LOCAL AND GENERAL

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4129, 29 October 1920, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Orders for 10,000 tons of coal for the Danish State railways have been placed in China.

"I never saw a. more contented lot of farmers than the soldier settlers of Kopane," said a local man to the pressman yesterday. "They are a sturdy lot of young men, and can walk in grass up to their knees. They arc doing right well."

A fair amount of buying; in forward delivery on lambs has taken place in the AVanganui district of late, the buyers, it is stated, being very anxious to get hold of the lambs. Their eagerness is being taken by many farmers to mean that fat lambs will command high prices, from 26sto 28s being entioned as the prospective figure.—Herald.

At the meeting of the Farmers' Union Executive the AVellington provincial president (Mr AY. J. Polson) deplored the ignorance of the general public regarding the financial aspect of the butter subsidy. The speaker had had it said to him by a number of workmen that tlie Massey Government had taxed tho workers £600,000 in order to further fatten up the farmer. The fact was that the workers' share of taxation'was almost wholly through the Customs. The annual revenue was considerably over 20 millions and Customs duties 'without excise, accounted for only £3,364,000. The butter levy was paid out of the Consolidated Fund, consequently labour only paid the proportion represented by its share of the Customs duties which could roughly be computed. Half the Customs revenue was represented by luxuries, including tobacco and alcohol. Of the other half the general public paid three-fourths, so that the workers' share represented considerably less than £500,000. In _ other words, out of the total taxation of the country, labour paid only about 1.25, and its share of the butter tax would, .in consequence be very small. These things merely required to be pointed out to be understood. Tlie worker was often misled by false information.