The Evening Star. FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1888.

Evening Star, Issue 7651, 29 June 1888, Page 2

The Evening Star. FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1888.

•JT'HE Hw.se, having voted the Ways and Meiua declared by the Treasurer to be necessary, have g thereby praetisally approved of 'the financial policy in its most essential points. We speak now cplte apart from the consideration of the specific manner in which the ways and means are to be provided, which we consider bad in principle, •and certain to press very hardly and in undue proportion upon the working classes, specially those engaged in agriculture and mining. Whether the increase of revenue tfro« ttwolteratiooo in the Tariff will be up to the «atimate is, to ««r mind, very doubtful; but Sir Haiwut has got what be asked ior, and his scheme of finance is (for the present assured. We aip jjo impressed by the conviction .that serious mischief—economic and social—must xeault, <hafc we are hardly able to consider the adoption of Protection a side issue, ♦which technically It is. In every other ■respect the Ministerial finance commends itself, based as it Is on the most excellent principle of making ends

BKNlnesH to tfiirllaweni

meet—keeping the ordinary expenditure within the ordinary revenue—and gradually bringing the loan expenditure to a finite determination. The retrenchment already effected and in progress will reduce the expenditure chargeable for a year upon the revenue of the Colony by nearly £300,000 ; so that under a Ministry like the last, which, at tho inspiration of Sir Juuus VoiiEL, derided economy, the amount required to be he raised by additional taxation would have been at least £500,000. As things are there is a heritage of financial embarrassment to be disposed of, and Sir Harry Atkinson has prudently deteimined that there must be an end to the hundred-and-one Julian devices of kiteflying. The primage duty of 1 per cent, on all imports is expected to extinguish in two years the deficit existing on March 31 last; and henceforth deficits, it may be hoped, will be matters of historical interest only. In respect to what may be termed the floating debt—i.e., the outstanding deficiency bills—it is not very clear from the Financial Statement how these are to be dealt with, further than that the amount is not to be added to the permanent indebtedness of the Colony._ The Treasurer is to bring down a Bill which will embody the proposals of the Government on the subject. In the Financial Statement delivered on the Ist November last year, a great point was made of the necessity for suitable immigration if the country was to be lifted out of its present difficulties. The Treasurer spoke hopefully as to the introduction of considerable numbeis of persons of sufficient means and knowledge to cultivate the land profitably, "not only as "ordinary farmers, but as fruit-growers "and growers of plants suitable for " manufacture or to supply other industries." If the House, he said, " should approve of the "course we shall propose to it upon this "subject, we hope to see, at no distant "period, a considerable accession to our "population of the class above referred to." The House, it may be recollected, stupidly refused to make any provision for immigration, and it may be presumed this was the reason that the proposals referred to were never formulated. The Financial Statement of May 29 contains no reference to the matter, and Ministers would seem to have either abandoned the idea in utter hopelessness of bringing the present House to reason, or perhaps think that the amendment and simplification of the land laws accomplished last session will in due course attract the right sort of people to the Colony. Something more definite, however, requires to be done, and we consider that it is much to be regretted that immigration has practically been dropped out of the Ministerial policy. All efforts at retrenchment, the very wisest financial designs, can be but of little real benefit unless there is an accession to the population of persons in a position to develop the country and employ labor. We give all credit to the Government for what they have done in the direction of forwarding settlement; but it is absolutely essential to the well-being and progress of the Colony that they should earnestly apply themselves to the consideration of bringing in population of the right stamp. _________«,