloyd-George. It ia understood that, as a result, tlio- present duty, on 6haro transactions, ranging from 6d.,; to 25., will bo withdrawn in favour of a., scale of.6d.to' the ,£, thereby, the. burden on transactions of avorago' magnitude.' "- ::

ATHLETIC CROUNDS^AND: TAX, ' FOR THE NATION.'■ V - ' A

London, September 10. • A' deputation of cricket, football,, and golf clubs, headed by the Marylobono Cricket Club, the Rugby Union; and tho Football Association,; .'requested the Govexnmeuv to exempt land used for sporting/and .recreative purposes from rtho, Finance Bill. •;

Mr.-. 0.-' F. -M&sterman, Undcr-Scorotary for Homo 'Office,; on behalf of Mr: LloydGcorge, promised to exempt bona fide clubs frop the increment, tax. ,;.v L ,-./b-' , -: r V : ,

! [Under the original Bill, the inortment duty (20 per cent) shall not be chargod on parks; jiardens, or open spaces, which, are, open to tho pufflic as of-right, or to, which, reasonable acoess, contributing to the amenity , of the locality, is granted to the publicor on land used for the purposes of games, or othor recreation,where the. commissioners are satisfied that tho-use'Of'the land is given for the b'enofit of the public or of the inhabitants tif tho locality" on-.a lease'of not less than five years.]

Tho Government proposes'to exompt worltß of art bequeathed' to tho nation, from' cession equally with legacy 1 .and estate du^i^si'.