CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3149, 30 July 1917, Page 4

CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH

LECTURE BY PROEESSOR HUNTER.S

At the Alexandra Hall last evening, ' before the Social Democratic Party Pro- . fessor T. Hunter delivered a lecture on. the subject of the "Conscription ol Wealth" Mr. H. Holland presided. ■ Professor Hunter touched upon the dißtribution of wealth, and showed to rrference to the English, America, and'. New Zealand statistics how iW™ 8 . ™lth was distributed in these cm-) munities. The remedy for this in the . .opinion of the speaker, was social con Sol, and he showed by copious extracts , that ho was Bupporled in his view by ; many eminent men in the jvorldcf economics. Unemployment and ■poywtr were he two resufis of the ""equal djstnbu-. (ion of wealth, which social control would lo much to remove. Wth '«*<*£. the conscription of wealth, Professor Hunter remarked that when a country w h such a distribution of wea thwent. to war it conscripted \U men physically"twee., the V of 20 and ffi, it raised the cost of living 2o to oO per cent and it financed the war by raising loans from which the rich drew ncome. free of income tax. When it was suggested that there should be consenpt ion Sf wealth, one of our Ministers of State said that anyone advocating it ought to be in Porirua. Was he aware of the iathat the Ricardo had, suggested '.his method to relieve England of a National Debt at the end of the Napoleonic wars. Was ho aware that St Herbert Leon, Bart Sir Leo Chiozzi Money, and Profewor Pieou all advocated that method. Three instances were given as to how the method would operate: (1) If a man had 100,000 acres and ris tox was 2.5 per cent., .the State would take 25,000 acres for soldiers* settlements,. (2) If another had 10.000 shares in, »>. the P. and O- Company, and his tax was 20 per cent., then 2000 shares would be transferred to the State _ • (3) In regard to capital in building*, u ens could not be naid. the Government could hold the mortgage for (he amount ° f T he 6 member for Timor,, (Mr Craigio) had already placed a scheme before th. House, in which the principle v.as 'ery mnch the same. . I.P-irrv vote The lecturer received a Hearty me of thanks. .