PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 46, 23 August 1917, Page 3

PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH

NATIONAL CABINET'S HHIEP

POLICY.

■Mr. Massey congratulated members on the vote of "confidence which had been passed in the National Government. He objected to the idea' that was being put abroad that this was a class war; the man who put that idea abroad was a traitor'to his. country.

A member: He ought to be hanged, Mr. Massoy said the Empire was fighting for its existence, and he thought

they should take their pleasures moderately. Replying to Sir John. Findlay, he said it was impossible to avoid waste in war ti.-ne, especially in camps, but Sir John Findlay had not given any particular instances. As to the National Cabinet, he said its principal policy was to win the war, and itha't would be its principal plank until the war was over. As to taxation of unimproved values, h© contended that the more improvements a man put on his land the higher went (the unimproved value. The argument would be perfectly right if the value of the Iwul stood at the, value at. which it was taken up, and lie was in favour of land paying its fair share, but. that.was not the case. At present the man on the land paid his fair share of taxation. Many people did not know the amount of taxation which came from the'land, which, after all, was merely raw material, and could only be made productive by it-he efforts of iabour and brains. An export tax would be easy to collect, but it must bo ' remembered that we lived on our exports, and once such a tax was imposed it would be a very long time before it was taken off. New Zealand had done more than any other country in regard to the Meat Trust, and the Finance Minister had moved a resolution, which was carried, before the Imperial Conference. Here a Parliamentary Committee was enquiritg into the subject, and he had every hops that some important recommendations would be made. Regarding the Cost of Living Committee-, he said, he had at tended its sittings, arid he h&d to declare' thalt he never saw a more earnest body of men, who might be looked upon to make some recommendations which the Government could accept. He was in favour of continuing the development policy of the Government in land and mines and agriculture, and, in this connection, he said it would be a (thousand pities if there was not a big tide of immigration after the war. Speaking of the laud question, ha said that during the past five years there had been over 56,000 subdivisions, comprising an area of over 3,000,000 acres.

Mr. Wilford: How many are occupied? Mr. Massey replied that' the natural presumption was that most of them were occupied.

KEEPING DOWN THE COST OF > LIVING. The increase in the' cost of living was (inseparable from a war period. He believed it was the duty of the Government to do everything possible to prevent exploitation and profiteering, but that was a difficult thing to do. When members got the report of the Board of Trade that would acknowledge that it had done 1 a great deal of valuable work; and m many cases had kept down the cost of living. Ho quoted figures > from the Board of Trade report showing that the increase in the cost of living in New Zealand is far less than that of the bigger countries in Europe. The man who took advantage of the war period to make undue profits was an enemy to his country. Speaking- of the burden of taxation, he pointed out that no one was called on to pay income tax who had a salary of £300, or land tax on land valued at £500, and 'he believed also that the country was doing its best in regard to old-age pensions. Speaking of the military question, he mentioned the fact that the United States had passed a conscription law, and expressed regret that Australia had not done the same ■ thing. Reference had been made to the increase in the price of our export produce, but it had to be remembered that it was those higher prices that would enable us to carry on the war. THE WAR LOAN. Speaking of the war loan, he said he believed it was being placed before the public on the most reasonable terms, and that it would turn out to be a great success. He hoped that in a few years we would get back to pre-war taxation, and then tlio free-of-iricome-tax investment would, to that extent' depreciate. Ths money was needed to enable us to carry on our share of the waa-, and he asked the people with money to think what was being done for .them by our soldiers and sailors*. Everybody could do something, even if he could not go to the front, and the best thing he could do was to invest money in the war loan. (Applause.) In his concluding remarks, Mr. Massey said that already 519 soldiers had been placed on the land on an area of 376,313 acres, but there was no guarantee that they would all be successful. Preparations were also being made for placing men on the northern gum lands and the Crown lands in the North generally, and there was no doubt that in that area alone there would be room for about 1000 men. Men who had enlisted from the Railway Department would be found suitable work, and already provision had been made under which employment could be found for 2000 men. The Public Works Department would be able to employ 5500 men, and the Lands Department 3000 men. Generally speaking, the Government would be able to employ about 11,000 men when the war was over and the men had returned: Already 9306 returned soldiers had been dealt "with by the Discharged Soldiers' Information Department. He thought there was no doubt left in the minds of the House 1 that the Government was fully alive to its responsibilities in the direction to which he had; referred. INCREASE IN BEER DUTY. Mr. E. P. Leo said the Government ought to be aware that the majority of the members of the House were crying out for a substantial increase in the beer duty. The majority of the people of the Dominion were making the same demand. (Hear, hear.) The estimated increase, in the tax predicted in past Budgets had not been realised, and he wanted to know*, how could the House have any confidence in the. suggested increase in this year's Budget of £37,----000. He could assure the National Government that the members felt in no mood to let beer go by at less than 6d a gallon. The proposed tax of 4.75 d waa not sufficient, and any proposal to that end would only invite trouble. The National Cabinet should bring in a failtaxation on beer, and 6d a gallon was not too much to put on beer to enable us to gain revenue for war-winning purposes. The House had not been treated fairly on this question during the past two or three years; There was throughout the country a feeling that the National Cabinet was in sympathy with the trade. It "was no use the AttorneyGeneral stating that he had given instructions to the police to see that the anti-shouting regulations were carried out. It was well known that the regulation was openly flouted from one end of the country to the other. Either it should be carried out or repealed. If the regulation was impracticable, it should be repealed. . . '•' A member : Did you ever break it ?

Mr. Lee : No, I did not,

Mr. Lee contended that there were plenty of members who would support a heavy taxation on beer. . The Hon. A. M. Myera : The taxation under the new proposal on my firm will bo 13s 6d in the £.

In further dealing with taxation, Mr. Lee said it was not a fair thing that a man who received from £100 to £200 from investments in companies should he taxed to the extent of 7s 6d in the £. The system should be more equitable. He was pleased to see there was no mention in the Budget of the buttertax levy, and he hoped the cost of living would be kept down • without the levying of this tax. Referring lo the bonus to Public rervants, Mr. Lee urged that better consideration should be given to thd men with families than to those without families. He expreesed himooif as fay-

ourable to the establishment of Pensions Appeal Boards, so that no man who returned to this country should receive less than he was entitled to. If a pensioner could not "make good" before such a board, then he should not receive the pension, but if he did so the country should find him an adequate pension. At 11.5 p.m. the debate was adjourned, on the motion of Mr. H. J. H. Okey.