OTAKI

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 143, 15 December 1919, Page 5

OTAKI

LABOUR CANDIDATE AND THE ,

WAR DEBT

The Labour candidate for Otaki addressed the electors at Manakau last week. Mr. J. H. Taylor presided. .The candidate dealt with the question, of taxation, pointing out that Customs and excise taxes plus cost of collection amounted to 9s per week per average family of five persons, and that in. view of "the fact that the country's debt was now £200,000,000, and that the Government had permitted wealthy* citizens to contract themselves out of paying income tax, there was a serious danger of'further burdens being placed on those of moderate means. He advocated that an effort ought to be made to reduce the country's indebtedness by a sinking fund that would extinguish the war debt in twenty years, or by a levy on capital which was a method of dealing .with the debt that had been admitted by Mr. Sonar Law to be a question of practical politics. He then proceeded to enter a, strong protest against attacks that were being made upon him, insinuating that he was disloyal and that his military record would- not bear examination, describing such attacks as the.methods of a political assassin. On the chairman asking for questions, Mr. A.; R. Ru'dkiu asked permission to state that, he had been attached to the same unit as Mr. M'Keilzie in France, that he had been acting-company sergeant-major of his company, and that he could'testify that there was absolutely nothing against Mr. M'Kenzic. •